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Who was Sean Taylor?
The late American professional Football player Sean Michael Maurice ‘Meast’ Taylor was born in Florida City USA on 1 April 1983, meaning that Aries was his zodiac sign. He spent his short career playing for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL), as they picked him in the 2004 NFL Draft as the fifth overall selection; Sean had previously been a successful high school and college player.
His home was robbed on 18 November 2007, and the robbers returned on 26 November; the house was empty the first time the robbers came, but Sean and his family were there on 26 November. He began investigating the house after having heard noises, and one of the robbers shot him in the leg; his femoral artery was hit, and Sean died the following day after having lost a lot of blood, aged 24.
Four men were initially charged with first-degree murder and armed burglary, while the fifth suspect Timothy Brown (16 years old) was also charged in May 2008; four were sentenced to 18, 29, 30 and 57 years behind bars, while Jason Scott Mitchell was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Education and early life
Sean was raised alongside his sisters Monika Martin and Sasha Johnson, and brothers Gabriel Taylor and Jamal Johnson in Florida; Sean spent the first 11 years of his life in Homestead, where he was raised by his great-grandmother Aulga Clarke, while he then moved in with his father Pedro Taylor, who was a police officer. Sean didn’t share many details about his mother Donna Junor – it’s believed that Donna and Pedro divorced not long after he was born.
He and his father eventually moved to Miami, Florida, and Sean studied at Miami Killian High School, prior to transferring to Gulliver Preparatory School; during his time at Gulliver, Sean excelled in basketball, football and track. He helped his team win the 2000 Florida Class 2A Football State Championship, with them losing only one of their 15 games; Sean also won the 2000 State 2A 100-meter dash.
Thirteen years ago today, we lost Sean Taylor. His legacy will forever be felt by the football world and Miami Hurricanes football fans.
Rest In Peace, Sean Taylor
(April 1, 1983-November 27, 2007) pic.twitter.com/bq8kNyF3NH— Spark College Football (@SparkCFB) November 27, 2020
The sports magazine “Super Prep”, the daily newspaper “The Florida Times-Union” and the newspaper “The Gainesville Sun” all ranked Sean #1 skilled high school athlete, and he was also named to the Florida High School Association All-Century Team in 2007.
College
Upon matriculating in 2001, Sean enrolled at University of Miami on a football scholarship, joining their Miami Hurricanes football team which was coached by Larry Coker; he was also on the university’s track & field team.
He was named Big East Special Teams Player of the Week as a freshman, and helped his team win the 2001 national championship.
Sean became a starter in 2002; the Hurricanes lost in the 2002 National Championship to Ohio State.
His 2003 season with the Hurricanes was historic, as he was named first-team All-American, a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and the Big East Conference Defensive Player of the Year; he ranked first in both interceptions (10) and total tackles (77). During that final year with the Hurricanes, Sean also performed well on their track & field team, placing fourth at the Gatorade Invitational 100-meter dash.
NFL
Sean chose to forgo his final year at the university, thus making himself eligible for the 2004 NFL Draft; the Washington Redskins chose him in the first round, and Sean was one of six players who were drafted from the University of Miami. He signed a six-year $18 million contract with the Redskins on 27 July 2004, including a signing bonus of $13 million; he re-hired agent Drew Rosenhaus whom he had previously fired, and Drew then worked for Sean until his untimely death.
Sean played his first game on 9 August 2004, when the Redskins won against the Denver Broncos thanks to Sean’s two interceptions; as a rookie, he recorded 76 combined tackles and four interceptions.
He had a solid 2005 season, recording 10 pass deflections (his new career-high), 70 combined tackles and two interceptions; they lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the National Football Conference (NFC) Divisional Round.
In 2006, Sean was named the first alternative to the NFC’s 2007 Pro Bowl; as Brian Dawkins of the Philadelphia Eagles suffered an injury, Sean played instead of him in the game, which remained his only Pro Bowl appearance.
As the 2007 season was about to start, the magazine “Sports Illustrated” named Sean ‘the hardest-hitting player’; he was posthumously voted to his second Pro Bowl on 18 December 2007.
Love life and relationships
Sean preferred to keep his love life away from media, but it’s known that he was engaged to Jackie Garcia Haley at the time of his death, and that they had a daughter together.
Jackie gave birth to her and Sean’s daughter Jackie Taylor in May 2006 – Sean was 23 at that time; his Redskins teammates stated in interviews following his death that he had matured with the birth of his daughter, and that he ‘grew up overnight’.
Both Jackie and her daughter were in the house when Sean was being robbed, and both were unharmed.
Sean didn’t speak about other girls whom he dated, he was engaged to Jackie Garcia Haley at the time of his death, and they have a daughter together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Sean was arrested on drink driving charges in October 2004, but was acquitted in March 2005.
On 30 November 2008, he was inducted into the Washington Redskins Ring of Fame (posthumously), and his jersey number was retired in October 2021.
The fan-made Instagram page ‘Sean Taylor the Legend’ is today followed by nearly 30,000 people, and close to 2,000 pictures and videos have been uploaded onto it.
Height, eyes and wealth
Sean would’ve been 40 today. He had brown eyes and black hair, was 6ft 2ins (1.88m) tall and weighed around 210lbs (96kgs).
Sean’s net worth was estimated at over $6.5 million at the time of his death.
