Mark Madden: Louis Lipps made a mistake but should still get his Steelers Hall of Honor moment

Louis Lipps is an all-time Pittsburgh Steelers great. Had Lipps played on Super Bowl teams, he might be recognized as their best wide receiver ever.

Lipps was arrested for DUI this past Saturday night. His truck struck a parked trailer.

Lipps was scheduled to be inducted into the Steelers’ Hall of Honor this coming Sunday at Heinz Field. Because of his DUI, he will not participate. Steelers owner Art Rooney II said the Steelers will induct Lipps into the Hall of Honor “at the appropriate time in the future.”

What a crock.

In a statement, Lipps voluntarily withdrew from the ceremony. To repeat, what a crock.

I don’t believe for a second that it was Lipps’ decision. If it was, the Steelers should have insisted that Lipps participate.

I’m not minimizing Lipps’ DUI. It’s a dangerous crime. It’s fortunate that no one was hurt. It can’t be forgotten that Henry Ruggs, then with the Las Vegas Raiders, killed a woman in a drunk-driving crash Nov. 2.

But Lipps is a good man and was a great football player. He made a mistake. The gravitas of that mistake shouldn’t equate to him being pulled from a moment he can never get back.

The fans would not have reacted badly had Lipps participated. His fellow honorees would have surely embraced him. No problems would have resulted from his presence.

Excluding Lipps is PR, nothing else. It’s Rooney doing the “right thing.” Look! We care!

If Lipps were still an All-Pro or Steelers team MVP — he was both twice — he might not miss a game. One, tops.

The Steelers present themselves as a family. “Steelers for life” and that sort of nonsense.

If the Steelers were truly a family, they wouldn’t exclude and embarrass one of their own in a time of crisis. They would embrace him, help him and, yes, honor him.

Had Lipps entered rehab instead of crashing his car, he’d (rightly) be a hero. “Oh, how brave he is.”

To repeat: DUI is a serious matter. It’s not something minor. But the law will judge Lipps, and here’s betting it’s not that harshly.

Omitting Lipps from Sunday’s ceremony, however, is about optics and absolutely nothing else.

It’s a reflection of society. Canceling or punishing is the automatic move.

Lipps was an amazing player. His absence Sunday doesn’t change that.

He was an excellent receiver and an electrifying kick returner. In addition to his two All-Pro selections and two team MVPs, he was NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1984 and got selected for two Pro Bowls. But he only played in four playoff games. That marginalized his profile.

Lipps should be there Sunday.

I can’t help but invoke James Harrison.

Harrison admitted to domestic abuse, called NFL commissioner Roger Goodell “a crook and a puppet,” finagled his way from the Steelers to New England in 2017 via immature locker-room disruption and took Antonio Brown’s side in Brown’s dispute with the Steelers.

Yet Harrison has since been made welcome at Heinz Field several times. He spits on the logo every chance he gets, but the organization still loves him.

That’s because he won two Super Bowls and had a 100-yard interception return in one of them. It’s also because everyone with the Steelers is scared to death of him. (Mostly the latter.)

I can’t help but invoke the Heinz Field parking lot.

Lipps won’t be involved with the Hall of Honor ceremony because of his DUI.

How many fans attending the game (and ceremony) will urinate in public beforehand, or miss the ceremony (and first quarter) because they’re too drunk to tell time and enter the stadium to see it?