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.