Sean, Lenny, Katrina and Linus
Thanks to all the readers who took the time to reply to yesterday's posting about the murder of Sean Taylor, and who have e-mailed about this morning's column. That goes for those who agreed with it and those who didn't, even those who were really nasty, obnoxious and racist about it. America, land of the free, yada yada yada.
Thanks also to Roch Kubatko, who gave me props on Roch Around the Clock yesterday. I can ride coattails as well as anyone, outside of Scottie Pippen, that is.
And one more, for those who made the connection to the death of Len Bias, such as our mixed martial arts blogger, Pramit Mohapatra. I wasn't sure about making that leap, but the fact that so many readers, especially Skins fans and local sports fans, period, expressed the same deep, intense sense of loss that those my age remember from June 19, 1986, it convinced me that Sean is this generation's Lenny. People will remember the date and hold onto that pain and carry his story forward -- and, maybe, change a generation's attitudes about the factors that killed him. No question, people view cocaine differently now than they did before Len Bias (and yes, I know, it's not even close to being gone, but the perspective is different), and maybe 20 years from now people will view gun violence the same way. I know, wishful thinking.
There's an incredibly sharp divide on the national opinions being expressed so far, and a lot of people have pointed to comments made by the Post's Michael Wilbon and a column by the Post's Leonard Shapiro. I feel bad about that. They are both idols to me in this business. But I can't imagine disagreeing with them more than I do on this topic.
What it all is reminding me of is the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the early days, when the news was full of reports of black people roaming the abandoned streets of New Orleans and looting businesses, and of people being murdered and babies being raped inside the Superdome. Completely hysterical reporting and vicious rumor-mongering passed off as fact and believed without question by millions, only to be later, at a much lower volume, disproved. Utterly dehumanizing, for no reason other than it was easy for people to believe that black people are savages incapable of being civilized. Turned out that instead of raping and pillaging, they were actually, you know, drowning and starving.
What it shares with Sean Taylor's case? The phrase, "I'm not surprised.''
With the scant evidence about the crime at hand, everyone has felt free to speculate about him because of his past, giving it relevance to the crime moments after the crime was committed, whether it's based in fact or not. That includes past acts such as, incredibly, leaving the NFL rookie symposium early; yes, you had to figure right then and there that anybody who'd walk out of that session was sure to get a hole blown through a major artery while in his home someday.
It also froze him in time, making it clear that nobody should have ever expected him to grow up or mature beyond the stage he was at when he was 20, and that it was a waste of time to think he could. You can't escape your past, it will always catch up with you, these people insist. Well, who says so? And does that go for everybody, or just the people whose mistakes get on TV and in the papers? Now, bringing a gun when you chase someone you think stole your ATV gets you the death penalty, served by some stranger breaking into your house two years later? I mean, do people even think these things through before they say them?
All right, now that I've tied Taylor, Bias and a natural and governmental disaster together, where does Linus fit in?
"A Charlie Brown Christmas'' came on last night. It was a very welcome respite from the depressing news all day. Still the best holiday TV special ever.
After that went off, I still wanted a break from intense, round-the-clock coverage of the tragedy. So I turned on ESPN. Neither OJ, Barry Bonds or pit bulls were involved in this incident, so the Worldwide Leader pretty much took the day off.
Comments
Unfortunately, if a crime victim has a questionable past, that will be brought up, as it has in the case of Sean Taylor's murder. It's quite likely the robber-murderer was a complete stranger who simply sought to rob a fancy house in an expensive neighborhood. It's also possible the robber-murderer is someone from Taylor's past who's jealous of his success, and wanted to steal some of the stuff Taylor earned. Perhaps Taylor had indeed matured and changed, as many have said, and someone from his past was angry about being left behind. At this point, nobody knows what the true scenario was, so it's all speculation until the investigation provides answers (if it ever does.)
What is unquestionable is that Sean Taylor did not deserve to be shot and killed, whether by a stranger or someone he had known. I hope the perpetrator is found, convicted, and spends the rest of his life behind bars.
Posted by: Alan | November 28, 2007 1:54 PM
When your black and you have any blemish, mistake or failure..your branded for life, even if it's guilt by association like with Ray lewis.Arsenio hall has farrakhan on his show and he loses his show. Barbara walters has him on and her ratings go up and everything's ok..but because Hall is black he's somehow guilty by association.Troy smith has one bad college game and he's a bumb..which is really a convienient excuse to downplay his talent[ along with the height issue, Jeff garcia ,Jp losman, Joe theisman, Doug flutie ..etc..]so if your black and not perfect, your a failure ...and if your name has ever been mentioned in the same sentence as police your a thug and this was bound to happen to you.
Posted by: Rob | November 28, 2007 2:01 PM
Thanks for the articles and blogs. It has been extremely difficult to read and hear the pompous pre-judgement from so many sports journalists. The character assassination from professionals, as well as some who get paid but have never earned the broader term "professional", following the murder of Sean Taylor has been absolutelty sickening. Thank you for calling them out. I actually wish you would be more harsh about it.
Posted by: Mike | November 29, 2007 8:10 AM
Is there any profession on earth that is more full of unkind, nasty, judgmental and insensitive people than that of sports writers? I don't think so. Many of them make Simon Cowell seem like the guy who writes Hallmark Cards. My only consolation is that they didn't become guidance counselors or get the job working suicide hotlines.
I am extremely dissappointed in both Leonard Shapiro and Michael Wilbon. They "saw it coming?" These guys knew that a young man would be killed while attempting to defend his fiancee and 18-month-old daughter from an armed intruder who broke into the house at 2:30 in the morning? I must say that their talents are wasting away in the Washington Post sports department. Surely, with their intuition, they could help the news division get an early jump on homocides in the area. I guess that they just "expect" any young black athelete who has a history of making immature mistakes in his early 20's to get gunned down. Maybe they can help the owners figure out who the troublemakers are in the next scouting combine.
Anyone can become a crime victim because of no fault of their own. And when a young man, full of promise and talent, dies tragically, it's unbelievable that people were attacking him even before his body was cold. Class acts these journalists are not!
Posted by: Rob | November 29, 2007 7:18 PM
Arsenio hall has farrakhan on his show and he loses his show. Barbara walters has him on and her ratings go up and everything's ok..but because Hall is black he's somehow guilty by association.Troy smith has one bad college game and he's a bumb..which is really a convienient excuse to downplay his talent[ along with the height issue, Jeff garcia ,Jp losman, Joe theisman, Doug flutie ..etc..]so if your black and not perfect, your a failure. Wow, every black person you mentioned is filthy rich how have they been branded. Arsinio's show was horrible, the fact that he ever had one was a miracle. Troy Smith was drafted by an NFL team that got rid of Derek Anderson to make room for him, that is the real crime (Dereks a white guy if you didn't notice). Wake up and quit feeling sorry for your self its about money if you can win games or get ratings, no cares what color you are. By the Ray is still playing in a stadium full of overweight white men weraing his jersey. He seems to have been forgiven.
Posted by: Todd | November 29, 2007 10:10 PM