Free Randy Gradishar!

After being snubbed far too many times to count for too many years to fathom, forced to stand outside, his nose pressed against the glass of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, hasn’t the leader of the Orange Crush been held hostage by unreasonable disappointment long enough?

As a diplomat experienced at negotiating with hostile foes, the daughter of a football coach and a minority stakeholder in her beloved Broncos, Condoleezza Rice needs to tackle this task:

Rescue Gradishar from football purgatory.

Secure him a gold jacket from Canton, Ohio.

“I’m part of the Orange Crush generation,” Rice said last week, after being introduced by the Waltons as a member of the team’s new ownership group.

As you might have heard, Gradishar was snubbed again, when the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced Wednesday that Dallas Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley, New York Jets defensive lineman Joe Klecko and Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Ken Riley are the three senior finalists for the class of 2023.

Although all three must receive 80% approval from the full selection committee on the eve of the Super Bowl early next year, that vote is considered a mere formality. Howley, Klecko and Riley will get gold jackets.

“People keep telling me, ‘If you played on the East Coast, you’d already be in,’ ’’ Gradishar said.

I’ve got no quarrel with the recognition of Klecko or Riley. Howley was the MVP of a Super Bowl with Dallas, but Gradishar was a better linebacker than Howley.

The big difference? Howley played on America’s Team. Gradishar played in the Lost Time Zone.

Yes, it’s a travesty that Gradishar was not inducted at least 30 years ago. So what’s the dealio? Whether we’re talking about winning a gold statuette from the Oscars or being fitted for a gold jacket from the Hall, the vote is as much about politicking as it is principle.

That’s why I think the Broncos should put a professional politician on the case to negotiate a Hall pass for Gradishar.

From days of her youth as a Broncos fan living in Colorado, Rice fondly remembers: “You’d go into any grocery store or any restaurant and there were all these Orange Crush cans piled up with (defensive lineman) Rubin Carter or (cornerback) Louis Wright peering over them.”

Methinks that Rice unwittingly hit on one of the sillier things holding Gradishar back from enshrinement in Canton. In football lore, the Orange Crush is bigger than the sum of its parts.

You probably don’t need me to tell you Wright revolutionized the way modern NFL defenses are built by being among the first big cornerbacks in league history to clog passing lanes. Everyone around here understands Gradishar is undoubtedly among the fiercest tackling machines ever invented. Both players richly deserve an honored place in the Hall of Fame.

But in the minds of electors, it’s often hard to distinguish Gradishar or Wright from Tom Jackson, Bob Swenson or coordinator Joe Collier as the face of the Orange Crush.

Although Gradishar celebrated his 70th birthday in March, current Broncos coach Nathaniel Hackett joked the team could sign him to play linebacker right now, if it would help put his name back in the forefront of Hall voters’ thoughts.

On a more serious note, I recently asked Gradishar if the passage of time has given him the wisdom to accept his snubs with more grace or only increased the anxiety of a man now closer to the end of life than the beginning.

“I’ve never considered it hard,” said Gradishar, who tries to look at awards as a blessing whenever they come. “I’m just glad I’m living, I’m still around, they remember my name and I still have a chance.”

In an effort to make the Hall a bigger party, three football old-timers will be advanced for special consideration as inductees again in 2023 and 2024. The next 24 months figure to be the last, best shot for Gradishar.

“He’s one of the greatest players of all time,” Hackett said. “He’s going to have his time. His time is going to come. Hopefully, it’s sooner rather than later.”

If the football gods have hearts, Gradishar will get welcomed into pro football’s most exclusive fraternity while he’s still around to enjoy the party.

It’s a travesty Gradishar has been held hostage by the whims of Hall voters for decades.

Put Condi Rice on the case.

Free Gradishar!