So sad, LT.
I know that I usually only write about the Steelers, but I thought that Lawrence Taylor’s latest problems deserved a mention.
As most of you have heard by now, Lawrence Taylor was arrested for allegedly raping a 16-year old runaway. The runaway was apparently beaten by her pimp before being delivered to Taylor’s room at the Holiday Inn. Taylor allegedly paid her $300 for sex.
The reason that I even mention this story is not because I am interested in tabloid journalism. I think we’ve all had enough of that with the whole Ben Roethlisberger issue.
No, I write about this because Lawrence Taylor falls into a very small list of players who played for other teams that I respected, and even admired.
Hall-of-Fame LB Lawrence Taylor
Make no mistake. I bleed black and gold. In my opinion, there are two kinds of NFL players; Pittsburgh Steelers, and players who don’t deserve to be on the same field as the Pittsburgh Steelers. But there are a few exceptions to this general rule.
Over the course of my years as a football fan, a few non-Steelers have actually earned my respect and admiration. Lawrence Taylor is one of them. The others who quickly come to mind include Barry Sanders, Jim Brown, Peyton Manning (yeah, I admit it), Reggie White, and Walter Payton.
Lawrence Taylor may have been the most dominant defensive player of all-time. He was certainly the most dominant linebacker. Sure, there have been many great linebackers over the years, and many of them have played for our Pittsburgh Steelers. But Lawrence Taylor was different. Lawrence Taylor redefined the position. Anyone who was fortunate enough to see Lawrence Taylor play knows exactly what I’m talking about.
Taylor was a joy to watch. Opponents feared him. Offensive coordinators had to plan for him. Offensive linemen couldn’t stop him. I hated him. But it was a hatred that was based on respect.
It’s sad to see such a great player struggle so greatly off the field. As good as Taylor was on the field, he has been equally bad off the field. He’s had multiple run-ins with the law. He has a well-documented history of struggling with drug addiction.
Far too often, fans place professional athletes on a pedestal. We idolize them, and expect them to be more than human. Unfortunately, far too frequently they remind us that they are very human. Big Ben reminded us of that lately. Now Lawrence Taylor has done the same.
I was fortunate to have spent many years working in the athletic footwear industry. I met hundreds of professional athletes, and signed many of them to endorsement contracts. During that time, I got to see many of them outside of the playing field. And all too often, the person that I saw was a flawed shadow of the person that fans thought they were.
Many (most?) of the athletes that I met were poorly educated. Most of them had a sense of entitlement. A great percentage of them used illegal drugs. And most of them cheated on their wives and girlfriends. It’s not the way that we want to think of our heroes. But it’s how far too many of them are.
I want to remember Lawrence Taylor as the dominant player that I used to admire on the football field. But to separate that person from the one who now finds himself in trouble with the law (again) would be wrong.
At some point, fans have to understand that most of their heroes are terribly flawed. This point has been driven home lately by the Ben Roethlisberger situation. Despite the fact that Ben was not found guilty of a crime, I’m sure that there aren’t many out there who condone Ben’s behavior.
I pray that Lawrence Taylor, Ben Roethlisberger, and many other professional athletes will become great men, and not just great athletes. But the sad truth is that that is not likely to happen. That’s why I think we all need to appreciate how lucky we are to have players like Troy Polamalu, Hines Ward, Heath Miller, and Aaron Smith playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pro sports is populated by far too many Lawrence Taylors, and far too few Troy Polamalus.
Troy Polamalu
LT is in my prayers. Perhaps his story will ultimately end up as a tale of redemption. But I thank God that we have players like Troy to show us what character looks like, both on and off the field.
I agree with you 100 percent. There aren’t enough Peyton Mannings out there and too many players like Pacman Jones. However, I find it ironic that you write an article about this while being a Steeler fan, considering the fact that they are the biggest team of goons and thugs in the NFL. Joey Porter (former Steeler), beat the shit out of a guy and his girlfriend at a casino. Big Ben (two rape charges, enough said). Santonio Holmes, wow, hit a woman in the face with a wine glass. This deserves a Cris Carter “C’MON MAN! James Harrison to my knowledge hasn’t been convicted of anything, although I have a couple friends in Pittsburgh who said he’s a dick. I’ll give you Troy Polamalu, though. I bet he’s a classy guy.
1Hey Big Lou- The Steelers happen to be in the news now for bad reasons-and justifiably so. Don’t make it sound like the Steelers have a corner on this ‘bad behavior’ thing. Don’t know who you root for but every team has had these issues at one time or another. That in itself is a sad statement and more to the point about how completely ‘out of balance’ we are with our hero worship today. You can focus this on the Steelers if that makes you feel good but the more you do that the more you prove that you don’t get it.
2nice write up. i think a lot of ppl need to distinguish between using players’ on the field play/mentality as a role model as compared to their off-the field actions…although that’s obviously easier said than done.
agree with you john. Lou, why don’t you take a look around the NFL and see what else you find, colts just had a player accused of rape too. btw, ben’s been accused of rape twice not charged (not condoning his actions). as for holmes: by all accounts, except the “victim’s,” holmes didnt throw the glass. that includes the person the friends of the “victim” first told the cop threw the glass & that person himself. again, i dont want holmes on my team any more and i dont condone what ben did, but if you’re gonna throw mud at the steelers on a steelers blog at least get your facts right.
3Barry Sanders, Jim Brown, Peyton Manning, Reggie White, and Walter Payton all should’ve been HOF players. My list may be a little longer than yours but I like the idea of staying with the Black and Gold on this site. I visit here daily for any new morsel of Steeler data. Keep up the good work. And about Big Lou, it seems obvious he’s not a Steeler fan, who knows how he found this site and he probably hasn’t been back since he stirred the pot. I appreciate Tim and John for standing up for our Steeler nation but lets not turn this comment section into the ones like NFL.com or ESPN.com where 90% of the dialog is bashing. We come here to read and talk Steeler X’s & O’s.
4Thanks to those of you who stood up for the Black and Gold. I try to allow everyone to voice their opinions, even if I don’t agree with them. If fans of other teams want to say negative things about the Steelers, I usually allow them to, unless they use foul language, and then I delete their messages. But otherwise, I allow free speech. So thanks for defending your team.
Also, I thank everyone for not being upset that I revealed that I respect Peyton Manning. I was afraid that I was going to catch some grief for that one.
5Chuck,
6My list is actually longer too. I simply listed the first few that came to mind. But there are many non-Steelers who have earned my respect over the years.
Hello! I know it’s OTA’s but we need ya! Hope all is OK! Looking forward to talking Steelers!
7it been way over a month since ur last post!!!!
8were are you!?!?
Now that Hines Ward was arrested do you think they should cut him? Remember that they had a few players cut by the Steelers because of being arrested and the type of “organization” they are. They gave the excuse that Big Ben was not arrested. But here is Hinds Ward being arrested now what will they do. Probably nothing at all.
9I wonder if this is the first time Mr. Ward had driven drunk? He does it one time and gets caught. WOW what bad luck.
10