This is the heartbreaking speech Junior Seau's daughter couldn't give at his Hall of Fame induction

(Image credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

last updated 9 August 2015

The Pro Football Hall of Fame drew criticism in July for announcing that Sydney Seau, daughter of the late linebacker Junior Seau, would not be allowed to speak at her father's induction ceremony. Eventually, they reached a compromise, but Sydney Seau still couldn't give a full speech.

Seau died by suicide in 2012 after reportedly suffering from brain damage and depression related to his concussions on the field. He played in the NFL for 20 years, earning 12 Pro Bowl selections.

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Something that is hard for me to admit to myself and to you all is the fact that I miss his singing. I miss his huge mangled hands strumming on his uke, playing the only five chords he knew, to the hundreds of songs he would attempt to sing off-key. I miss him calling me Beau, my girlie middle name, and I miss him hugging me too long and too tightly, almost to the point where I couldn't breathe. [The New York Times]

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Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.

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