Sean Taylor in drunk tank

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by LadyT

Age is no excuse for what he purportedly did.

He is 21 I believe...I think taking his age into consideration when judging the intelligence of the act is prudent. I don't think it is an excuse and I think he should be punished but everyone who is up in arms over how dumb this guy is and how he was a mistake to pick need to settle down and realize his immaturity which will hopefully wane over the next few seasons.

[Gmanc711]

I dont think his age has a single thing to do with it. I'm 18 and I get trashed from time to time. Does that make it ok for me to get behind a car and drive?? I dont because its stupid. I dont care how much money he has or anything. If he's guilty, I hope Gibbs benches him for a couple weeks. There is NO excuse for that, NONE.

[FRPLG]

I think I am not being understood. I am NOT using his age an excuse for what did. I agree he should be benched this weekend and should pat legally in whatever way is fair. I am simply pointing out that he is young and should be given some leeway in terms of our judgements of him as a person and his intelligence. It was mistake that he should and hopefully will pay dearly for but I won't immediately make any judgements about him other than he is a stupid young kid. If lavar had done this then I would singing a whole different tune. He is mature enough to know better and I would look down on him with great disappointment if he ever did something like this.

[LadyT]

There are countless young rookies on other teams who have not caused the problems he has, since he was selected by the Skins. Maturity doesn't always come with age and I'm beginning to fear he will be a continual problem for this team.

Hope I'm wrong and I guess time will tell.

But, please don't try and convince me that his actions correlate to his age. Most 21 year olds don't get arrested for DUI and don't drink and drive. Couple that with the other controversies he's been involved in and a troubling pattern begins to emerge.

This is not the kind of thing you want to see happen to a team that is struggling.

[EEich]

How does one judge someone's character if not by his actions? You are what you do.
Being out at 2:45 the night before practice is a choice, not a mistake.
I'm not saying that his character won't mature... but he is what he is.

Originally Posted by smootsmack

I agree with FRPLG. It was a stupid mistake but this incident should not be a judgement of his character. Anyway, Joe Gibbs is expected to hold a 1:30 press conference on the matter-not sure if it will be streamed. While I doubt he'll cut Taylor like he did Kevin Ware it is possible he'll bench him. I think more than likely he'll not start him, but he'll still play.

[FRPLG]

Originally Posted by LadyT

There are countless young rookies on other teams who have not caused the problems he has, since he was selected by the Skins. Maturity doesn't always come with age and I'm beginning to fear he will be a continual problem for this team.

Hope I'm wrong and I guess time will tell.

But, please don't try and convince me that his actions correlate to his age. Most 21 year olds don't get arrested for DUI and don't drink and drive. Couple that with the other controversies he's been involved in and a troubling pattern begins to emerge.

This is not the kind of thing you want to see happen to a team that is struggling.

I agree with the first part of your statement and hope your second part is correct. Unfortunatly being as I am not that far removed from the age I know all to well that many 21 year olds do drink and drive which is a tragedy. I would agree that MOST don't but I bet a significant amount do.

On another note I didn't realize his father was a chief of police. His daddy's gonna kill him.

[SmootSmack]

Originally Posted by EEich

How does one judge someone's character if not by his actions? You are what you do.
Being out at 2:45 the night before practice is a choice, not a mistake.
I'm not saying that his character won't mature... but he is what he is.

I understand what you're saying. Maybe I've just been misinterpreting a lot of what has been written. People seem to want to just write him off permanently for this error. Good people make bad choices.

Disclaimer: My best friend is serving 15 years for the same offense. He made a terrible mistake, ended up in a head-on collision and the driver of the other car died instantly. It was inexcusable what he did and he knows it, but I guess I get a little sensitive when he's labeled a bad person for this incident. He was pretty well known in his town so he was instantly admonished in public and all the good he had done was quickly forgotten because of his actions on one night.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by CRT3

Matty very disappointed in you. 1st of all putting a person on the road while he is intoxicated is very dangerous. He didn't kell anybody but the potential is there. I personally do not like being on the road with people who do not have enough common sense to avoid this type of thing. Suspend him and make him pay.

I thought we drafted him not only becuase he was a great athlete but his character was good to. Go back to the press conference by Gibbs on how they asked multiple people about Taylor. Seems they might have made a mistake in judging his character.

First off, I didn't condone what he did.

At the time I posted all the facts weren't out.

I was assuming he was drunk in public or something, which isn't a HUGE deal.

Driving drunk is another story and I'll comment more later.

[EEich]

I'm sorry about your friend... that's terrible for everyone involved.
Your sensitivity is understandable.

Originally Posted by smootsmack

I understand what you're saying. Maybe I've just been misinterpreting a lot of what has been written. People seem to want to just write him off permanently for this error. Good people make bad choices.

Disclaimer: My best friend is serving 15 years for the same offense. He made a terrible mistake, ended up in a head-on collision and the driver of the other car died instantly. It was inexcusable what he did and he knows it, but I guess I get a little sensitive when he's labeled a bad person for this incident. He was pretty well known in his town so he was instantly admonished in public and all the good he had done was quickly forgotten because of his actions on one night.

[sportscurmudgeon]

I'm afraid that the best word to describe Sean Taylor is:


MEATHEAD !!


For all of you who think this is something that can be mitigated because of his age and his wealth, please explain to me why this has not happened to each and every rich young player to come into the NFL. If it is inevitable for a young rich guy to get in this trouble then why didn't it happen to guys like Darrell Green, Payton Manning, Donovan McNabb, John Elway, Dan Marino, Champ Bailey - - and the list goes on.

And by the way, the legislature that passed the law that makes driving after consuming alcohol a crime and the governor who signed that bill NEVER once considered putting in a waiver for young rich football players. He does not get a free ride for this and he shouldn't.

Taylor will get off with his wrist slapped by the court unless he does something even dumber than anything he has done in the past such as walking into the court and flipping off the judge. Given what he's done since being drafted, that is a low probability event, but NOT impossible.

His first substance abuse screw up does not get him any heavy-duty punishment from the league, but it does mean that he must be monitored for substance-abuse "issues" from here on. He will get more frequent testing; and if he is dumb enough to get caught again, he could be looking at four games in the owner's box.

Is he dumb enough to do this again? I used to work with a PhD psychologist who said over and over again that the single best determinant for an individual's future behavior is the past behavior of that same individual. So let me ask again, is he dumb enough to do this again? Yes he is. Will he be unlucky enough to get caught again? That is the real question.

[EEich]

Mr Taylor... welcome to the NFL substance abuse program.

[Riggo44]

Originally Posted by Teemotay

The NFL may not suspend him, but Gibbs may.

Yea it's sounding that way. With all that money it astounds me these guys can't just get a freeking cab! I mean come on. How hard is it?

[BrudLee]

Originally Posted by smootsmack

According to SportsTalk 980 he was pulled over by Virginia State Police shortly after 2:45 am on the Beltway near the Dulles Toll Road (which is a total speed trap, always packed with cops). He failed a sobriety test, refused to take a breathalyzer. He was released this morning on $5000 bond (not sure if I have that number right). Court date set for December 1

Thanks for the speed trap info - too late. I was on my way to training camp and got popped for a $2400 ticket.

I may have been going a little fast.

[VTSkins897]

$2400 ticket?!... Just speeding or what?

[BrudLee]

In Matty's defense-

After Bruce Smith's DWI, and Leonard Little's DWI(s), there were many voices calling for various penalties. Matty's was one of the loudest for a suspension for our then-starting DE, and removal of Little from the league. I would hardly call him soft on this crime, and I'll stand behind him on this one.

Even if he is voting for Kerry.