2008 Woodie Awards
Lack of sense in NFL murder
Drew Salmi
Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: Opinions
- Page 1 of 1
Growing up middle class in the Midwest has left me baffled by the actions of wealthy people. I could probably fill this 300-plus word column with names of millionaires who received DUIs in the last year. Really? You can afford a Bentley but not a taxi or a driver on nights you go out drinking?
The death of Pro-Bowl safety Sean Taylor is a tragedy, as all homicides are, but the circumstances definitely leave me wondering, w.t.f. was this millionaire football-stud thinking? If you own more than one multi-million dollar home, you can afford to pony up some spare change for security. An alarm, a camera system, I don't know, whatever it is to keep intruders away.
Taylor had been considered a bit of a bad apple in college and his first years as a pro, but everyone who knew him said he'd matured since the birth of his 18-month-old daughter. You would think that one of the first steps a maturing young father would take is to ensure the safety of his newborn child and wife.
On Nov. 17, Taylor's Florida home where he was later murdered was broken into. A kitchen knife was left on the bed. He and his family weren't there. Anyone else's Spidey-sense tingling?
I would have crapped my pants, thrown up, then hired the whole state of Alabama (they're disposable) to protect my family and I. When you make millions of dollars a year, you don't leave anything up to chance.
I don't want to pick on a dead man, but what did Sean Taylor do for his family's protection if there were a repeat break-in? The obvious answer; he kept a machete in the bedroom. That may have been enough if he were Michael Meyers.
So Monday morning, when Taylor heard an intruder, he locked the door and grabbed his giant knife. They busted in and he was shot in the leg near his groin, losing enough blood to lead to his death a day later. His wife and baby were huddled together under the covers as it all unfolded.
Thank god the burglars let them live; then again, they weren't wielding huge blades of destruction like Taylor was. I feel bad for his family and friends, but they were blessed to lose only one family member.
The death of Pro-Bowl safety Sean Taylor is a tragedy, as all homicides are, but the circumstances definitely leave me wondering, w.t.f. was this millionaire football-stud thinking? If you own more than one multi-million dollar home, you can afford to pony up some spare change for security. An alarm, a camera system, I don't know, whatever it is to keep intruders away.
Taylor had been considered a bit of a bad apple in college and his first years as a pro, but everyone who knew him said he'd matured since the birth of his 18-month-old daughter. You would think that one of the first steps a maturing young father would take is to ensure the safety of his newborn child and wife.
On Nov. 17, Taylor's Florida home where he was later murdered was broken into. A kitchen knife was left on the bed. He and his family weren't there. Anyone else's Spidey-sense tingling?
I would have crapped my pants, thrown up, then hired the whole state of Alabama (they're disposable) to protect my family and I. When you make millions of dollars a year, you don't leave anything up to chance.
I don't want to pick on a dead man, but what did Sean Taylor do for his family's protection if there were a repeat break-in? The obvious answer; he kept a machete in the bedroom. That may have been enough if he were Michael Meyers.
So Monday morning, when Taylor heard an intruder, he locked the door and grabbed his giant knife. They busted in and he was shot in the leg near his groin, losing enough blood to lead to his death a day later. His wife and baby were huddled together under the covers as it all unfolded.
Thank god the burglars let them live; then again, they weren't wielding huge blades of destruction like Taylor was. I feel bad for his family and friends, but they were blessed to lose only one family member.