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First and foremost, my thoughts and prayers go out to Sean Taylor’s family. Sean Taylor was declared deceased early this morning after suffering a gun shot wound that severed his femoral artery.

A senseless tragedy, a life cut short, a child robbed of her father, a girlfriend (fiancé?) robbed of their love, a team (and league) robbed of a great player, a community of fans robbed of a role model.

Listening to and reading some of the public response to the news this morning, I felt compelled to respond to some of the ignorant responses.

Some people have said that something like this was inevitable, that Sean Taylor was a “thug”, was targeted for a reason, had previous run-ins with the law (DWI, assault/firearm case), and thus had it coming.

Are you serious? I’m fairly certain 99% of you (as well as myself) know nothing more than what has been reported by the media. He used bad judgment in one situation, and in the other was simply attempting to reclaim property that was stolen from him. These cases occurred in 2004-2005. Reportedly, he had matured over the last two years; more specifically after the birth of his 18 month old daughter. Need I remind you that he was only 24?

It’s hypocritical that the media gives so much attention to this death when people get killed every single day and are simply overlooked.

Sure, noone is saying his life was worth any more or less than that of the soldiers who give their lives each and every day serving our country, or your neighbor who lost their life in an accident. For better or worse, Sean Taylor was a public figure. He was a star athlete in the most watched sport in the United States. As such, the general public has a greater connection with him than they might with a soldier they have never heard of, or your neighbor down the street. It isn’t necessarily right or wrong as I believe any innocent life lost is one too many.

From a Washington Post Q&A session with Michael Wilbon on Monday, November 26:

McLean, Va.: Will your opinion of Taylor change if this does not turn out to be a random incident (e.g. home invasion)?

Michael Wilbon: No … people’s opinions are shaped by the way they’ve grown up, the way they see the world, what they know about the world the person in question grew up in, etc. Sean Taylor isn’t the only guy I know who fits his general profile. I’ve known guys like Taylor all my life, grew up with some. They still have shades of gray and shouldn’t be painted in black and white…I know how I feel about Taylor, and this latest news isn’t surprising in the least, not to me. Whether this incident is or isn’t random, Taylor grew up in a violent world, embraced it, claimed it, loved to run in it and refused to divorce himself from it. He ain’t the first and won’t be the last. We have no idea what happened, or if what we know now will be revised later. It’s sad, yes, but hardly surprising.

Michael, you are an idiot. So what you are saying is, “you can take the man out of the hood, but can’t take the hood out the man”? Give me a break. That’s a pretty narrow-minded statement if you ask me. You don’t know how Sean viewed the world. You apparently think you have some insight into his character to imply that he didn’t have the strength to overcome his environment. Even if all of what you said about Sean was true, it certainly doesn’t make his death an inevitable event.