To speculate is stupid at this point - particularly your speculation. At this point, I don't even care. I am more concerned with his health and making sure that he is okay.
I hope he is OK, but don't really care one way or another. I don't know the guy but don't really think that highly of him. He seems like a thug who always got his way growing up because his Dad was chief of police.
I don't care for Redskins so there is no tie there.
Maybe it will turn out that he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but given his history it seems like there is more to the story.
I don't wish anyone dead - particularly a 24 year old with as much talent as Taylor has. I don't know the guy but based on his history in the media, he has had a troubled past. It did seem like he turned things around this year. He is not nearly as flamboyant on the field (which I kind of miss). It's actually quite impressive the changes he has made because last year he seemed like a target for refs to get nailed with personal fouls. That image seems to have quickly changed as he has just played sound football. He was probably having his best year to date prior to his injury. Some say that he grew up now that he is a father for the first time.
Still, I don't know the guy so I can't say one way or the other whether I like him or not or if he is a good guy or not. I just think it would be sad for a guy as young as he is and the talent that he has to have something really bad happen.
Latest word on ESPN is that they are investigating a possible robbery so who knows the story.
Again, it is dumb to speculate and accuse people guilty before any investigation. Sadly, that is the society we live in today -- guilty until proven innocent. Whatever. Lets see how the story unfolds before we make any judgement. Until then, I just hope for Taylor's recovery.
I don't wish him dead either. I'm not sure if you think I do hope he dies, but your last response is written in such a way that it leaves open the possibility. Not caring for the guy is different than wanting him dead.
Given what I have read about his past, particularly his activities at Miami and with his gun waving incident where he chased down a couple of kids, I don't think much of the guy.
I have no idea what the story is, but I do think this story is going to end badly. That may be that his career is over, it may be that he dies, it may be that his girlfriend was involved, it may be all kinds of things. I don't think it is going to end well.
Is it possible for someone to change? You don't know the guy. He has been clean the last two years and in fact, seems like a completely different player (in terms of "extracurricular" behavior) on the field this year. You don't seem him jawing at people or show boating or spitting in people's faces this year like you did before. If anything, he seemed like he was just focusing on football and was having the best year of his career.
All I'm saying is that you don't know the guy but you are willing to make harsh judgements on him based on one incident 2-3 years ago. If he showed repeated questionable behavior recently, I would be upset with him but that hasn't been the case.
Who knows how the story will end. We'll see as the story unfolds.
I am sure you don't wish him dead. Still, you mentioned that you don't care so seems like it would make no difference whether he lives or dies in your mind. For me, I think it would be a tragedy if a 24 year old with all the talent that he has and also being a new father were to die - especially if it ended up being a robbery. If he went to a club and was wasted and got into a fight and was brandishing a gun and got shot, then he would have been a fool.
Again, I don't know Sean Taylor. I don't know what kind of life he lives, what kind of company he keeps, or anything else. I don't know the specifics around this case. All I say is that it bothers me when people just like to speculate and create stories. Also, when people will just assume guilt over innocence. It's like we need this drama to make our own lives more interesting.
I don't know Taylor and I don't really care to know him. You call Tank a thug because he had some guns in his house. He never waved them or pointed them at anyone. Were you making a "harsh judgement" about him?
I don't want him to die, but if he dies it won't have any real bearing on my life.
Every day in Iraq, 2-3 24 year old American kids die in the senseless violence that is ongoing. Tragedies happen. I wish they didn't, but I am not going to sit and cry about people I don't know.
Tank was a thug. He was given a number of chances by his team to get straight and he NEVER learned. Here is just a sampling of his offenses:
November 2005: Arrested outside a Chicago nightclub for possession of a handgun in his SUV. Pleads guilty to misdemeanor gun charge and sentenced to 18 months probation and 40 hours of community service.
February 2006: Charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest after threatening a police officer at a nightclub in Chicago. Charges were eventually dropped.
December 2006: Lake County, Ill., police search Johnson's home in Gurnee and discover he possessed six firearms, including six assault rifles. While Johnson was at practice during the raid, Johnson's bodyguard, William Posey, was arrested for alleged possession of marijuana. Johnson was charged with violation of probation and possession of unlicensed weapons.
December 2006: Just two days after Johnson's house was raided by police, his bodyguard was shot at a Chicago bar and eventually died.
This behavior resulted in jail time, NFL suspension, and him getting kicked off of his team who gave him NUMEROUS chances to get it right.
So to answer your question, NO I did not give a "harsh judgement" in my opinion of Tank. My feelings were the same as the judge that sentenced him to jail, the same as the NFL Commissioner that suspended him, the same as your Bears organization for letting him go.
If Taylor had a history of repeated offenses (particularly if they were committed in quick succession), I might feel different about him. However, it sounded like he had turned his life around. Judging by his play on the field, that seemed like a fair statement. Is it not possible for someone to change?
Again, I don't know him but he had one bad incident 2-3 years ago but I am not going to label him as a thug for that. It seems like he has stayed out of the spotlight since then and turned his life around. Still, who knows? Maybe in his private life he still does stupid stuff and maybe not.
I won't cry for Sean Taylor either. I will think that it is sad but I'm not going to cry about it. I know tragedies happen. I am aware of the loss of young lives in Iraq and across the world. I know that there are injustices committed on a daily basis. It is sad. I do feel sad if I think about those things. Not so sad that I get depressed or mope or cry or anything but I also don't have a feeling of not "caring one way or another."
Again, for a 24 year old player with his talent and being a new father, it would be sad if he died.
Again, if he was resisting arrest after threatening a police officer at a nightclub shot and killed in the scrum then I wouldn't care as much as he would have put himself in that position.
Whatever. That's fine. I get it. You don't care whether he lives or dies. I would think that it is sad that a young man dies. We can go on as we normally do on these nuances but we will never come to agreement.
It seems a bit insensitive to me that anyone would not be impacted by something like this happening. Sure we have troops dying every day. Sure there are murders occurring every day. To say this is a serious issue is not to downplay the impact of soldiers dying overseas. It simply implies the obvious...That a public figure, no matter how controversial, was sitting in his own home at 2AM and was shot by an apparent intruder. Just because I didn't know the guy or didn't agree with his apparent bad behavior doesn't mean I should ignore the fact that it happened. That's like saying, "I went to UVA and I hate VT so I don't care if 30+ people were shot and killed."
Taylor is a young guy who made some mistakes in his youth. Who didn't? He has matured professionally. He is a new father. He is obviously very close to his family. He is respected by his coach and his teammates. Fans love to watch him play. The long list of Tank's transgressions makes comparing the two silly.
I don't wish this on anyone and the fact that it happened to a star on my team makes it hit home
I don't wish it on anyone either and I certainly don't want him to die. It will be sad if he dies - apparently he is clinging to life and may have brain damage. That said, I am not going to pretend that it will have any real impact on my life. That is not being insensitive, that is being honest.
There are questions coming up about why he was in Miami in the middle of the season. Apparently he did not take the team flight to Tampa.
According to one news report, apparently someone broke into his house on November 18 and left a knife on his bed.
No one deserves to get shot in the middle of the night like it is being reported, but we don't know all the circumstances. Whatever happens, it still does not appear to me that it is going to end in anything other than a bad story.
JKD - whatever you want to believe, Tank owned some illegal guns. That is why he went to prison. He did not assault anyone and he did not threaten anyone.
In my opinion, the only reason Sean did not go to prison for his behavior (which was far worse than anything Tank did) is because his Dad was the Police Chief. He probably got some special treatment that allowed it all to get washed away.
Maybe Sean changed, maybe he didn't. We don't know, but I am sure we will learn more about the circumstances surrounding his shooting.
"1. This is payback from the kids he chased down a couple of years ago.
2. His wife/girlfriend (I don't know if he is married) found out he cheated on her and shot him in the nuts.
3. He got drunk and high and accidentally shot himself at 1:00 in the morning."
Coupled with the fact that you think he is a "thug" and "don't really think that highly of him" and "don't really care one way or another" whether he is okay, I think is pretty insensitive.
Now that a few more facts are coming out, you seem to be changing your tune. It looks more and more that his house was targeted and that he was the innocent victim of a burglary attempt.
I just think it is insensitive and ignorant on your part to speculate what happened.
Sure, if Taylor dies it doesn't impact my life. Very few things actually have an impact on our lives. Still, as I have said all along, it is sad that a promising and talented 24 year old that recently became a father and seemed to be turning his life around could possibly die in a burglary attempt.
Regarding your claim that Tank did not assault anyone and he did not threaten anyone..."February 2006: Charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest after threatening a police officer at a nightclub in Chicago."
Did you miss that the first time I posted it?
Actually, none of that really matters right now. Seriously, I am just hoping that Taylor is okay.
The fact that Taylor got shot doesn't change my opinion of him.
How am I changing my tune? I think it is going to end as a bad story.
I hope that he doesn't die and that he recovers, but whatever happens happens. It won't impact me in any meaningful way.
As for my speculation, are you telling me that when you heard that Taylor got shot it did not occur to you that something odd happened?
Taylor's lawyer issued out a statement, but the family and the police have not issued out much. It does not seem like an innocent burglary attempt. The Miami Herald reported that the phone line had been cut and nothing was stolen. Vinny Cerrato is quoted as saying, "This was a deliberate attack."
I'm sad to hear he passed away this morning. He was a new father, about to be married, and now he's gone. He was also one of the most talented players the Redskins and perhaps the NFL has had in years. His hard hitting was a force that intimidated other offenses.
It reminds me of Brandon Lee. He was engaged, an up and coming movie superstar, and his life ended early in an accident while filming.
18 comments:
I'm interested in learning the details, but hope he is OK.
I hope he is okay too. Not too concerned about football. Just hope that the guy is okay.
The speculation will be wild until the details come out. Here are a couple that I thought of:
1. This is payback from the kids he chased down a couple of years ago.
2. His wife/girlfriend (I don't know if he is married) found out he cheated on her and shot him in the nuts.
3. He got drunk and high and accidentally shot himself at 1:00 in the morning.
It is probably going to end up a bad story.
To speculate is stupid at this point - particularly your speculation. At this point, I don't even care. I am more concerned with his health and making sure that he is okay.
I hope he is OK, but don't really care one way or another. I don't know the guy but don't really think that highly of him. He seems like a thug who always got his way growing up because his Dad was chief of police.
I don't care for Redskins so there is no tie there.
Maybe it will turn out that he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, but given his history it seems like there is more to the story.
Whatever.
I don't wish anyone dead - particularly a 24 year old with as much talent as Taylor has. I don't know the guy but based on his history in the media, he has had a troubled past. It did seem like he turned things around this year. He is not nearly as flamboyant on the field (which I kind of miss). It's actually quite impressive the changes he has made because last year he seemed like a target for refs to get nailed with personal fouls. That image seems to have quickly changed as he has just played sound football. He was probably having his best year to date prior to his injury. Some say that he grew up now that he is a father for the first time.
Still, I don't know the guy so I can't say one way or the other whether I like him or not or if he is a good guy or not. I just think it would be sad for a guy as young as he is and the talent that he has to have something really bad happen.
Latest word on ESPN is that they are investigating a possible robbery so who knows the story.
Again, it is dumb to speculate and accuse people guilty before any investigation. Sadly, that is the society we live in today -- guilty until proven innocent. Whatever. Lets see how the story unfolds before we make any judgement. Until then, I just hope for Taylor's recovery.
I don't wish him dead either. I'm not sure if you think I do hope he dies, but your last response is written in such a way that it leaves open the possibility. Not caring for the guy is different than wanting him dead.
Given what I have read about his past, particularly his activities at Miami and with his gun waving incident where he chased down a couple of kids, I don't think much of the guy.
I have no idea what the story is, but I do think this story is going to end badly. That may be that his career is over, it may be that he dies, it may be that his girlfriend was involved, it may be all kinds of things. I don't think it is going to end well.
Is it possible for someone to change? You don't know the guy. He has been clean the last two years and in fact, seems like a completely different player (in terms of "extracurricular" behavior) on the field this year. You don't seem him jawing at people or show boating or spitting in people's faces this year like you did before. If anything, he seemed like he was just focusing on football and was having the best year of his career.
All I'm saying is that you don't know the guy but you are willing to make harsh judgements on him based on one incident 2-3 years ago. If he showed repeated questionable behavior recently, I would be upset with him but that hasn't been the case.
Who knows how the story will end. We'll see as the story unfolds.
I am sure you don't wish him dead. Still, you mentioned that you don't care so seems like it would make no difference whether he lives or dies in your mind. For me, I think it would be a tragedy if a 24 year old with all the talent that he has and also being a new father were to die - especially if it ended up being a robbery. If he went to a club and was wasted and got into a fight and was brandishing a gun and got shot, then he would have been a fool.
Again, I don't know Sean Taylor. I don't know what kind of life he lives, what kind of company he keeps, or anything else. I don't know the specifics around this case. All I say is that it bothers me when people just like to speculate and create stories. Also, when people will just assume guilt over innocence. It's like we need this drama to make our own lives more interesting.
I don't know Taylor and I don't really care to know him. You call Tank a thug because he had some guns in his house. He never waved them or pointed them at anyone. Were you making a "harsh judgement" about him?
I don't want him to die, but if he dies it won't have any real bearing on my life.
Every day in Iraq, 2-3 24 year old American kids die in the senseless violence that is ongoing. Tragedies happen. I wish they didn't, but I am not going to sit and cry about people I don't know.
Tank was a thug. He was given a number of chances by his team to get straight and he NEVER learned. Here is just a sampling of his offenses:
November 2005: Arrested outside a Chicago nightclub for possession of a handgun in his SUV. Pleads guilty to misdemeanor gun charge and sentenced to 18 months probation and 40 hours of community service.
February 2006: Charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest after threatening a police officer at a nightclub in Chicago. Charges were eventually dropped.
December 2006: Lake County, Ill., police search Johnson's home in Gurnee and discover he possessed six firearms, including six assault rifles. While Johnson was at practice during the raid, Johnson's bodyguard, William Posey, was arrested for alleged possession of marijuana. Johnson was charged with violation of probation and possession of unlicensed weapons.
December 2006: Just two days after Johnson's house was raided by police, his bodyguard was shot at a Chicago bar and eventually died.
This behavior resulted in jail time, NFL suspension, and him getting kicked off of his team who gave him NUMEROUS chances to get it right.
So to answer your question, NO I did not give a "harsh judgement" in my opinion of Tank. My feelings were the same as the judge that sentenced him to jail, the same as the NFL Commissioner that suspended him, the same as your Bears organization for letting him go.
If Taylor had a history of repeated offenses (particularly if they were committed in quick succession), I might feel different about him. However, it sounded like he had turned his life around. Judging by his play on the field, that seemed like a fair statement. Is it not possible for someone to change?
Again, I don't know him but he had one bad incident 2-3 years ago but I am not going to label him as a thug for that. It seems like he has stayed out of the spotlight since then and turned his life around. Still, who knows? Maybe in his private life he still does stupid stuff and maybe not.
I won't cry for Sean Taylor either. I will think that it is sad but I'm not going to cry about it. I know tragedies happen. I am aware of the loss of young lives in Iraq and across the world. I know that there are injustices committed on a daily basis. It is sad. I do feel sad if I think about those things. Not so sad that I get depressed or mope or cry or anything but I also don't have a feeling of not "caring one way or another."
Again, for a 24 year old player with his talent and being a new father, it would be sad if he died.
Again, if he was resisting arrest after threatening a police officer at a nightclub shot and killed in the scrum then I wouldn't care as much as he would have put himself in that position.
Whatever. That's fine. I get it. You don't care whether he lives or dies. I would think that it is sad that a young man dies. We can go on as we normally do on these nuances but we will never come to agreement.
It seems a bit insensitive to me that anyone would not be impacted by something like this happening. Sure we have troops dying every day. Sure there are murders occurring every day. To say this is a serious issue is not to downplay the impact of soldiers dying overseas. It simply implies the obvious...That a public figure, no matter how controversial, was sitting in his own home at 2AM and was shot by an apparent intruder. Just because I didn't know the guy or didn't agree with his apparent bad behavior doesn't mean I should ignore the fact that it happened. That's like saying, "I went to UVA and I hate VT so I don't care if 30+ people were shot and killed."
Taylor is a young guy who made some mistakes in his youth. Who didn't? He has matured professionally. He is a new father. He is obviously very close to his family. He is respected by his coach and his teammates. Fans love to watch him play. The long list of Tank's transgressions makes comparing the two silly.
I don't wish this on anyone and the fact that it happened to a star on my team makes it hit home
I don't wish it on anyone either and I certainly don't want him to die. It will be sad if he dies - apparently he is clinging to life and may have brain damage. That said, I am not going to pretend that it will have any real impact on my life. That is not being insensitive, that is being honest.
There are questions coming up about why he was in Miami in the middle of the season. Apparently he did not take the team flight to Tampa.
According to one news report, apparently someone broke into his house on November 18 and left a knife on his bed.
No one deserves to get shot in the middle of the night like it is being reported, but we don't know all the circumstances. Whatever happens, it still does not appear to me that it is going to end in anything other than a bad story.
JKD - whatever you want to believe, Tank owned some illegal guns. That is why he went to prison. He did not assault anyone and he did not threaten anyone.
In my opinion, the only reason Sean did not go to prison for his behavior (which was far worse than anything Tank did) is because his Dad was the Police Chief. He probably got some special treatment that allowed it all to get washed away.
Maybe Sean changed, maybe he didn't. We don't know, but I am sure we will learn more about the circumstances surrounding his shooting.
Going back to your speculation:
"1. This is payback from the kids he chased down a couple of years ago.
2. His wife/girlfriend (I don't know if he is married) found out he cheated on her and shot him in the nuts.
3. He got drunk and high and accidentally shot himself at 1:00 in the morning."
Coupled with the fact that you think he is a "thug" and "don't really think that highly of him" and "don't really care one way or another" whether he is okay, I think is pretty insensitive.
Now that a few more facts are coming out, you seem to be changing your tune. It looks more and more that his house was targeted and that he was the innocent victim of a burglary attempt.
I just think it is insensitive and ignorant on your part to speculate what happened.
Sure, if Taylor dies it doesn't impact my life. Very few things actually have an impact on our lives. Still, as I have said all along, it is sad that a promising and talented 24 year old that recently became a father and seemed to be turning his life around could possibly die in a burglary attempt.
Regarding your claim that Tank did not assault anyone and he did not threaten anyone..."February 2006: Charged with aggravated assault and resisting arrest after threatening a police officer at a nightclub in Chicago."
Did you miss that the first time I posted it?
Actually, none of that really matters right now. Seriously, I am just hoping that Taylor is okay.
The fact that Taylor got shot doesn't change my opinion of him.
How am I changing my tune? I think it is going to end as a bad story.
I hope that he doesn't die and that he recovers, but whatever happens happens. It won't impact me in any meaningful way.
As for my speculation, are you telling me that when you heard that Taylor got shot it did not occur to you that something odd happened?
Taylor's lawyer issued out a statement, but the family and the police have not issued out much. It does not seem like an innocent burglary attempt. The Miami Herald reported that the phone line had been cut and nothing was stolen. Vinny Cerrato is quoted as saying, "This was a deliberate attack."
I'm sad to hear he passed away this morning. He was a new father, about to be married, and now he's gone. He was also one of the most talented players the Redskins and perhaps the NFL has had in years. His hard hitting was a force that intimidated other offenses.
It reminds me of Brandon Lee. He was engaged, an up and coming movie superstar, and his life ended early in an accident while filming.
It ended in a bad story. R-I-P.
Post a Comment