Sean Taylor died
bigbadbill
Posts: 1,758
The Redskin football player, who was shot in the leg at his Miami home from a robbery, died.
The story hasn't hit the internet yet, but here's the story of what happened:
Redskins safety Sean Taylor shot in Florida, in critical condition
By MATT SEDENSKY, Associated Press Writer
November 27, 2007
Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor (21) meets with some children after practice at the NFL football team's training camp at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va., in this Aug. 2, 2007 file photo. Taylor was shot at his home in Palmetto Bay, Fla., Monday Nov. 26, 2007 and was in critical condition, and police are investigating a possible robbery.
AP - Nov 26, 12:43 pm EST
More Photos
PALMETTO BAY, Fla. (AP) -- Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor remained hospitalized early Tuesday after being shot in the leg in his home the day before.
Doctors were encouraged late Monday night when he responded to simple commands after several hours of surgery.
"He was responsive to the doctor's request to squeeze his hand and show facial expression, and so the doctors were very happy about that," said Vinny Cerrato, the Redskins' vice president of football operations. "They told us to hope for a miracle, and I think the positive news we got was extremely good news."
The 24-year-old player was shot in the upper leg, damaging an artery and causing significant blood loss. Family members were concerned that he could have permanent brain damage.
"The doctors are being very guarded about their prognosis," said family friend Richard Sharpstein, Taylor's former lawyer. "They're being a little bit skeptical about either whether he might make it or whether it might cause some permanent brain injury."
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Miami-Dade Police were investigating the attack, which came just eight days after an intruder was reported at Taylor's home. Officers were dispatched about 1:45 a.m. Monday after Taylor's girlfriend called 911. Taylor was airlifted to the hospital.
Sharpstein said Taylor's girlfriend told him the couple was awakened by loud noises, and Taylor grabbed a machete he keeps in the bedroom for protection. Someone then broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one missing and one hitting Taylor, Sharpstein said. Taylor's 1-year-old daughter, Jackie, was also in the house at the time, but neither she nor Taylor's girlfriend were injured.
"It could have been a possible burglary; it could have been a possible robbery," Miami-Dade Police Lt. Nancy Perez said. "It has not been confirmed as yet."
Taylor was shot at the pale yellow house he bought two years ago in the Miami suburb of Palmetto Bay. Taylor played at the University of Miami, where he was an All-American in 2003, and was also a high school standout in the city. His father, Pedro Taylor, is the police chief of Florida City.
Known as one of the NFL's hardest hitters, Taylor played in his first Pro Bowl last season. He is tied for the NFC lead this season with five interceptions, despite missing the past two games with a sprained knee. He did not travel with the Redskins to Sunday's 19-13 loss at Tampa Bay because of the injury.
Taylor had a troublesome first two years in the NFL after he was drafted No. 5 overall by the Redskins in 2004, but he had mostly behaved after his daughter was born in May 2006.
"It's hard to expect a man to grow up overnight," said Redskins teammate and close friend Clinton Portis, who also played with Taylor at the University of Miami. "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."
Taylor has been fined at least seven times during his professional career for late hits and other infractions. He was also fined $25,000 for skipping a mandatory rookie symposium shortly after he was drafted.
In 2005, Taylor was accused of brandishing a gun at a man during a fight over some all-terrain vehicles that had allegedly been stolen. Last year, he reached a deal in which he pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to 18 months' probation. The pleas prompted another fine from the NFL, but kept his football career intact.
Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor is chased by the Arizona Cardinals after Taylor made a first-quarter interception during an NFL football game in Landover, Md., in this Oct. 21, 2007 file photo. Taylor was shot at his home Monday Nov. 26, 2007 and was in critical condition, and police are investigating a possible robbery.
AP - Nov 26, 12:37 pm EST
More Photos
Redskins coaches and players have defended Taylor, saying he was smart and misunderstood. Taylor has been slow to let anyone in his inner circle and has rarely spoken to reporters, saying he doesn't trust them.
The shooting came about a week after someone pried open a front window, rifled through drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed at Taylor's home, according to police.
"They're really sifting through that incident and today's incident," Miami-Dade Police Detective Mario Rachid said, "to see if there's any correlation."
Taylor called coach Joe Gibbs on Nov. 19 to let him know he'd miss that morning's regular team meeting because he was in Florida dealing with the first break-in.
"I said, 'I understand that.' I said, 'Take care of your house and everything you have to there,"' Gibbs recalled.
Taylor returned to the Washington area and had treatment on his knee, Gibbs said, adding he wasn't aware the player then went back to Florida over the weekend.
A group of fans held a two-hour vigil Monday evening in the rain outside Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va. Gibbs was joined by the team chaplain at the Redskins' usual Monday meeting, and a small group of players held a separate prayer gathering.
"This is not just a member of the Washington Redskins," safety Pierson Prioleau said. "But we're talking about a dad, a brother, a friend of ours, and that's where we're at with this right now."
With his team 5-6 and coming off three consecutive losses, Gibbs was asked how he'll prepare players to focus on their next game, at home Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.
"I don't know. I can't answer that," Gibbs said. "I've never been through this. I've never been through anything like this."
AP Sports Writers Howard Fendrich and Joseph White in Ashburn, Va., and Associated Press writer Jessica Gresko in Miami contributed to this report.
The story hasn't hit the internet yet, but here's the story of what happened:
Redskins safety Sean Taylor shot in Florida, in critical condition
By MATT SEDENSKY, Associated Press Writer
November 27, 2007
Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor (21) meets with some children after practice at the NFL football team's training camp at Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va., in this Aug. 2, 2007 file photo. Taylor was shot at his home in Palmetto Bay, Fla., Monday Nov. 26, 2007 and was in critical condition, and police are investigating a possible robbery.
AP - Nov 26, 12:43 pm EST
More Photos
PALMETTO BAY, Fla. (AP) -- Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor remained hospitalized early Tuesday after being shot in the leg in his home the day before.
Doctors were encouraged late Monday night when he responded to simple commands after several hours of surgery.
"He was responsive to the doctor's request to squeeze his hand and show facial expression, and so the doctors were very happy about that," said Vinny Cerrato, the Redskins' vice president of football operations. "They told us to hope for a miracle, and I think the positive news we got was extremely good news."
The 24-year-old player was shot in the upper leg, damaging an artery and causing significant blood loss. Family members were concerned that he could have permanent brain damage.
"The doctors are being very guarded about their prognosis," said family friend Richard Sharpstein, Taylor's former lawyer. "They're being a little bit skeptical about either whether he might make it or whether it might cause some permanent brain injury."
ADVERTISEMENT
Miami-Dade Police were investigating the attack, which came just eight days after an intruder was reported at Taylor's home. Officers were dispatched about 1:45 a.m. Monday after Taylor's girlfriend called 911. Taylor was airlifted to the hospital.
Sharpstein said Taylor's girlfriend told him the couple was awakened by loud noises, and Taylor grabbed a machete he keeps in the bedroom for protection. Someone then broke through the bedroom door and fired two shots, one missing and one hitting Taylor, Sharpstein said. Taylor's 1-year-old daughter, Jackie, was also in the house at the time, but neither she nor Taylor's girlfriend were injured.
"It could have been a possible burglary; it could have been a possible robbery," Miami-Dade Police Lt. Nancy Perez said. "It has not been confirmed as yet."
Taylor was shot at the pale yellow house he bought two years ago in the Miami suburb of Palmetto Bay. Taylor played at the University of Miami, where he was an All-American in 2003, and was also a high school standout in the city. His father, Pedro Taylor, is the police chief of Florida City.
Known as one of the NFL's hardest hitters, Taylor played in his first Pro Bowl last season. He is tied for the NFC lead this season with five interceptions, despite missing the past two games with a sprained knee. He did not travel with the Redskins to Sunday's 19-13 loss at Tampa Bay because of the injury.
Taylor had a troublesome first two years in the NFL after he was drafted No. 5 overall by the Redskins in 2004, but he had mostly behaved after his daughter was born in May 2006.
"It's hard to expect a man to grow up overnight," said Redskins teammate and close friend Clinton Portis, who also played with Taylor at the University of Miami. "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."
Taylor has been fined at least seven times during his professional career for late hits and other infractions. He was also fined $25,000 for skipping a mandatory rookie symposium shortly after he was drafted.
In 2005, Taylor was accused of brandishing a gun at a man during a fight over some all-terrain vehicles that had allegedly been stolen. Last year, he reached a deal in which he pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to 18 months' probation. The pleas prompted another fine from the NFL, but kept his football career intact.
Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor is chased by the Arizona Cardinals after Taylor made a first-quarter interception during an NFL football game in Landover, Md., in this Oct. 21, 2007 file photo. Taylor was shot at his home Monday Nov. 26, 2007 and was in critical condition, and police are investigating a possible robbery.
AP - Nov 26, 12:37 pm EST
More Photos
Redskins coaches and players have defended Taylor, saying he was smart and misunderstood. Taylor has been slow to let anyone in his inner circle and has rarely spoken to reporters, saying he doesn't trust them.
The shooting came about a week after someone pried open a front window, rifled through drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed at Taylor's home, according to police.
"They're really sifting through that incident and today's incident," Miami-Dade Police Detective Mario Rachid said, "to see if there's any correlation."
Taylor called coach Joe Gibbs on Nov. 19 to let him know he'd miss that morning's regular team meeting because he was in Florida dealing with the first break-in.
"I said, 'I understand that.' I said, 'Take care of your house and everything you have to there,"' Gibbs recalled.
Taylor returned to the Washington area and had treatment on his knee, Gibbs said, adding he wasn't aware the player then went back to Florida over the weekend.
A group of fans held a two-hour vigil Monday evening in the rain outside Redskins Park in Ashburn, Va. Gibbs was joined by the team chaplain at the Redskins' usual Monday meeting, and a small group of players held a separate prayer gathering.
"This is not just a member of the Washington Redskins," safety Pierson Prioleau said. "But we're talking about a dad, a brother, a friend of ours, and that's where we're at with this right now."
With his team 5-6 and coming off three consecutive losses, Gibbs was asked how he'll prepare players to focus on their next game, at home Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.
"I don't know. I can't answer that," Gibbs said. "I've never been through this. I've never been through anything like this."
AP Sports Writers Howard Fendrich and Joseph White in Ashburn, Va., and Associated Press writer Jessica Gresko in Miami contributed to this report.
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Comments
it happened within 2 miles of my house.
horrible.
07 8/5 Lolla 8/2 VIC
06 7/22,23 Gorge 7/20 Ptl
04 10/8 VFC Kissimmee
03 4/11 WPB, 4/12 HOB Orlando, 7/8,9 MSG
00 8/24 Jones Bch 8/9,10 WPB
1998 9/22,23 WPB 1996 10/7 Ft Laud 1994 3/28 Miami
I am kind of curious to why he was targeted.... his house was broken into twice last week, and now this. Someone was trying to get him for something.
was like a picture
of a sunny day
“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.”
― Abraham Lincoln
seems like nothing was stolen in any of the break ins...
and when this happened on sunday, the phone line was cut.
scary :(
07 8/5 Lolla 8/2 VIC
06 7/22,23 Gorge 7/20 Ptl
04 10/8 VFC Kissimmee
03 4/11 WPB, 4/12 HOB Orlando, 7/8,9 MSG
00 8/24 Jones Bch 8/9,10 WPB
1998 9/22,23 WPB 1996 10/7 Ft Laud 1994 3/28 Miami
Just when he got things turned around this shit comes back to get him, complete tradgedy. What a bummer man.
with an illegal smile
it don't cost very much
but it lasts a long while
won't you please tell the man
i didn't kill anyone
i'm just tryin to have me some fun
Horrible losing someone in the prime of their life and career
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
The whole thing has hit this town hard, just when he turned his life around. I wish all the best and pray for the Taylor Family.
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
Once I get out of this town
9/29/04;6/27/08;6/30/08;8/23/09;08/24/09;5/17/10
If he did why shoot him in the leg?
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)
Maybe there was a struggle ?
I doubt he went quitely
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
wow....I'm sure he didn't stand still
There is a rumor circulating that he slept with some dude's girl and that the dude tried to shoot him in the family jewels-phone line cut-sounds like hitman to me.
just a rumor and dont shoot the messenger
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/27/AR2007112702680_Comments.html
Dying Young, Black
By Michael Wilbon
Wednesday, November 28, 2007; Page E01
If you're hoping to read about the on-field exploits of Sean Taylor, or a retrospective of his time with the Washington Redskins, it would probably be better if you cast your eyes to a piece elsewhere in this newspaper.
Seriously, you should stop right here.
Because we're going to have a different conversation in this space -- about the violent and senseless nature of the act that took his life, about trying to change course when those around you might not embrace such a change, about dying young and black in America, about getting the hell out of Dodge if at all possible.
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.
It wasn't long after avoiding jail time and holding on to his football career that Taylor essentially said, "That's it, I'm out," to the world of glamorized violence he seemed comfortable negotiating earlier. Anybody you talk to, from Coach Joe Gibbs to Jeremy Shockey, his college teammate, will cite chapter and verse as to how Taylor was changing his life in obvious ways every day. He had a daughter he took everywhere. Gibbs said he attended team chapel services regularly. Everybody saw a difference, yet it didn't help him avoid a violent, fatal, tragic end.
Coincidence? We have no idea, not yet anyway. Could have been a random act, a break-in, something that happens every day in America, something that could happen to any one of us no matter how safe we think our neighborhood is. Could have been just that. But would it surprise me if it was more than that, if there was a distinct reason Taylor was sleeping with a machete under his bed? A machete. Even though his attorney and friend Richard Sharpstein says his instincts tell him "this was not a murder or a hit," would it stun me if Taylor was specifically targeted? Not one bit.
You 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.
Here's something we know: People close to Taylor, people he trusted to advise him, told him he'd be better off if he left South Florida, that anybody looking for him could find him in the suburbs of Miami just as easily as they could have found him at the U a few years ago. I'm told that Taylor was told to go north, to forget about Miami. I can understand why he would want to have a spot in or near his home town, but I sure wish he hadn't.
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.
The kid who becomes a pharmaceutical rep has the same call to make as the lawyer or delivery guy or accountant or sportswriter or football player: Cut off anybody who might do harm, even those who have been friends from the sandbox, or go along to get along.
Mainstream folks -- and, yes, this is a code word for white folks -- see high-profile athletes dealing with this dilemma and think it's specific to them, while black folks know it's everyday stuff for everybody, for kids with aspirations of all kinds -- even for a middle-class kid with a police-chief father, such as Taylor -- from South Central to Southeast to the South Side. Some do, some don't. Some will, some won't. Some can, some cannot. Often it's gut-wrenching. Usually, it's necessary. For some, it takes a little bit too long.
A recently retired future Hall of Fame NFL player called me the day Taylor was drafted by the Redskins, essentially recruiting a mentor for Taylor, somebody who knew D.C. well enough to tell Taylor what and who to avoid. The old pro thought Taylor wasn't that far from a pretty safe path but was worried about the trouble that can find a kid here in D.C., and certainly in Miami. The old pro had all the right instincts, didn't he? Taylor was only 24 when he died yesterday morning and from all credible accounts he seemed to be getting it in the last 18 months or so. But it's difficult to outrun the past, even with 4.4 speed in the 40. Running away from the kind of trouble we're talking about is harder than running in quicksand.
It's senseless and tragic either way, much in the same way Len Bias's death was senseless and tragic, and sparked so much examination, much of it resented. I drove to Redskins Park yesterday morning and left rather quickly. It was way too much like the aftermath of Bias's death. We, the media, were camped out. Teammates walked in, not wanting to say anything, understandably. Some things are eerily similar. Bias was 22. Each had been with his institution, Bias at Maryland and Taylor with the Redskins, for four years. Everywhere you went in D.C. yesterday, Taylor was the conversation. And people of a certain age, from Dulles International Airport to Georgia Avenue, talked about how they were reminded of Bias's death. For many of us it's a defining moment in our lives.
Of course, there are enormous differences. We were so much more innocent in June 1986, and Bias's death was a complete shock. There was no warning, no hint that he had ever courted danger or that it had ever gone looking for him. And Bias, though unintentionally, harmed himself. Taylor, no matter what he might have been involved in at one time, was a victim in this violent episode, a man in his bedroom minding his own business.
But what they do share is dying too soon, unnecessarily so, while young and athletic, seemingly on top of the world. Though we're likely to struggle in great frustration to understand the circumstances of how Taylor left so soon, how dare we not put forth an honest if sometimes uncomfortable effort to examine his life in some greater context than football.
The ONLY thing better than a glass of beer is tea with Miss McGill
A protuberance of flesh above the waistband of a tight pair of trousers
http://www.myspace.com/brain_of_c
I can remember Len Bias's death as he was drafted by the Boston Celtics and looking foward to playing with Larry Bird. That would have been awesome but too many young black men die early just like in another tradegy like Sean Taylor.
Peace
*MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
.....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti
*The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)