what a shame

1983-2007

I'm a little late in paying my respects, but I was a big fan of Sean Taylor. I used to follow NCAA football pretty closely in my late teens/early 20's, and have always had an affinity for University of Miami players...and knew who Sean was when he was drafted. That school just produces 'players'...and Sean was one of the best to come out of 'The U'.

In his 4 seasons in the NFL with the Redskins, Taylor went from being a hard hitting safety known for bone crunching hits, to a Pro-Bowl calibre defensive player and team leader. This season, despite missing a few games with an injury, he had 5 INT's to lead the NFL and looked ready to take the next step into stardom. I've even had him on my fantasy football team a few times over the years...I'm loyal when it come to guys I choose for my team, and I just really liked him. He was very media shy (he had a long standing distrust of the media), and he didn't do interviews, so he wasn’t really a ‘well known’ personality like a T.O. or a Chad Johnson...but he did all his talking on the field. He did have a few run ins with authority early in his career (both on and off the field) but seemed to have matured in the last year or so. But when it came to playing the game, there were few players who were as feared and respected as him…and he was only 24 years old.

The fact that he was gunned down in his own home, in his bedroom…is bone chilling. The real reason may never come out, but my gut says that it wasn't random...apparently there were a lot of people who didn’t like him or had beef with him from his days growing up in Miami and someone probably didn't like the fact that he was a successful pro football player and trying to put the 'other stuff' behind him...its just a real shame. {EDIT: News of 3 people being detained in connection with Taylor’s murder came in this morning……and early indications are that it was a random burglary gone wrong. Apparently 3 men, 2 of whom are teenagers, heard that Sean Taylor lived in the house and was a rich NFL player, and thought that he would be out of town with the Redskins. I still stand by my feeling that there’s more to it than that…but if in fact is was a random crime, it brings up a whole other issue regarding wealthy athletes and their safety. 3 NBA players were victims of home invasions/robberies recently, and numerous others have had jewelry and other valuables stolen, sometimes at gunpoint. Sort of puts all those stories of pro athletes carrying weapons and walking around with huge entourages into perspective, doesn’t it?}

My thoughts are with his family, friends and teammates.