Sean Taylor Dead At 24
I generally try to keep my passion for sports and, more specifically, the Washington Redskins, removed from these pages, but today one of the single greatest tragedies in National Football League history befell my beloved hometown team. Sean Taylor, perhaps my favorite defensive player of all-time, was shot in the leg at his home during a break-in in the early hours of Monday morning and died this morning in a Miami hospital after losing massive amounts of blood sustained from the wound to his femoral artery. No NFL player has died during the season since 1971, let alone one as critical to his team as Sean Taylor has been over the past four seasons.
Taylor was the heart and soul of the Redskins defense and was one of the most talented defensive players in the NFL. Drafted fifth overall in the 2004 NFL draft after a dominant collegiate career at the University of Miami, Taylor immediately established himself as one of the NFL’s most promising defensive talents and could have gone down as one of the greatest safeties of all time. His presence alone could shape an entire football game, and as a Redskins season ticket holder (and having attended the 2003 National Championship between Miami and Ohio State) I watched him establish himself as one of the most brilliant defensive talents football has ever seen. His absence over the last two games due to a knee injury sustained against Philadelphia two weeks ago is a primary reason for the Redskins current three-game losing streak, and this an unfathomably crippling blow to the team both on and off the field.
Surrounded by off-field controversy during the early years of his career, this season saw Taylor mature both as a person and a team leader after the birth of his first child. “It’s hard to expect a man to grow up overnight,” Redskins running back and Taylor’s college teammate at Miami told ESPN. “But ever since he had his child, it was like a new Sean, and everybody around here knew it. He was always smiling, always happy, always talking about his child.”
Words cannot do justice to this unspeakable tragedy (nor can music). I had my fill of DC this break and there’s a lot going on in New York this weekend, but I’ll be driving down for the Skins home game against the Bills this Sunday to pay my respects. Today the world lost one of the greatest athletic talents I’ve ever had the privilege to see perform, and he will be sorely missed by all those who ever had the pleasure of watching this young man play.
November 27th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
As a Dallas Cowboys fan this saddens me greatly. Despite our dislike for each other, great rivalries come from great players and Sean was one of the very best. A sad day.
November 27th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
And I hope you’re ok Derek!!
November 27th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
I’ve always disliked Sean as a key contributor to teams I despise. I am both a Cowboys and a Buckeyes fan (I too was at the ‘03 N.C. game), and I thus felt a great divide between my teams and his.
However, I always respected him as a player. He was an incredible talent. I honestly can’t even wrap my head around this. At all.
November 27th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
damnit that is horribly upsettting. sean was am amazing safety, which is not suprising since he did attend THE U! it saddens me that so many of the amazing players at THE U get caught up in all the bullshit off the field. i dont know if this shooting is even related to his days at miami but i have my doubts
November 27th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
OUR PRAYERS ARE WITH SEAN’S FAMILY THIS IS A GREAT LOST AT SUCH A YOUNG AGE. NO MOTHER SHOULD HAVE TO ENDURE THIS AND NO GIRLFRIEND/WIFE OR CHILD SHOULD HAVE TO SEE THIS HAPPEN TO THEIR LOVE ONE.
KEEP YOUR HEAD TURN TO GOD AND HE WILL BRING YOU THROUGH.
November 27th, 2007 at 7:59 pm
I am still shaken up by this whole event. Horrible tragedy. Terrible loss. He will be greatly missed.
Signed,
A Philadelphia Eagles Fan
November 27th, 2007 at 10:30 pm
Well said, my friend, well said….
November 28th, 2007 at 5:59 am
RIP - YNWA
November 28th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
There’s a lot of circumstantial evidence leading me to this conclusion: Somebody wanted Sean Taylor dead. He was shot in the groin, not in the chest, face or anywhere else. Telephone wires to his house were cut. Repeated break-ins and a calling card in the way of a knife left on his pillow. Taylor was sleeping with a machete under his bed (IIRC he had priors with a handgun, so to get caught with one would have been a big time violation for him…), so he was aware of a threat. Redskin officials were unaware Taylor was in Miami at the time. Nor were they aware of the break-ins. He’s been described as “mysterious” or “a private person.” Taken as a whole, this points to a whole lot more going on in Taylor’s world that nobody knew.
It’s going to be a very interesting and compelling police investigation. There are a lot of questions to be answered.
November 29th, 2007 at 9:56 am
R.I.P. #36/21
you will be missed.
you hide your love of the skins very well. you should let it out more.
HAIL TO THE REDSKINS.
November 29th, 2007 at 11:28 am
:(
Terrible loss, my condolences to his family, friends, team, and the fans.
December 4th, 2007 at 6:38 am
Well done! Very informative.
Very much it was pleasant to me