November 28, 2007
Wilbon Walks The Line
By Jeff PyattMichael Wilbon is one of my favorite sports columnists. More than a mere TV personality, his writings often set the discussion agenda for as many as six or seven different sports. But over the past three days, Wilbon has found himself amid controversy in the wake of the shooting and subsequent death of Sean Taylor.
Culminating with his column today, the controversy began Monday during an online forum at the Washington Post's Chat House. Just a few hours after news of Taylor's shooting broke, Wilbon had this exchange with a reader:
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.
In the aftermath, many bloggers were quick to admonish Wilbon's less than genuinely sympathetic statements, claiming it was hardly the tone to set while a man lies in a hospital bed struggling for his life.
Awful Announcing (Mike Wilbon Could Be Losing Some Supporters In DC Soon): "[I]t was pretty obvious Sean Taylor had taken a turn for the good. I thought this was pretty evident to much of the Country in fact. While his past wasn't a secret, Wilbon's comments (at a time when the man was fighting for his life) were irresponsible and unfortunate."
Mr. Irrelevant (Special Spot in Hell Reserved for Wilbon): "[His comments are] ridiculous on so many levels, but the worst part is that it sounds an awful lot like Wilbon is suggesting Taylor had this coming. Sure, Taylor’s had some troubles in the past, but that’s like suggesting the slutty girl from high school deserved to be raped. See, the way it works is that crimes are not the fault of the victims."
And at AOL Fanhouse (Michael Wilbon On Sean Taylor Shooting: "It's Not Surprising"): "Whenever we hear about an athlete getting shot outside a nightclub or at a party, we say "why don't they just stay at home and forget all that mess?" Taylor was doing exactly that, and his life was taken away from him anyways."
Clearly affected by the response he was getting, Wilbon used Talking Points and Pardon The Interruption to clarify his message. In doing so, he made some valuable points.
First, he echoed Tony Kornheiser's comments that as a cynical sportswriter, as opposed to a loyal sports fan, he is detached from the normal emotional connection to the local teams.
Second, he argued that as we learn more about what happened and why, we are going to learn unflattering pieces of information about Sean Taylor that fans, simply because they are fans, won't want to hear, but need to hear.
Third, he said his job and the job of other sportswriters is to discuss all of the story, from every useful perspective. And sometimes it will be uncomfortable. "If these uncomfortable discussions are had more frequently, then kids who are growing up -- who might understand better the need to separate themselves from certain circumstances that may then catch them later through no fault of their own -- they will better served."
Still, although all of these counter-points are unquestionably robust, he undervalued one question and completely ignored another.
Does Sean Taylor's life-story deserve our praise and admiration? Clearly a conflicted individual, Taylor made a choice to turn his life around and outright reject the thuggish lifestyle. It may have been too late to save his life, but as a high-profile individual with incredible pressures, he deserves to be celebrated by all of us, including Wilbon, for that choice.
Why did Wilbon feel compelled to make the initial statement that he did, when he did? The question speaks directly to the journalistic pressures of a real-time news cycle. If he didn't say something provocative, another enterprising journalist would. In all the controversy Wilbon never addresses this question. I wish he would, because it wasn't what he said as much as when he said it that was so egregious, and that ended up stoking the emotions that it did.
It's impossible to tell whether it was a result of the terrible incident itself or the negative reaction he had been getting, but this morning Wilbon's column had fire. He was angry. He said so himself. And it was on display.
If you're hoping to read about the on-field exploits of Sean Taylor, or a retrospective of his time with the Washington Redskins, it would probably be better if you cast your eyes to a piece elsewhere in this newspaper.Seriously, you should stop right here.
Because we're going to have a different conversation in this space -- about the violent and senseless nature of the act that took his life, about trying to change course when those around you might not embrace such a change, about dying young and black in America, about getting the hell out of Dodge if at all possible.
I wasn't surprised in the least when I heard the news Monday morning that Sean Taylor had been shot in his home by an intruder. Angry? Yes. Surprised? Not even a little. It was only in June 2006 that Taylor, originally charged with a felony, pleaded no contest to assault and battery charges after brandishing a gun during a battle over who took his all-terrain vehicles in Florida. After that, an angry crew pulled up on Taylor and his boys and pumped at least 15 bullets into his sport-utility vehicle. So why would anybody be surprised? Had it been Shawn Springs, I would have been stunned. But not Sean Taylor.
As is almost always the case when these things happen, there is a silver lining to this tragic episode. Regardless of your feelings about what Wilbon said, we are undoubtedly engaged in an important conversation. We agree that Sean Taylor was a man loved by people of all races and backgrounds in Washington. But perhaps more remarkable is how we are disagreeing. Just about every white sportswriter that has written about him over the past couple days has praised Taylor as a troubled kid turning good. And yet it was a prominent black writer who demurred, saying, that may be true, but it still might have been his previous decisions and dangerous past that caught up with him. And, unfortunately, he wouldn't be surprised if it was. Having had a former life in politics, I can safely say this, free from the burden of political realities, is the kind of responsible and progressive conversation that happens only in sports.
