[70Chip]

First of all, I followed the 2005 case from Florida very closely and I have never seen anything that would convince me that Taylor brandished a firearm. That was the claim of the men who had stolen his property and had prior criminal records. If people prefer to take their word over Taylor's, then they have taken sides and in doing so are open to criticism. Second, I'm not sure that having your car shot at is an indication of moral turpitude. Especially considering that that shooting was in all likelihood perpetrated by the same people mentioned above.

The other things that are mentioned against Taylor are missing the Rookie symposium, being charged with DWI (later dropped), and strangest of all, the fact that he has been fined by the league seven times for illegal hits and for spitting on that guy in the playoff game.

Taking those in order, missing the rookie orientation was a mistake. It was an immature thing to do, but this country is packed from sea to shining sea with 20 year old morons. Hardly unforgivable.

Second, the DWI also indicates a lack of judgement, but again, one that many have made. Sonny Jurgensen got one in the 1980s when he was well into his forties. Was he inviting disaster? Ditto John Riggins. Could #44 be next? Being pulled over on the beltway near Tysons Corner on suspicion of DWI is hardly indicative of a gangster or criminal lifestyle.

Third, Taylor is a hard nosed defensive player. At times, especially early in his career, he had a tendency to cross the line but I've never thought of him as a dirty player. Ken Houston played like that. Roy Williams plays like that. Butkis and Neitcke played like that and when they are discussed it's folklore. It's cute. No one imputes criminality to them because of it.

Lastly, the spitting incident was a time when Sean went too far. How unfortunate. In terms of the league, though, I don't know how unusual it was. Chris Samuels was spit on in a game earlier this year. Football is a tough game. I don't think it's fair when you are creating a list of offenses against Taylor in order to imply that he is a thug to include things that happened on the football field, unless they are of the Albert Haynesworth variety and I don't think Sean has ever done anything like that. Some networks have decided to conflate the two.