Life of Unique Athletic Talent Cut Tragically Short

Sean Taylor was remembered yesterday as a man whose life was cut short just as he was realizing his full potential, not only as a football player of phenomenal talent but also as a father, friend, and hero to fans.

Taylor, the Washington Redskins safety who died yesterday at the age of 24, was shot in his home in Miami early Monday morning. Police have provided few details, other than to confirm that the shooting is under investigation as a homicide. Taylor is survived by his parents, his girlfriend of seven years, and their 1-year-old daughter.

On the football field, the most striking thing about Taylor was his raw athleticism. As a running back at Gulliver Preparatory School in Pinecrest, Fla., he set a state record with 44 touchdowns in 2000. He was one of the most highly sought recruits in America, and in 2001 he was a defensive back at the University of Miami and one of just four true freshman to play for the Hurricanes' national championship team.

By 2004, Taylor's stunning combination of speed, strength, and playmaking ability had made him an elite pro prospect, and he left Miami for the NFL draft. The Redskins chose him with the fifth pick that year, and he started what should have been a long, successful — maybe even Hall of Fame-worthy — professional career.

But there were bumps on the road to stardom. Before he had ever played an NFL game the league fined him $25,000 for skipping out on the mandatory rookie symposium. In October of his rookie year he was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated, prompting Redskins coach Joe Gibbs to bench him for a game, although the charges were later dropped. In June of 2005, he was charged with a felony count of aggravated assault after he was accused of waving a gun at someone he said stole his vehicle; a year later he would plead no contest to a misdemeanor in connection with that incident. In January of 2006, he was ejected from a playoff game for spitting on Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Michael Pittman.

That playoff game may have represented a turning point for Taylor, both as a football player and as a person. Although the spitting incident in the fourth quarter is what everyone remembers, Taylor also established himself as one of the best young players in the league that day. He flew all over the field, making tackles, covering Tampa Bay receivers and returning a fumble 51 yards for a touchdown. He was the best player on the field.

And just as it was a shame for Taylor's great playoff performance to be remembered for that stupid mistake, it will be a shame if Taylor's life is remembered for his off-field troubles.

In the hours after the stunning news Monday that he had been shot and was in critical condition, the most common theme that emerged among the friends and teammates who spoke about him was how much he had begun to turn his life around, spurred partly by a desire to put the spitting incident behind him but mostly by his desire to be a good father to his daughter, who was born in May 2006.

For as much as he cultivated the image of a tough guy on and off the field, Taylor was described by his friends as a father who wanted to stay out of trouble for the sake of his daughter, and a teammate who was beginning to understand his responsibilities as a high-profile member of the community.

Taylor's father, Pedro Taylor, the chief of police in Florida City, Fla., released a statement saying, in part, "Many of his fans loved him because the way he played football. Many of his opponents feared him the way he approached the game. Others misunderstood him, many appreciated him and his family loved him. I can only hope and pray that Sean's life was not in vain that it might touch others in a special way."

Perhaps the best illustration of the kind of player Taylor was came in February's Pro Bowl – and not just because he was selected as one of the league's elite players when he was just 23 years old. During that game, Buffalo Bills punter Brian Moorman ran the ball on a fake punt, and Taylor hit him with a legal, clean — and vicious — tackle. Taylor was the kind of football player who never stopped going full speed between the lines, and that made him great.

Few players in football could match Taylor's combination of unique athletic skills and the passion to go all out every time he set foot on the field. Said Gibbs at a press conference yesterday, "God made him to play football."

Mr. Smith is a writer for FootballOutsiders.com