The Search For Thugs

Newsweek, December, 2007 by Raina Kelley

Sean Taylor’s death proved one thing. Young black men are stigmatized as gangstas, asking for trouble.

There was a sad inevitability to the media coverage of NFL star Sean Taylor’s murder last week in Miami—Taylor succumbed to blood loss after a bullet severed his femoral artery. First, there was shock and disbelief—a standard response to a life cut down in its prime. Taylor was just 24 years old but was already widely feared throughout the NFL as one of its toughest hitters. He will be sorely missed in the Redskins’ defensive backfield. Much of that grief, however, failed to gel into compassion or consideration of his legacy. Instead, it became a search for Sean Taylor the thug.

Taylor and his girlfriend were sleeping with their 18-month-old daughter beside...

Read the full article with a Free Trial at MyWire.

Premium Content Partnership | MyWire provides an in-depth online archive library of reference works.