Responding to Colin Cowherd

by Skin Patrol on Nov 29, 2007 2:44 PM EST in Redskins Analysis

Not that he cares what I think, but even though Dan Steinberg (also at Awful Announcing) aptly took him to task for being a disgusting human being, I still want to clear some air here. Per the Bog, quoting Cowherd on his show:

Sean Taylor, great player has a history of really really bad judgment, really really bad judgment. Cops, assault, spitting, DUI. I'm supposed to believe his judgment got significantly better in two years, from horrible to fantastic? 'But Colin he cleaned up his act.' Well yeah, just because you clean the rug doesn't mean you got everything out. Sometimes you've got stains, stuff so deep it never ever leaves.

The issue really isn't that Sean Taylor "cleaned up his act," though, he did. The issue here is that Cowherd is claiming a lot of things about Sean Taylor that are not true or are misleading and thus creates the need for a deceased man to have to defend his lifestyle. One by one:

Cops: We could start with his father, who is the Chief of Police of the Florida City PD. That would be one cop who thinks highly of Sean Taylor. We will talk about the officer who arrested Sean Taylor for DUI. We will not have a chance to talk about the officers that arrested him on the aggravated assault charge because Taylor, ever the anti-social outcast, turned himself in to authorities.

Assault: The aggravated assault charge was dismissed. Instead, Taylor pleaded no contest to simple, misdemeanor assault. A defining characteristic of misdemeanor assault is the absence of aggravating factors, such as the presence of a handgun. Sean Taylor has never been convicted -- or tried, for that matter -- of assaulting another person with a weapon, which is totally consistent with what Sean said from day one of the entire affair. The simple assault charge he plead no contest to is defined by Florida Law as:

(1) An "assault" is an intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence to the person of another, coupled with an apparent ability to do so, and doing some act which creates a well-founded fear in such other person that such violence is imminent.

(2) Whoever commits an assault shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083.

And classifies as a 2nd degree misdemeanor. Other 2nd degree misdemeanors in Florida: Adultery, Leasing a boat without the proper amount of lifejackets, Cohabitation (which I guess Sean Taylor would also be guilty of?), Misusing coin operated vending machines, Disorderly Intoxication, Playing Keno, Hypnosis (?), Loitering, "Prowling", Smoking in Elevators, "Unnatural and lascivious acts" (though thankfully there is an exemption for breast feeding). Lock your kids up, there are 2nd degree misdemeanors about.

Spitting: Dan Steinberg has the floor:

Spitting and a DUI arrest that was thrown out are stains so deep they never leave? T.O. has spit. LenDale White has spit. Chris Samuels claimed that Antonio Smith spit. Charles Barkley spit on a young girl. Roberto Alomar spit at an umpire. Lot of people have stains, I guess. Wouldn't be surprised if any of them die, I guess. Seriously, there is one prior public incident in Sean Taylor's life that causes serious concern in this case, the one involving guns. It sure isn't the fact that he spit on a player or had a DUI charge that was dismissed.

I might spit on Cowherd. I wouldn't blame you if you did.

DUI: All charges were dismissed by Judges. Upon review of the video evidence of the field sobriety test (which also included sound), a judge dismissed the DUI charge. Sean Taylor appealed the failure to take a breathalyzer charge and won because a Judge concluded that the arresting officer lacked probable cause. That is the conclusion of the DUI case that Sean Taylor is 100% innocent of in the eyes of the State of Virginia and our Justice System.

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From a Q&A forum

Bethesda, Md.: I still don't understand what happened when he brandished and fired a gun at somebody a few years ago. Yes he was young but judging from what people have been saying about him now, it seemed unlike him to do such a thing. So really, it had to have been the people he was associating with. No one seems to admit to that.

Richard Sharpstein: My wife and I represented Sean in that case. He never, never, never brandished a gun. That was a lie told by individuals who had stolen his ATV's. Sean and his friends did confront the thieves and Sean got into a short fist fight with the man perpetrator, Ryan Hill, a 6 foot 7- 280 pound former high school football player. Sean and his friends then retreated to his friend's house where the ATV's had been stolen from. Within minutes of their return the house and Sean's SUV were peppered with automatic gunfire. Neighbors called the police. However, Ryan Hill called 911 at the same time and reported that Sean Taylor had pointed a gun at him. This diversion by Hill was a lie.

Unfortunately a prosector was completely self-consumed in his prosecution of Sean Taylor as a ticket to stardom. Sean came to us six months after he had been charged. My wife and I turned the case around, finding incredible long criminal records of Ryan Hill and all the other witnesses. Eventually we proved that the prosecutor was using the case for his own personal gain. Unbelieveably he had a Web site advertising himself as a disc jockey which was pornographic and lewd. Of more relevance was the fact that he had a link to "his media coverage" and it involved the Sean Taylor case and nothing more.

We downloaded the Webs site, my wife put it in a brilliant motion and we unloaded it on the media, the court and the prosecutor's office.

By 2:00 that afternoon Mike Grieco, the prosecutor, was fired. When a newly assigned veteran prosecutor looked at the case he agreed with us that this case never should have been filed.

In order to end the case before Sean had to report to the Redskins summer camp, we agreed to allow him to plead no contest without being adjudicated to simple battery. He received a non-reporting probabation. The case was dismissed after Sean agreed to and did speak to 10 high schools and middle schools about his own life to provide inspiration for others.

by Sincethebeginning @ Hogs Haven on Nov 29, 2007 7:00 PM EST reply actions

I think this link

was it on Extreme Skins?

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by Skin Patrol on Nov 29, 2007 7:19 PM EST up reply actions

Could have came from there but

i found it pasted(most likely) under a Wilbon article in the Comments.

Does it sound accurate? or at least is it what Sharpstein really said.

by Sincethebeginning @ Hogs Haven on Nov 29, 2007 7:25 PM EST reply actions

Yes, absolutely.

That's consistent with everything I've read or heard from Sharpstein on TV or the internet. Probably a washington post Q&A now that I think of it, I might track it down...

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by Skin Patrol on Nov 29, 2007 7:30 PM EST up reply actions

Found it

from yesterday's Washington Post q&a with Richard Sharpstein. Lots of very interesting stuff in there.

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by Skin Patrol on Nov 29, 2007 7:36 PM EST up reply actions

Colin Cowherd

to call him a douchebag is to insult douchebags, which don't pick on people randomly.

=====Curly R: The Redskins Blog=====

by thatguyben on Nov 29, 2007 7:31 PM EST reply actions

By the way...

regarding the 15 minute lapse you'd mentioned on your site, here's one explanation per Sharpstein:

Richard Sharpstein: Jackie immediately gave statements to the police at the hospital. What she reported was the following:

She and Sean were awakened by loud noises in the living room. Sean got up, she grabbed the baby, hid under the covers while Sean locked the bedroom door. Sean retrieved a knife or machete that he kept under the bed, turned to the bedroom door, the door burst open, two shots rang out. She then heard a commotion which indicated more than one person leaving but she did not see anyone or hear any specific words. When she was clear that no one was in the house she went to Sean. He was lying on the floor, bleeding profusely from his leg wound; his chest was heaving, he was grasping for breath and his eyes had rolled back, indicating that he was probably unconscious. She went to her phone to call 911; it didn't work, although rumors of the phone lines being cut are false.

She used her cellphone to call 911, paramedics arrived, attempted as best they could to stop Sean's bleeding but they had to call for an airlift by helicopter to the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Hospitl. She called her family who drove her to the hospital. This is a very brave young woman, she is certainly not a suspect.

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by Skin Patrol on Nov 29, 2007 7:37 PM EST up reply actions

Also found this from cbs4.com

Ryan Hill Clears Rumors About Sean Taylor's Murder
Reporting
Peter D'Oench PERRINE (CBS4) ¯ Miami-Dade Police are not commenting about suspects in Sean Taylor's murder because this is an open investigation, but his attorney did raise some concerns about Ryan Hill. He didn't shy away from talking to us about this case and his lawsuit.

The Perrine man sued Sean Taylor last June after Taylor pleaded no contest to charges he waved a gun at him and others he thought had stolen his all-terrain vehicle. He also said Taylor hit him repeatedly.

"He had jumped on me at the house over there," said Hill. "We had started fighting--that's all he did. He did pull some weapons out but he didn't shoot nobody--nothing like that."

PETER D'OENCH: "But he did hurt you?"

"Yeah, him and his home boys jumped on me," said Hill.

Taylor's attorney, Richard Sharpstein had always disputed that account.

"He's looking for money. He's a gold digger," said SharpsteIn.

"It wasn't about money; I didn't do nothing to Sean," said Hill. "Sean jumped on me for no reason. He didn't even know me. Sean, what's this about jumping on me."

Sharpstein also suggested police take a closer look at Hill.

"There were some threats by people like Ryan Hill, but I will leave it to the police to straighten this out," he said.

When we asked Hill about Taylor's murder, he said, "I was sorry to hear about that. I saw him in the mall three months ago and he said hi to me and everything, and he was happy.... I don't know what happened. Someone shot him for no reason."

PETER D'OENCH: "You're not a suspect right?"

"No. I'm not a suspect."

PETER D'OENCH: "Did you have any reason to hurt Sean Taylor?"

"No. I seen him in the mall; we was cool. After that incident everything was alright."

PETER D'OENCH: "Who do you think shot him?"

"I don't know who shot him. They said the intruder was in the house. So it was probably somebody who he knows."

Police were not able to say if there was more than one intruder in Taylor's home. Hill says police detectives have not spoken with him, and he insists there is no need to.

The only part i think is suspect is why he would say that it was probably somebody he knows?
How would he have any clue or why would he even offer any comment that has the slightest detail to it?

by Sincethebeginning @ Hogs Haven on Nov 29, 2007 7:47 PM EST reply actions

I found something on a Ryan Hill

That certainly fits the description.

I searched the Miami-Dade Courthouse public records and found a Judgment assessing public defender costs on him on case number F0237503A, which you can examine here. Cliff notes:

Seq#     Charge     Charge Type     Disposition
1     BURGLARY/OCC/DWELL     FELONY     WH ADJ-PROB SP COND
2     GRAND THEFT 3RD DEG     FELONY     WH ADJ-PROB SP COND
3     CRIM MIS/0-200     MISDEMEANOR     WH ADJ-SUSP ENT SENT

Something to consider.

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by Skin Patrol on Nov 29, 2007 8:15 PM EST up reply actions

By the way...

that's a finding of guilt on those charges. There were others that were dismissed.

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by Skin Patrol on Nov 29, 2007 8:16 PM EST up reply actions

I AM DISGUSTED...

but just want to say that two years is ample time to change-especaiily with significant life changes taking place (ie, daughter, fiancee, Jesus-though not in that order). A man can be changed in an instant. Does that happen often? No, does it happen? Yes.

by JustinU804 on Nov 30, 2007 9:36 AM EST reply actions

The media has made him out to be

something he never really was, if at all, really, not much more than the average person.

What did he need to change?

He needed to stay away from people who stole his property and not confront them with a gun. Dont we all?......and after simply confronting them like any normal person may do without a gun.....he did stay away. What he did was very normal by all standards.

He needed to not get pulled over and accused of a DUI without being convicted. If you drive your car today and dont get a DUI then you have done exactly what Sean Taylor has done his entire life. He's never been convicted of a DUI!

The other supposedly things are all not even close to being on a criminal level.

What it adds up to is alot of jealously, from his old friends to the media. Lets face it almost everyone has a favorite team and the media has to fill air time with something.

So its easy to say things without the facts, just say it, and because people are listening they will believe it. Its that simple!

The whole situation is disgusting.

by Sincethebeginning @ Hogs Haven on Nov 30, 2007 10:36 AM EST up reply actions

I think...

he probably associated with some people he shouldn't have, but that's true for most of us. The issue though, is that we don't really know nearly as much about his "checkered" friends or former friends as we do about the ATV and DUI incidents, and what we know about those to incidents is that they weren't founded accusations per the judicial system.

It all boils down to the ATV incident. Everything we know -- about the accuser (a guilty felon who parlayed the incident into a 15K civil suit that has since been amended to include costly punitive damages), the original Assistant State Attorney (who "removed himself" from the case due to accusations of misconduct and has since been accused of additional misconduct), the behavior of the next State Attorney (who dropped the charge), the charges themselves plead to, the repeated insistence of Taylor from the beginning to the outset, that he didn't have a gun, that happens to completely coincide with the ultimate ruling -- casts a large shadow of doubt as to the accuracy of criminal Ryan Hill's claim, motive, and conduct of the original ASA. It tells us that there isn't a strong enough factual basis on which to conclude that Sean Taylor assaulted anyone with a weapon, at least that's the opinion of the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office and, thus, the State and People of Florida's opinion.

I don't know if Sean Taylor was a saint. All I know is the public record available on the oft-repeated DUI and Aggravated Assault charges. And I'm not certain that the people responsible were randoms who happened upon his house (not that it would matter). But what I firmly believe, what I am morally convinced of, is that if anyone is going to accuse Sean Taylor of something, they better do so with some facts in hand in the present and not depending on some future facts revealed about his character, because that's not fair to him, or to anyone for that matter.

Which is all to say that I agree with SinceTheBeginning: The situation is disgusting. A lot of people who know better are handling it very improperly, in my opinion.

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by Skin Patrol on Nov 30, 2007 10:54 AM EST up reply actions