The Sports Note

If you’ve been reading the comments over at Redskins Insider you know some people are upset over WaPo columnist Michael Wilbon’s comments in a Chat House today. I’m not sure if Wilbon was fully aware of the severity of Taylor’s situation but reading Wilbon comes off pretty heartless in some of his responses. To wit:

McLean, Va.: Will your opinion of Taylor change if this does not turn out to be a random incident (e.g. home invasion)?

Michael Wilbon: No…People’s opinions are shaped by the way they’ve grown up, the way they see the world, what they know about the world the person in question grew up in, etc. Sean Taylor isn’t the only guy I know who fits his general profile. I’ve known guys like Taylor all my life, grew up with some. They still have shades of gray and shouldn’t be painted in black and white…I know how I feel about Taylor, and this latest news isn’t surprising in the least, not to me. Whether this incident is or isn’t random, Taylor grew up in a violent world, embraced it, claimed it, loved to run in it and refused to divorce himself from it. He ain’t the first and won’t be the last. We have no idea what happened, or if what we know now will be revised later. It’s sad, yes, but hardly surprising.

Italics mine. From all accounts this is absolutely wrong. Everything I’ve read and heard today from Redskins players and coaches has said that Taylor had changed, for the better, ever since he became a father 18 months ago. Also, from what we know, this was a home invasion, which, at least to me, is pretty much always a “surprising” event.

Here’s another snippet from the chat, and to my mind, the one that reflects the worst on Wilbon:

Columbia, Md.: What makes you think that Taylor was still embracing his old ways? Every thing we have heard from the Redskins and Portis is that this is a new Sean. Apparently the birth of his child really helped to straighten him out. Is this contrary to what you know?

Michael Wilbon: Sorry, but I’n not in the habit of having comapanies with their own public relations agenda tell me about black men and what they feel or don’t feel. Pardon me if I’m not that easy.

Generally I admire Wilbon’s ability to cut through the bullshit but lets be honest here: Wilbon doesnt know what he’s talking about. Sean Taylor is notorious for not talking to the media, so Wilbon knows him so well as to judge him like this….how? OK fine, Wilbon isn’t trusting the PR people for insight on Sean but then where’s he getting his own insight? From who?

One last bit:

Pittsburgh: Still in shell shock about this Taylor situation, makes everything else seem trivial. I haven’t read any articles about the game or reaction, but do you think these close losses are encouraging to Jason Campbell, knowing it just a matter of time and experience before it all comes together?

Michael Wilbon: Again, I’m not the least bit surprised about the Taylor episode…Why would I be considering his history, even since he joined the Redskins?

Again, there’s nothing wrong with this per se, it just seems like a very, very cold reaction to what all accounts seems to be a tragic incident. I guess this stands out more for the lack of compassion and matter-of-factness then anything.

P.S. I’ve heard Wilbon kept up this line of thought on PTI but missed the show. Will post video if I get it.