What a waste! It is so tragic to see these talented people who for whatever reason can't seem to stay away from chaos and trouble.
24 years old left a girlfriend and baby daughter

his poor baby was IN THE HOUSE.
they cut the phone lines. 8 days ago someone broke in and left a knife on his bed.


how DARE someone take a father... who was actually TRYING to be a good dad, and cleaning up his shit... and just rip that away.


it makes me sick.

we should try to take comfort in the fact that he was able to pass in what seemed to be an upswing in his life. doing his very best.

peace, meast.

How exactly did his shit need cleaning? Sean Taylor was never the villain that ESPN (and others) tried to make him out to be.

It is sad news, indeed.

well, he did spit on another player and a dui and an armed assault. not saying he was ever a bad guy, just saying it seems like he was really trying to make a better life than he had been living for his family.

Why even bring that stuff up? "Cleaning up his shit" implies something a lot worse then being FALSELY arrested for a DUI or pleading guilty to one (1) misdemeanor battery charge and one (1) misdemeanor assault charge. Oh yeah, and he spit on somebody during a game. A real monster he was.

The guy was killed while defending his fiancee and his baby. His memory should be honored. I don't see the point of bringing up his so-called "shit". You don't even quantify that his DUI arrest was completely bogus.

why do you have to start an argument over EVERYTHING? i was saying how WONDERFUL it is that this man was making a real effort to be GOOD person. i was not slamming his past. lord knows everyone has one. the fact that he HAD a past viewed by some in a negative light makes this even MORE heatbreaking because even after making a fool of himself in a public eye, he got up, dusted off and got better for his CHILD and his GIRLFRIEND. it doesnt matter if he had never committed a crime in his life. he publicly committed to making his life better for his family. that is commendable, and you should quit arguing and trying to twist things.

:standing up while wildly applauding:

I'm not twisting anything. I just find it highly suspicious that you evidently felt the need to refer to "cleaning up his shit" when he's not even in the ground yet. If you want to impugn his character, you should be more specific. Say he spit on someone during a game. Say he was falsely arrested for a bogus DUI. Say that he pleaded to two misdemeanors relating to confronting people that stole from him. Your comment about him was so ambiguous that it leads people to think things that aren't true. For instance, "a dui" sounds like, I don't know, he was actually convicted of driving under the influence. In reality, he was falsely arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence. There's a big difference.

Wow. That has got to be embarrassing.

i'm not sure how "cleaning up his shit" is an attack on his character. again i say. i am not going to argue with you over the merits of a dead man. i never said he was CONVICTED of anything. i was saying that those are the things he PUBLICLY COMMITTED to changing about his life. now how about you get one, and let the poor man rest in peace!?

i'm done with this thread, because i am not going to argue while some poor girl, who is my age, cries with her baby, who is my daughter's age.

i hope everyone who knew him remembers the good things he was doing with his life, and i hope when his daughter grows up and his girlfriend grows old, they can remember through their pain that he was doing this for THEM, because he LOVED them.

QUOTE

Redskins' Taylor Dies Day After Shooting
This undated handout provided by the NFL shows Washington Redskins football ...


[b]By MATT SEDENSKY, AP
48 minutes ago // [/b]
MIAMI —

Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor died early Tuesday, a day after the Pro Bowl player was shot at home by what police say was an intruder. He was 24. Family friend Richard Sharpstein said Taylor's father told him the news around 5:30 a.m.

"His father called and said he was with Christ and he cried and thanked me," said Sharpstein, Taylor's former lawyer. "It's a tremendously sad and unnecessary event. He was a wonderful, humble, talented young man, and had a huge life in front of him. Obviously God had other plans."

Taylor died at Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he had been airlifted after the shooting early Monday, Sharpstein said.

Two carloads of mourners, including the athlete's father, arrived at the house Tuesday morning. They remained inside and did not speak to reporters. A single bouquet of flowers was left by a palm tree just outside a front gate. Beside the mailbox, an untouched newspaper lay with news of Taylor's shooting.

Doctors had been encouraged late Monday when Taylor squeezed a nurse's hand, according to Vinny Cerrato, the Redskins' vice president of football operations. But Sharpstein said he was told Taylor never regained consciousness after being transported to the hospital and that he wasn't sure how he had squeezed the nurse's hand.

"Maybe he was trying to say goodbye or something," Sharpstein said.

Taylor, the fifth overall pick in the 2004 NFL draft following an All-American season at the University of Miami, was shot early Monday in the upper leg, damaging the key femoral artery and causing significant blood loss.

"According to a preliminary investigation, it appears that the victim was shot inside the home by an intruder," Miami-Dade County police said in a statement. "We do not have a subject description at this time."

But police were still investigating the attack, which came just eight days after an intruder was reported at Taylor's home. Officers were sent to the home about 1:45 a.m. Monday after Taylor's girlfriend called 911.

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, but neither she nor Taylor's girlfriend were injured.

Police found signs of forced entry, but have not determined if they were caused Monday, or the previous burglary.

The shooting happened in the pale yellow house he bought two years ago. Eight days before the attack 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 Detective Mario Rachid said, "to see if there's any correlation."

Taylor's death comes nearly a year after Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was killed in a drive-by shooting following an argument at a Denver nightclub on Jan. 1. University of Miami defensive lineman Bryan Pata was shot to death in November 2006 several miles from Taylor's home in an unsolved killing.

Taylor starred as a running back and defensive back at Gulliver Prep in Miami. His father, Pedro Taylor, is police chief of Florida City.

A private man with a small inner circle, Taylor rarely granted interviews. But, behind the scenes, Taylor was described as personable and smart _ an emerging locker room leader.

"From the first day I met him, from then to now, it's just like night and day," Redskins receiver James Thrash said Monday. "He's really got his head on his shoulders and has been doing really well as far as just being a man. It's been awesome to see that growth."

After Taylor was drafted, problems soon began. Taylor fired his agent, then skipped part of the NFL's mandatory rookie symposium, drawing a $25,000 fine. Driving home late from a party during the season, he was pulled over and charged with drunken driving. The case was dismissed in court, but by then it had become a months-long distraction for the Redskins.

Taylor also was fined at least seven times for late hits, uniform violations and other infractions over his first three seasons, including a $17,000 penalty for spitting in the face of Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a 2006 playoff game.

Meanwhile, Taylor endured a yearlong legal battle after he was accused in 2005 of brandishing a gun at a man during a fight over allegedly stolen all-terrain vehicles near Taylor's home. He eventually pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to 18 months' probation.

Taylor said the end of the assault case was like "a gray cloud" being lifted. It was also around the time that his daughter was born, and teammates noticed a change.

"It's hard to expect a man to grow up overnight," said teammate and close friend Clinton Portis, who played with Taylor at 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."

On the field, Taylor's play was often erratic. Assistant coach Gregg Williams frequently called Taylor the best athlete he'd ever coached, but nearly every big play was mitigated by a blown assignment. Taylor led the NFL in missed tackles in 2006 yet made the Pro Bowl because of his reputation as one of the hardest hitters in the league.

This year, however, Taylor was allowed to play a true free safety position, using his speed and power to chase down passes and crush would-be receivers. His five interceptions tie for the league lead in the NFC, even though he missed the last two games because of a sprained knee.

"I just take this job very seriously," Taylor said in a rare group interview during training camp. "It's almost like, you play a kid's game for a king's ransom. And if you don't take it serious enough, eventually one day you're going to say, 'Oh, I could have done this, I could have done that.'

"So I just say, 'I'm healthy right now, I'm going into my fourth year, and why not do the best that I can?' And that's whatever it is, whether it's eating right or training myself right, whether it's studying harder, whatever I can do to better myself."

His hard work was well-noted.

"He loved football. He felt like that's what he was made to do," Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said. "And I think what I've noticed over the last year and a half ... is he matured. I think his baby had a huge impact on him. There was a real growing up in his life."

Bent- Take a pill dude! you get way too distraught over the smallest comment.

She was obviously referring to the MANY stories (right or wrong/ guilty or not guilty) that have been widely publicized. Lets not turn this guys death into a pissing contest about ESPN's unfair coverage of this poor guy.

Coach Gibbs said basically the same thing as CD...and you know he is always startin' crap...

Why does anyone need to smear someone on the day they die? I just don't get it. Especially when what they allude to is incorrect.

Yes, Coach Gibbs. This is the same guy that suspended Sean Taylor for a game without pay after he had been falsely arrested for DUI.

Just because your hotshot lawyers beat the rap for you doesn't mean it was a false arrest.

Virtually every teammate/friend said the same kind of thing -- since his daughter was born he became a new man, was really straightening out, etc.

ST was no saint, BC. Get over it!

That's not what happened. The judge dismissed the charge for lack of evidence.



Really? Did any of them use the day of his death to say that he had been "cleaning up his shit"? He did of his teammates say that he had a DUI?



If you got nothing nice to say about the man, just don't say anything.

Bentcorner, are y'all related to Sean?

More media hype is being played to this guy than when a firefighter or police officer dies protecting someone.

Oh wait, there was an opportunity in here to bash police on a supposed false arrest.

He was a football player, lots more people die that contribute a whole hell of a lot more to society than this guy. And they get a whole hell of a lot less recognition.

Sorry he's dead, and sorry for his relatives' loss, but let's not attach idol status to this guy.

It wasn't a supposed false arrest. I'm not saying anyone should worship the man or treat him as an idol. I just think using the day of his death to speak ill of him and to say things about him that simply aren't true is just wrong.

Well, that's your opinion, and you're certainly entitled to it.

And i think you're idolizing this man way too much.

? U mean we should wait until he's in the ground? Or just til tomorrow? Sorry, could not resist. a little levity is needed..

"Virtually every teammate/friend said the same kind of thing -- since his daughter was born he became a new man, was really straightening out, etc. "

What man doesn't make an attempt to change his life after the birth of their child. This is what he was working on. I"m not condoning his behavior from the age of 20 -22 but give the KID credit , he was making every effort to become a responsible parent/teammate. I'm sure each and everyone of you was a saint between the ages of 20-22.(sarcasam)
Unfortunately in this case, where he tried to move on from his past, his past wouldn't let him move on.....

Well said. That's too bad.

No, not at all, and even if it was, it's wouldn't be nearly as embarassing as being known as "Bentcorner, the guy on the forum who's always nit-picking, twisting things around and whining".

Sheesh.

Please. You have no business accusing anyone of whining. Even though you said you knew you were going to take heat for saying that you wanted someone cut-throat enough to take aid from starving children and give it back to the American people, you still whined and pouted when I called you on it.

Regardless of how you feel about the media frenzy about this, it all comes down to the fact that a young life has been snuffed out and another child is fatherless. A father and family is grieving the loss of a son and friends have lost a valued companion. Many of us who were looking forward to watching him develop in his sport and his communities will never know how truly great he might have become; could he have been another Darrell Green, who's life ultimately became so much more than football? I'd like to think so, but unfortunately we'll never know.

Now that the Skin's are back from the funeral, we'll see if they can get some practice in and play a good game Thursday night. Not much time for closure. Oy.