Comments on: Mystery, sorrow surround Sean Taylor's death

Mystery, sorrow surround Sean Taylor's death

Autarky — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:26:35 -0800

Sean Taylor died on Tuesday after being shot by an intruder in his home. The police are probing, but nobody is sure what exactly happened.

Some think it was random. Others do not. There was a mixed reaction from the media, with some trying to make it a racial issue (previously). In part because there aren't many details, and in part because the media never really knew him, there was a lot of speculation surrounding his death, with few details ever coming to light. Because the media is it's own ~~pimp~~ ombudsman, many in the media were critical of the media's coverage. His current and former teammates, the rest of the league, and his family are all trying to cope.

By: dhammond

dhammond — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:34:29 -0800

I can't find the statistics right now, but I am fairly certain that the vast majority of murders are committed by someone who knew the victim. And this case, in particular, doesn't seem likely to be random. Either way, very sad. And I'm glad you posted this. If some semi-obscure indie rocker was gunned down in their home, I bet we would have seen it on the blue rather quickly. Athletes have to wait a few days.

By: kittens for breakfast

kittens for breakfast — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:53:28 -0800

It's kind of a weird criticism, dhammond -- news that's been everywhere else trickling back here slowly doesn't sound like a terrible thing, and if we could extend "slowly" to "never" for the Britneys, Lindsays, Parises, et al, I for one think that'd be great. But that's kind of beside the point...this is a sad thing, and it's certainly been a big deal here in the Metro DC area. It goes without saying, but I too hope they find the shooter.

By: dhammond

dhammond — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:02:01 -0800

if we could extend "slowly" to "never" for the Britneys, Lindsays, Parises, et al, I for one think that'd be great. I phrased my point badly. I just think it's interesting that will all the topics we discuss around here, sports-related stuff seems very far down the list. Considering the regularity of single-link obit filter (of which I'm rarely a fan), it's interesting that a story this big didn't pop up sooner. Not surprising, though.

By: Cyrano

Cyrano — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 21:56:15 -0800

If some semi-obscure indie rocker was gunned down in their home, I bet we would have seen it on the blue rather quickly. The DimeBag Darrell Effect?

By: spock

spock — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:22:10 -0800

Two-day-old-newsfilter.

By: Autarky

Autarky — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 22:27:37 -0800

Two-day-old-newsfilter Does that mean we should call 1920s photos of New York City "87-year-old-photosfilter"? 1. This hasn't been posted yet (to my knowledge) 2. This thread is also about reactions from the media and players. There's a difference between a post saying "sean taylor is dead" and a post saying "sean taylor is dead, here's what everyone is saying about it". the latter can't be done moments after the news comes out.

By: gottabefunky

gottabefunky — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:10:59 -0800

Wasn't he like the 5th NFL player killed this year?

By: ericb

ericb — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:30:04 -0800

Two-day-old-newsfilter. posted by spock at 1:22 AM on November 30, 2007 [+] [!] spock. joined: November 18, 2004 Let us ignore any-and-all posts and comments that are/were posted on MetaFilter before November 18, 2004. spock -- please advise on the appropriate timeframe after which a post is considered "old," "worthless," "grizzled," etc.

By: camcgee

camcgee — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 23:53:28 -0800

Jim Rome invariably pisses me off but sometimes I find myself watching his show anyway. During his opening "burn" today, he all but blamed Sean Taylor for being murdered and I moved him several notches up in the "biggest idiots in sportscasting," which is already a crowded field.

By: bluejayk

bluejayk — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:05:43 -0800

Even as a big Redskins fan, I don't want to see an obit FPP about Sean Taylor. But I think this is a good job of putting together some interesting pages about the coverage. As a meta-media junky, I like this post.

By: ikkyu2

ikkyu2 — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 01:09:45 -0800

The last NFL player murdered was Darrent Williams, gottabefunky, he died on New Years' last year after being shot in a nightclub argument. I am following football news this year, so I heard more about Sean Taylor than I really wanted to - it's a depressing story, to me, and it doesn't have much to do with football. What it does have to do with, I think, is an epidemic of death by violence among young minority men - black and Hispanic men, largely - in the U.S.A. This epidemic is no secret. But it is like the elephant in the room in the news coverage of this particular homicide. Everyone knows about it - Clinton Portis and Vince Wilfork, two black players who spoke eloquently on TV about Taylor's character and life, certainly know about it. Bob Costas and Chris Berman and Tiki Barber know about it. Yet, not one person has brought it up. I feel like this omission is a kind of conspiracy to commit moral cowardice and it saddens me even more to think about that. Meanwhile, Najeh Davenport was arrested for beating his baby's mother - again. Coverage of this was limited to a warning to fantasy football players that he may not be a viable backup for Willie Parker. Instead of a hundred people sending their televised prayers out to someone who's going to remain dead, how about the NFL and the sports media taking some proactive measures to interrupt the cycle of violence which still affects people now living?

By: stratastar

stratastar — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:14:40 -0800

ikkyu2 - In the past week I think alot of the WaPo columnists in the post have been using the tragedy to talk about violence in the black community.

By: yerfatma

yerfatma — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:51:39 -0800

1. This hasn't been posted yet (to my knowledge) Sort of, yesterday. More links at Sportsfilter.

By: teleri025

teleri025 — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 08:25:19 -0800

This is just heartbreaking. It seems a number of NFL players are having a great amount of difficulty finding a way to cope with incorporating their pasts into their present. Not only are many of these young men, both black and white, vastly underprepared for the media attention and the huge sums of money they have at their disposal; they are also unprepared for the demands that will be made on them by family and friends. For every supportive parent and friend that only wants them to succeed, there will be a friend or family member that wants to ride their coattails to cash and fame. And honestly, how do you tell your buddies that were there for you in high school and college to back off? How do you say to them, "Your way of life will get us all killed." Regardless of race, many young men in this country grow up in cultures that celebrate and glorify violence and the use of violence to get what is needed. When you no longer are struggling to get by and are, by many standards, successful; it becomes harder and harder to maintain those ties. And that leads to jealousy.

By: ikkyu2

ikkyu2 — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 12:18:34 -0800

Thanks for the link, stratastar. Michael Wilbon's been sensible on this topic for a while - I think it may have been he who I first saw point out the NFL's 'code of silence' about things like this.

By: yerfatma

yerfatma — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:40:16 -0800

Michael Wilbon's been sensible on this topic for a while You mean when he blamed it all on the victim for being a thug and turned out to be wrong?

By: ikkyu2

ikkyu2 — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:54:26 -0800

I don't think he did that, yerfatma. Those who are saying he did are doing the same thing the NFL and the media are doing - taking the event out of the broader social context that tells young black men it's normal to be involved in firearms arrest, normal to have their house invaded, normal to be shot, normal to expect a couple of years in prison as a part of their life in the U.S.