Sean Taylor’s death seems to be most prevalent thread on blogs and message boards this morning. It is with good reason. Taylor is an incredibly polarizing figure, especially when his murder is credited to the lifestyle he led. On the right side, posters are claiming that Taylor was an outright thug. He ran with the wrong crowd, put himself in awful situations and his actions most likely led to his shooting. On the left side, there are those who claim he had turned his life around after having a child in the last year. Both sides have their flaws, but let’s take a look at the facts and see who is closer to being right.
Taylor was raised primarily by his father, Pedro Taylor and his Stepmother after his parents divorced when he was 3 years old. He grew up in Richmond Heights, a working class neighborhood in Miami Dade County. His athletic prowess was seen at an early age, and he was educated at Gulliver Preparatory High School in the village of Pinecrest, Florida (some famous alums- Enrique Iglesias, Mozilla Firefox creator Blake Ross and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush’s children, Noelle and George).
After a stellar career at the University of Miami, the Redskins selected Taylor with the fifth pick in the NFL Draft. Taylor’s stellar play was often marred by discipline problems on and off the field. Before suiting up in 2004, he was fined for walking out of the NFL’s rookie symposium (a requirement for all NFL rookies). He was fined $25,000. During his rookie season, he was fined a total of $17,500, for what the NFL termed as “overly-aggressive play”. Also in 2004, Bengal’s receiver, TJ Houshmandzadeh claimed that Taylor had spit on him during a play. The NFL looked into the incident, and decided that Taylor’s actions did not warrant a penalty. While playing in a 2006 Playoff game against the Buccaneers, Taylor was accused of spitting on Michael Pittman. Officials immediately ejected him. This time, the NFL did feel there was sufficient evidence and fined Taylor $17,000.
Taylor was also arrested twice during his NFL career. The first was a DUI in 2004. While I don’t condone drinking and driving, it is not uncommon among NFL players or society in general. A Fairfax County, Virginia, Judge acquitted him of all charges. The second charge was more disturbing. Taylor was charged with brandishing a gun at 3 individuals who he believed had stolen 2 vehicles from him. The case was not without it’s problems. The defense believed that the Prosecutor was trumping up charges to enhance his career. The Judge agreed, and the Prosecutor was dismissed. The case dragged on for around 2 years. The case was resolved in a plea bargain. Taylor was given 18 months probation, agreed to community service and donated $10,000 to schools in the Miami area. In exchange, he received no jail time and no felonies were added to his record.
This, obviously, represents a checkered past. Though it is not extreme criminal behavior, it amounts to more than youthful transgressions. There are two facts from Taylor’s case that stand out to me. The first is that there was a break in at Taylor’s home 8 days before the shooting. Taylor was not home and a knife was left on his bed. Rather than having a security detail at his home, Taylor was content to sleep with a machete at his bedside. His girlfriend and his baby daughter stayed at the house as well. Secondly, though the attack was originally reported as a burglary, nothing was taken when Taylor was shot. Neither his girlfriend, nor daughter was injured. The second break in appears to be more of an assassination than a robbery. We will have to wait for more facts to come out before determining whether or not the shooting was related to Taylor’s past.
Young deaths, with young parents involved, are most often, the hardest to take. It’s hoped that a certain respect is granted to the dead. While I understand that jokes or mockeries of the dead can be taken as insulting, I feel there is nothing wrong with pointing to some of Taylor’s past behavior problems may have contributed to his murder. Many are quick to point out that Taylor has really grown as a person since becoming a Father. While parenthood is an important and life-changing experience, it does not absolve sins of the past. Michael Wilbon’s comments may be premature, but they are not incendiary or disrespectful. Asking tough questions is often how crimes like this are solved.
