So I am sure most of you are aware of this whole Sean Taylor story.
From everything I've read on the internet since Sean Taylor's death, to say that people are up-in-arms would be an understatement. So naturally, I would like to share my two cents worth. There are two things that are really bugging me about all of this.
Number One:
The death of Sean Taylor is obviously tragic. When any human being loses their life, especially when the cause is murder, it's always too soon and never makes any sense. It is always a tragedy when something like this happens. I feel so bad for Sean Taylor's family, friends and those who loved this guy. I really do.
But it seems that his death has sparked quite the controversy. And the best way I would sum up this controversy is like this: Some people are offended that anyone would talk about or bring up Sean Taylor's "checkered" past, now that he is dead.
And then there are the people/reporters/analysts/bloggers who are saying that Sean Taylor's death was 'hardly surprising.' This seems to be pissing a fair amount of people off as well. I also don't get why these people are so mad.
I don't get why we can't be honest about the type of person Sean Taylor was, just because he has passed away. I really don't get it. There are good people that die in this world and there are horrible criminals who die in this world. Just because they die doesn't change the type of person they were when they were alive. Dying doesn't change what their actions were while they were alive.
Now I'm not implying that Sean Taylor was one of these "horrible criminals" that has died. He was probably a really good dude. I probably would have liked the guy. I don't know, I didn't know him personally. But no one can deny the fact that he didn't exactly live the safest, lowest-risk lifestyle. He has had trouble with the law, as has been mentioned over and over. But he also was trying to change his ways, as has also been mentioned. Still, he was hardly a saint.
For whatever reason though, it looks like he was not able to separate himself enough from some kind of bad influence. And ultimately he paid for that with his life. I just wish that more people could be "real" about this kind of thing. Specifically with Sean Taylor, luckily a couple people have.
Michael Wilbon and Jason Whitlock have written articles about Sean Taylor that I think are very good. They both make very good points. Points that I think are getting lost.
Here are some excerpts from the Jason Whitlock column:
The Black KKK claimed another victim, a high-profile professional football player with a checkered past this time.
No, we don't know for certain the circumstances surrounding Taylor's death. I could very well be proven wrong for engaging in this sort of aggressive speculation. But it's no different than if you saw a fat man fall to the ground clutching his chest. You'd assume a heart attack, and you'd know, no matter the cause, the man needed to lose weight.
Well, when shots are fired and a black man hits the pavement, there's every statistical reason to believe another black man pulled the trigger. That's not some negative, unfair stereotype. It's a reality we've been living with, tolerating and rationalizing for far too long.
No disrespect to Taylor, but he controlled the way he would be remembered by the way he lived. His immature, undisciplined behavior with his employer, his run-ins with law enforcement, which included allegedly threatening a man with a loaded gun, and the fact a vehicle he owned was once sprayed with bullets are all pertinent details when you've been murdered.
And here is some from Wilbon's column:
I wasn't surprised in the least when I heard the news Monday morning that Sean Taylor had been shot in his home by an intruder. Angry? Yes. Surprised? Not even a little. It was only in June 2006 that Taylor, originally charged with a felony, pleaded no contest to assault and battery charges after brandishing a gun during a battle over who took his all-terrain vehicles in Florida. After that, an angry crew pulled up on Taylor and his boys and pumped at least 15 bullets into his sport-utility vehicle. So why would anybody be surprised? Had it been Shawn Springs, I would have been stunned. But not Sean Taylor.
See, just because Taylor was changing his life, don't assume the people who pumped 15 bullets into his SUV a couple of years ago were in the process of changing theirs. Maybe it was them, maybe not. Maybe it was somebody else who had a beef with Taylor a year earlier, maybe not. Maybe it was retribution or envy or some volatile combination.
The issue of separating yourself from a harmful environment is a recurring theme in the life of black men. It has nothing to do with football, or Sean Taylor or even sports. To frame it as a sports issue is as insulting as it is naive. Most of us, perhaps even the great majority of us who grew up in big urban communities, have to make a decision at some point to hang out or get out.
Just to put a little bit more perspective on what Whitlock and Wilbon are saying here, they are both African American men. They probably know a thing or two about what they're talking about.
So I don't mean to go on and on here, I know this post is really long. There is just a lot to this subject that is going on right now.
Number Two:
And this one will be quick. I am kind of troubled that everyone across the country is so horribly shaken by this tragedy of losing a young, star NFL football player. And like I said before, it's awful and a horrible thing. I feel sad for his family, friends, etc. But I don't think it's appropriate for me to mourn or change my life in any way.
That sounds harshly insensitive, but I look at it this way. There are a lot of people that I don't even know die every single day. I didn't know Sean Taylor. And even though his death was a horrible and sad thing, I don't think its any more tragic than this story. A woman in a wheel chair got killed by a van when she was crossing the street.
I just don't think that because Sean Taylor was a professional athlete and a celebrity, that we should pay more attention to his death, than the countless number of people who die all the time.
That is all. Hope this post makes some sense. And I hope I didn't sound too insensitive or offend anyone.
