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Complexities Surround Redskins' Taylor
Happier times for safety Sean Taylor, center, who in 2004 celebrated his selection by the Washington Redskins with his mother, Donna Junor, left, and his great-grandmother Aulga Clark, right. (Candace Barbot - AP)
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Taylor graduated from nearby Gulliver Prep High -- an exclusive private school on a picturesque 13-acre campus. After returning to the area in January, Taylor occasionally appeared at the school to watch his brother Joe, a senior forward on the basketball team, play. Their father coaches football part-time in the afternoon.
Adorning the wall of the athletic director's office is an oversized frame of a newspaper article with the headline: "Historic Win by Gulliver." The bank headline reads: "Taylor (3 TDs) leads Raiders to the Title." Taylor is pictured clutching the ball with his right hand, leaping over a pile of burly bodies while a defender tries to tackle him. In the fall of 2000, Taylor led Gulliver Prep to the state championship with a state-record 44 touchdowns.
"When Sean came to us, he was a great athlete and a student willing to put effort in the classroom," said Chuck Tobey, the school's athletic director.
Taylor also played basketball at Gulliver.
"His dad, being a police officer, understood the importance of education, and kept Sean focused," Tobey said. "Sean was very respectful. He was a competitor on the field, but he was a pretty quiet kid, friendly. That's why the incident is rather surprising."
Added Schusterman: "The people in Washington should understand that this guy will work out. We all make mistakes. Have I done stupid things when I was young? Yes. And I probably still do today. Just because somebody gives you money doesn't mean all of a sudden you're perfectly mature.
"When you get in a position like him, it's not so much that he might hang around with the wrong crowd. It's that they stay attached to him. It's not as easy to let that go as you think."
Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
