Gold Jacket Spotlight: 'Receivers fought the Law ... and the Law won'

The maxim “ignorance of the law” refers to the principle that a person who is unaware of a law is not excused for violating that law. That unawareness can be costly.  

Ignorance of TY LAW’S abilities by opposing offenses from the high school level to the National Football League proved damaging to them.

This week’s Gold Jacket Spotlight shines on the Hall of Fame cornerback whose aggressive mindset and playing style were catalysts for his success and resulted in the NFL emphasizing certain playing rules. 

Understanding the lack of opportunities available in Aliquippa, Pa., and access to a Heisman Trophy-winning uncle, TONY DORSETT, Ty aspired to use his athletic talents to create a path out of the former bustling steel mill town.

Among the initial phases of that journey was Ty’s senior year at Aliquippa High School, playing for the Quips, after which he was named to the Parade All-America High School Team as a defensive back. That team won the first football state championship for Aliquippa. 

In the morning prior to that championship game, Ty earned a passing score on the ACT college admissions test, hurried to the game and, after retrieving a teammate’s opening kickoff fumble, returned the recovery for a touchdown.

“Georgia Tech, Pitt, every school with an eye on a national championship wanted him,” wrote S.L. Price from SI.com.

The University of Michigan got him.

Ty acknowledged the challenges he faced upon arrival in Ann Arbor during his Hall of Fame enshrinement speech, but he also knew those challenges paled in comparison to life’s challenges in Western Pennsylvania.

“This (the University of Michigan) was where my belief in myself was really put to the test. Not everyone thought I would make it,” he said. “They thought I would be a small fish in a big pond because that’s the University of Michigan. I would hear, ‘Well, he’s good, but he ain’t that good,’ and to be honest with you that pissed me off.”

Not only did Ty make it, but he was selected twice to the All-Big Ten first team and earned first-team All-America honors. During his time in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines won a Big Ten championship and earned victories in the Rose, Hall of Fame and Holiday bowls.

Recognizing a need to support his family in Aliquippa and, against the advice of NFL “experts,” Ty entered the 1995 NFL Draft following his junior season. The observers projected him as a mid- to late-round pick, but Ty had greater belief in his abilities.

Again, Ty proved the doubters wrong. The New England Patriots selected him in the first round of that draft, the 23rd overall pick. 

“I bet on myself, and I won,” Ty said in the Price story. 

The Patriots won, too.

During Ty’s 10 seasons with the Patriots, the team appeared in four Super Bowls, hoisting the Lombardi Trophy on three occasions. In Super Bowl XXXVI, the organization’s first world championship, Ty intercepted future Hall of Fame quarterback KURT WARNER and returned the turnover 47 yards for a touchdown.

Known for his physical and aggressive bump-and-run coverage, Ty grabbed 53 career interceptions. His level of physicality led to NFL playing rules limiting contact with receivers becoming points of emphasis.

“So, you want to know how good Ty Law was?” Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft asked the crowd during Ty’s induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2014. “Have you ever heard of the Ty Law Rule? When the league cracked down on the physical play of bump-and-run coverage in ’04, it effectually became known as the Ty Law Rule. Can there be a higher compliment for a defensive back?” he said, according to a CBS Boston report.

“Every single week, those receivers fought the Law,” Kraft declared, “And the Law won.”

In 2019, the knowledge of this Law was confirmed with his enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.