On Oct. 14, just three days before their matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs, the Washington Football Team announced that they would retire the late Sean Taylor’s No. 21 jersey at half-time. To some, this may seem normal. To me, this is a blatant PR stunt to take attention away from a organization’s terrible culture. Amid this, Washington is disrespecting one of their brightest stars who sadly lost his life at just 24 years old.
Taylor was tragically killed on Nov. 18, 2007, during a home invasion in his home in Miami. As a kid, my favorite defensive player was Sean Taylor. The first year I played tackle football, I picked No. 21 to feel like Taylor. As a six-year-old kid, his death hit me hard. He was such a great talent taken away too soon. Out of the University of Miami, Taylor was the fifth overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. In just 55 career games, he had 12 interceptions and eight forced fumbles. He was a two-time Pro Bowler in his young career.
We can look at a direct example to see how terrible Washington Football team is. Bobby Mitchell, former Washington legend and Hall of Famer, had his jersey retired in September. It was announced in June, three months ahead of time. Taylor is getting his jersey retired on three days’ notice right after a scandal about the mistreatment of women within the organization was released. For context, on July 2, the Washington Football Team was fined $10 million after the NFL investigated the culture within the organization. The investigation revealed sexual harassment and misconduct within the workplace.
On Oct. 13, an article published by the Washington Post alleged that the Washington organization attempted to pay off the victims in exchange for their silence. Just one day after this allegation, on Oct. 14, it was announced that Taylor’s jersey would be retired on Oct. 17. The Washington Football Team strategically chose to retire his jersey just a few days after these allegations to take attention away from their attempted hush money. The organization just keeps digging a deeper hole for themselves.
Taylor is just the third player in Washington history to have his jersey retired by the franchise. That calls for a special ceremony, announced months ahead of time, right? Not according to the Washington Football Team. They only care about taking attention away from the misconduct that has been occurring in their organization for at least ten years. Owner Dan Snyder should be ashamed of himself. This is blatant disrespect towards these women and Taylor.
This is sickening to me for a few reasons. This type of issue shouldn’t be hidden. It needs to be told to the public so those that are responsible can receive the appropriate punishment. This is one of the most disrespectful things that I have ever seen to a player who gave all he had for his team, and tragically lost his life too soon. Sean Taylor deserved more than this. I have absolutely zero respect for the Washington organization. Rest in peace, Sean Taylor.
