Sean Taylor has died.
- Thread starter ArGenTin3
- Start date
saying his murder was random is such bullshit
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) -- Sean Taylor's father urged the Washington Redskins to make a playoff push, while Miami police asked for the public's help to solve the safety's death in what they suspect was a random burglary.
Miami-Dade police director Robert Parker said Wednesday there were no indications the slain 24-year-old was targeted or knew his assailant.
"There's nothing that indicates thus far that there's some kind of involvement on the victim's part," said Parker, adding it was "more like a random event."
Police have no suspects in the fatal shooting.
"We have no reason to think this was anything other than a burglary or a robbery involving an intruder," Parker said.
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Police are still investigating, however, a possible link to a Nov. 17 break-in at Taylor's home, in which police said someone pried open a front window, rifled through drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed.
Evidence at Taylor's home indicates one or more intruders barged into the house early Monday in an attempted burglary, Parker said. After a confrontation inside the home, Taylor was shot once in the upper leg and died early Tuesday after losing a tremendous amount of blood.
Taylor's family has scheduled a funeral service for 11 a.m. Monday at Pharmed Arena at Florida International University in Miami. Redskins owner Dan Snyder is arranging for the entire football organization to attend.
At Redskins Park on Wednesday, Taylor's family and teammates came together to privately share tears and memories.
"Many of these guys were wondering, 'How in the world am I going to go out and do this on Sunday?"' said Brett Fuller, the team chaplain. "And when Mr. Taylor stood up and said go out and win these next five and make it to the playoffs, we felt a surge in the room, that he almost gave us permission to play well."
Fuller said Pedro Taylor's 10-minute speech was followed by 10 minutes of "hugs and thank yous."
Sean Taylor's brother, sister and uncle were also in attendance, in addition to his girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, who also addressed the team.
"Both of them, they kind of echoed Sean's passion for things," coach Joe Gibbs said. "And the way he cared about things."
The team then began to attempt to focus on its preparations for Sunday's home game against the Buffalo Bills. Players went to their game-planning meetings -- which were shorter than normal -- and later held a quieter-than-usual afternoon practice.
Washington Redskins football fans visit a makeshift memorial for Redskins safety Sean Taylor at the team's training center Wednesday, Nov, 28. 2007 in Ashburn, Va. Redskins Taylor died Tuesday after he was shot at his Florida home by an apparent intruder.
AP - Nov 28, 5:53 pm EST
More Photos
"Nothing was normal about today," linebacker London Fletcher said. "We had the meetings, but it wasn't the normal type of meetings. Practice, it was practice, but it just wasn't the same type of feeling, so to speak. We tried to make it feel the same, but I found myself thinking about Sean and imagining him out on the football field playing free safety for us."
Taylor's locker remained untouched, but the Redskins made the uncomfortably necessary move of dropping him from the official roster as part of a series of personnel moves.
Defensive lineman Andre Carter was having to cope with the loss of a teammate for the second time in three years. He played for the San Francisco 49ers when offensive lineman Thomas Herrion died of a heart attack after a preseason game in September 2005.
"I've experienced the death of two teammates," Carter said. "No person wants to say that."
Carter said he was drawing on his experiences in San Francisco to help him through the week. Also, Gibbs received a call from 49ers coach Mike Nolan, who offered advice.
Players found it difficult to stay focused on Xs and Os in the meetings, while the physical nature of the practice was somewhat therapeutic. Even so, many players did not wish to speak to reporters, including Clinton Portis and Santana Moss, Taylor's closest friends on the team.
"The mentality of it all is you really want to do nothing," Carter said. "You just have these moments of sadness. ... The focus level is tough. But your teammates up in the sky looking down on you, they would want you to keep on pushing, keep on moving forward."
The Redskins are 5-6 and remain in contention for a playoff berth despite three straight losses. Fuller said Taylor's father didn't explicitly say the team should win and make the playoffs for his son, but many of the players took the field with that feeling.
"Win for Sean," Carter said. "But win for us."
ASHBURN, Va. (AP) -- Sean Taylor's father urged the Washington Redskins to make a playoff push, while Miami police asked for the public's help to solve the safety's death in what they suspect was a random burglary.
Miami-Dade police director Robert Parker said Wednesday there were no indications the slain 24-year-old was targeted or knew his assailant.
"There's nothing that indicates thus far that there's some kind of involvement on the victim's part," said Parker, adding it was "more like a random event."
Police have no suspects in the fatal shooting.
"We have no reason to think this was anything other than a burglary or a robbery involving an intruder," Parker said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Police are still investigating, however, a possible link to a Nov. 17 break-in at Taylor's home, in which police said someone pried open a front window, rifled through drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed.
Evidence at Taylor's home indicates one or more intruders barged into the house early Monday in an attempted burglary, Parker said. After a confrontation inside the home, Taylor was shot once in the upper leg and died early Tuesday after losing a tremendous amount of blood.
Taylor's family has scheduled a funeral service for 11 a.m. Monday at Pharmed Arena at Florida International University in Miami. Redskins owner Dan Snyder is arranging for the entire football organization to attend.
At Redskins Park on Wednesday, Taylor's family and teammates came together to privately share tears and memories.
"Many of these guys were wondering, 'How in the world am I going to go out and do this on Sunday?"' said Brett Fuller, the team chaplain. "And when Mr. Taylor stood up and said go out and win these next five and make it to the playoffs, we felt a surge in the room, that he almost gave us permission to play well."
Fuller said Pedro Taylor's 10-minute speech was followed by 10 minutes of "hugs and thank yous."
Sean Taylor's brother, sister and uncle were also in attendance, in addition to his girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, who also addressed the team.
"Both of them, they kind of echoed Sean's passion for things," coach Joe Gibbs said. "And the way he cared about things."
The team then began to attempt to focus on its preparations for Sunday's home game against the Buffalo Bills. Players went to their game-planning meetings -- which were shorter than normal -- and later held a quieter-than-usual afternoon practice.
Washington Redskins football fans visit a makeshift memorial for Redskins safety Sean Taylor at the team's training center Wednesday, Nov, 28. 2007 in Ashburn, Va. Redskins Taylor died Tuesday after he was shot at his Florida home by an apparent intruder.
AP - Nov 28, 5:53 pm EST
More Photos
"Nothing was normal about today," linebacker London Fletcher said. "We had the meetings, but it wasn't the normal type of meetings. Practice, it was practice, but it just wasn't the same type of feeling, so to speak. We tried to make it feel the same, but I found myself thinking about Sean and imagining him out on the football field playing free safety for us."
Taylor's locker remained untouched, but the Redskins made the uncomfortably necessary move of dropping him from the official roster as part of a series of personnel moves.
Defensive lineman Andre Carter was having to cope with the loss of a teammate for the second time in three years. He played for the San Francisco 49ers when offensive lineman Thomas Herrion died of a heart attack after a preseason game in September 2005.
"I've experienced the death of two teammates," Carter said. "No person wants to say that."
Carter said he was drawing on his experiences in San Francisco to help him through the week. Also, Gibbs received a call from 49ers coach Mike Nolan, who offered advice.
Players found it difficult to stay focused on Xs and Os in the meetings, while the physical nature of the practice was somewhat therapeutic. Even so, many players did not wish to speak to reporters, including Clinton Portis and Santana Moss, Taylor's closest friends on the team.
"The mentality of it all is you really want to do nothing," Carter said. "You just have these moments of sadness. ... The focus level is tough. But your teammates up in the sky looking down on you, they would want you to keep on pushing, keep on moving forward."
The Redskins are 5-6 and remain in contention for a playoff berth despite three straight losses. Fuller said Taylor's father didn't explicitly say the team should win and make the playoffs for his son, but many of the players took the field with that feeling.
"Win for Sean," Carter said. "But win for us."
I agree with you 100%! This is straight bullshit if you ask me.... What burglar cuts the telephone wires then goes straight to the room and shoots 2 rounds then bounces with nothing? R.I.P ST! Check out what Antrel Rolle says:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3132378
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Still in disbelief of his childhood friend's shooting death, Arizona Cardinals cornerback Antrel Rolle vowed Wednesday to make sure Sean Taylor is remembered.
He added he did not believe the killing was part of a burglary gone sour, and that Taylor had many enemies on the streets of Miami.
"This was not the first incident," Rolle said. "They've been targeting him for three years now."
Rolle said many former "friends" had it in for Taylor, who was trying to build a more stable life.
"He really didn't say too much," Rolle said, "but I know he lived his life pretty much scared every day of his life when he was down in Miami because those people were targeting him. At least, he's got peace now."
Rolle and Taylor, whose fathers were policemen in Homestead, Fla., started playing football together when they were 6 years old. They went on to become University of Miami teammates and NFL first-round draft picks. Both wore No. 21, Rolle for the Cardinals, Taylor for the Washington Redskins.
Rolle said he hadn't talked to Taylor in a while, and that the Redskin had withdrawn from the crowd he hung around with to build a new life with his girlfriend and young daughter.
"There was so much surrounding him," Rolle said. "Everyone was talking about him bad, so he just had to distance himself from everyone and live a life of his own. ... Within the last year, I've never seen anyone make such a dramatic change,"
Withdrawing from a bad crowd isn't easy, though, Rolle said.
"They say it was a burglary. It absolutely was not a burglary," he said. "Down South, where we're from, there were many people talking to Sean, a lot of jealousy, a lot of angry people.
"Sean, he had a large group of friends, and he no longer hung out with those friends, so you never know where this came from."
Rolle said his family rushed to the hospital to be with Taylor's family following the shooting.
"It really hasn't hit me yet," Rolle said, "the fact that I'm never going to see his face again, his ways, him performing on the field. My heart goes out to his girlfriend, his family, his little kid."
Rolle will leave immediately after Sunday's game against Cleveland on a flight to Miami, where he will attend Monday's memorial service. But Rolle wants fans to keep remembering Taylor as the player he was and the man he was becoming after some rough years.
"I'm going to keep his name alive," Rolle said. "Every time I make a play, I'm definitely going to mention him. I'm going to represent my 21 as his 21."
Rolle said he and Taylor became friends as 6-year-old teammates for the Homestead Hurricanes. Later, when they played against each other, Rolle was a running back and Taylor a linebacker.
"They'd call a sweep one way," Rolle said. "I would look at him on that side, and I would change the play myself and go the other way because I knew he would try to knock my head off."
Rolle was an All-American as a senior in 2004 and was picked eighth overall by the Cardinals. A year before, Taylor earned similar honors at Miami, then went to Washington as the fifth overall choice.
"I definitely will go out there and play and do everything I can do because I know how much he loved the game," Rolle said. "I don't think there was anyone who lived it or took it as seriously as he did. I just told myself I'm not going to let his name die. We started when we were 6 years old, and we're going to finish it together."
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3132378
TEMPE, Ariz. -- Still in disbelief of his childhood friend's shooting death, Arizona Cardinals cornerback Antrel Rolle vowed Wednesday to make sure Sean Taylor is remembered.
He added he did not believe the killing was part of a burglary gone sour, and that Taylor had many enemies on the streets of Miami.
"This was not the first incident," Rolle said. "They've been targeting him for three years now."
Rolle said many former "friends" had it in for Taylor, who was trying to build a more stable life.
"He really didn't say too much," Rolle said, "but I know he lived his life pretty much scared every day of his life when he was down in Miami because those people were targeting him. At least, he's got peace now."
Rolle and Taylor, whose fathers were policemen in Homestead, Fla., started playing football together when they were 6 years old. They went on to become University of Miami teammates and NFL first-round draft picks. Both wore No. 21, Rolle for the Cardinals, Taylor for the Washington Redskins.
Rolle said he hadn't talked to Taylor in a while, and that the Redskin had withdrawn from the crowd he hung around with to build a new life with his girlfriend and young daughter.
"There was so much surrounding him," Rolle said. "Everyone was talking about him bad, so he just had to distance himself from everyone and live a life of his own. ... Within the last year, I've never seen anyone make such a dramatic change,"
Withdrawing from a bad crowd isn't easy, though, Rolle said.
"They say it was a burglary. It absolutely was not a burglary," he said. "Down South, where we're from, there were many people talking to Sean, a lot of jealousy, a lot of angry people.
"Sean, he had a large group of friends, and he no longer hung out with those friends, so you never know where this came from."
Rolle said his family rushed to the hospital to be with Taylor's family following the shooting.
"It really hasn't hit me yet," Rolle said, "the fact that I'm never going to see his face again, his ways, him performing on the field. My heart goes out to his girlfriend, his family, his little kid."
Rolle will leave immediately after Sunday's game against Cleveland on a flight to Miami, where he will attend Monday's memorial service. But Rolle wants fans to keep remembering Taylor as the player he was and the man he was becoming after some rough years.
"I'm going to keep his name alive," Rolle said. "Every time I make a play, I'm definitely going to mention him. I'm going to represent my 21 as his 21."
Rolle said he and Taylor became friends as 6-year-old teammates for the Homestead Hurricanes. Later, when they played against each other, Rolle was a running back and Taylor a linebacker.
"They'd call a sweep one way," Rolle said. "I would look at him on that side, and I would change the play myself and go the other way because I knew he would try to knock my head off."
Rolle was an All-American as a senior in 2004 and was picked eighth overall by the Cardinals. A year before, Taylor earned similar honors at Miami, then went to Washington as the fifth overall choice.
"I definitely will go out there and play and do everything I can do because I know how much he loved the game," Rolle said. "I don't think there was anyone who lived it or took it as seriously as he did. I just told myself I'm not going to let his name die. We started when we were 6 years old, and we're going to finish it together."
Sean Taylor was a good football player, and it sucks to lose such a young star, but the fact of the matter is this shit happens every single day. The following quote confirms he was involved in some shit in the streets, and unfortunately for him things like this happen when you have problems with others in the streets.
Dude probably should have moved away from Miami if he had issues with a lot of people there.
RIP to a good football player.
Dude probably should have moved away from Miami if he had issues with a lot of people there.
RIP to a good football player.