DeMarcus Ware's emotional speech highlights NFL HOF induction

CANTON, Ohio -- DeMarcus Ware's football journey from small-college star to Pro Football Hall of Famer took a fateful turn in the early 2000s, when he made a life-altering decision with a knife in his hand.

Choking with emotion as he recalled the incident Saturday in his induction speech at Tom Benson Stadium, the former Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos star said he was assaulted by a gun-wielding man in a parking lot during a trip home while attending Troy University. That moment, which he'd never shared publicly, changed his life.

"Without warning, I was knocked across the head with a gun," Ware told the crowd. "A knife dropped to the ground and I picked it up. And when I looked up, all I…