Washington Football Team: Sean Taylor number retirement is see-through

The Washington Football Team’s number retirement of Sean Taylor is a terrible see-through attempt to distract the fans, and no one is falling for it.

On Sunday, the Washington Football Team will be retiring the number 21 in honor of Sean Taylor. Now, if you were unaware of this (or if you feel like it is being rushed) – you aren’t alone. Washington announced it on their Twitter page on Thursday. Giving everyone just a few days’ notice.

They might think they are fooling the fans, but the fans aren’t as dumb as the organization seems to think they are. It is no coincidence that this comes on the heels of all that is happening. We’ve seen the facilities get raided, sexual harassment allegations, and now everything with these emails. The emails that caused Jon Gruden (very rightfully) to resign from his job with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Those emails apparently have a lot to do with the Washington Football Team. And it is surprisingly a lot of people that nothing has come of it that has hurt the organization. That could absolutely be coming in the near future though.

Washington Football Team: Sean Taylor number retirement is see-through

So what do they do in the light of all this terrible press? They go for the hail mary desperation play. Retiring Sean Taylor’s number. This is something that a lot of fans and players have been asking to have happen for years. Some fans aren’t the biggest supporters of the idea, but personally, I’ve always wanted to see it happen.

Taylor was incredible in his short time with the team. He lived up to lofty expectations and more. He was on pace to be one of the best defenders in the NFL for a long, long time. It’s easy to predict he would have been a Hall of Famer. Exciting, entertaining, talented — everything was there before his untimely death. Being murdered by home invaders as Taylor tried to protect his family – a true hero.

So you would think this is something to celebrate, and that’s what makes it all so frustrating. Usually, teams would announce this well beforehand. Likely the offseason. Give everyone something to look forward to. Plan out a whole celebration, the whole nine yards.

Instead, they’ve given fans just a few days. And it really cheapens the whole thing. Because it makes it so painfully obvious that the Washington Football Team front office (Dan Snyder and company) is using the number retirement of a legend to take some heat off them. It’s great PR to celebrate someone. Who will try to mention them in all the scandals for the next few days with all this going on?

It’s disgusting, dishonorable, and tactless. Even worse, it’s disrespectful to Taylor and his family. They are using him as a diversion tactic. If they truly wanted to do it properly, they would not be doing it on such short notice.

Sean Taylor was selected fifth overall by Washington in the 2004 NFL Draft. He immediately became a fan favorite. It appears he touched everyone he met. And a lot of people still love him to this day.

In four years with the team, he quickly became must-watch anytime he was on the field. During the 2007 season (the season that he was murdered in), Taylor was having a career year. He already had a career-high five interceptions in just nine games.

Just 24 and the entire world in front of him. On-pace to be one of the greatest players in team history. Beloved by the fans and his teammates.

Let’s not dishonor Sean Taylor by finally retiring his number in the cheapest most obvious diversion attempt in the history of embarrassing diversion attempts. Do better, Washington Football Team.