Former New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor has been arrested in Florida for DUI after police say he crashed while trying to change lanes on the turnpike.
Cops say 57-year-old Taylor was driving his Bentley southbound through Palm Beach at around 5:20 pm on Friday when he attempted to move between lanes. During the maneuver police say the one-time NFL star clipped a motorhome, causing his car to sideswipe a police cruiser, knocking the side mirror off.
Nobody was injured during the accident, cops told WPTV, and there was little damage to the cruiser.
Taylor was taken to the Palm Beach County Jail where he was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence.
The oft-troubled Taylor, who was drafted as a first round pick and second overall by the Giants in 1981, went on to a spectacular 13-year career with the team.
He won two Super Bowls in New York, retiring in 1993 as one of the greatest defensive players of all time and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
Photo by: Tony Mangia
But his post-NFL career has been marred by problems with drugs and alcohol including a 2010 arrest for paying to have sex with a 16-year-old girl.
Taylor eventually pleaded guilty to patronizing a prostitute and having sex with a minor and was placed on probation.
The New York Yankees are taking dealing with the press seriously this spring training. And, in an effort to prepare players to meet with reporters, the team’s media training staff is using NFL players and other public examples of how to act and how not to act after a disappointing loss.
Last week the team kicked off the first session of media training that the Yankees do every year for their players, a several-day program filled with demonstrations, guest speakers, and two 15-minute videos comprised of clips from athletes interacting with the media past and present.
According to ESPN, one video this year featured NFL quarterbacks Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers and Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks. The video, shown to pitchers and catchers, compared the way Newton handled his team’s Super Bowl loss this year with the way Wilson dealt with his team’s defeat last year.
Newton received widespread criticism after Super Bowl 50, not because his less-than-stellar performance but because he moped at the podium before abruptly storming out of the post-game press conference.
Wilson, by contrast, answered every reporter’s question and took the blame for his team’s loss to the Patriots in February 2015.
It's no surprise Yankees icon — and poster boy for media savvy — Derek Jeter is featured in one video right after a section called "Everything is Fair Game," and says that players have to take the approach that everyone is watching you at all times, on and off the field.
But it is some of the other examples in the "wrong way" category that have people scratching their heads including one clip of ESPN reporter Britt McHenry — who was caught on camera last April unleashing a rant at an employee of a car towing company.
McHenry mocked the teeth of the employee behind the counter and told the person to, among other things, "lose some weight, baby girl."
And, strangely, they included actor Charlie Sheen's dopey tirade five years ago on ABC, calling some people "droopy-armed children."
According to NJ Advance Media, who sat down with Yankees' public relations director Jason Zillo for an exclusive look at the pair of videos and learn some of the ins and outs of how the Yankees train and handle their players' interactions with the media.
General manager Brian Cashman and manager Joe Girardi—the driving forces behind the media training, Zillo said—appear on the videos multiple times along with former players Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Andy Pettitte, plus current Yanks Brett Gardner and Carlos Beltran, among others.
Some of the most interesting parts of the videos were recent clips from athletes, showcasing both good and bad post-game interviews, according to NJ.com. And even New Jersey's beloved Lawrence Taylor gets kicked to the bad side.
Good:
— Russell Wilson's admission that he threw a bad pass in the Super Bowl a year ago that lost the Seattle Seahawks the game.
—Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy last fall owning up to the ground ball that went under his glove in the World Series.
— Washington Wizards guard John Wall tearing up in a post-game interview not long after a young friend passed away.
— Pettitte's press conference admitting to HGH use.
— Ex-Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor aggressively confronting a reporter on the field.
— Dallas Cowboys' defensive end Greg Hardy's "no comment, next question" interview with reporters last fall.
— Former big leaguer Pete Rose lying about betting on baseball.
Says Cashman in the video: After games reporters are going to go into a clubhouse looking to talk about what went wrong. Take responsibility, he says.
Even one-time pariah Alex Rodriguez is used in a clip. And if the Yankees and press are loving A-Rod as much as everyone is reporting this spring, those tapes must be working.
Jadeveon Clowney hasn't even stepped into an NFL locker room and already he is being compared to one of the league's all-time greats — Lawrence Taylor.
Though no fault of the pass-rushing South Carolina lineman, Clowney's size and freakish athletic abilities makes the comparison to the New York Giants legend inevitable — especially with all of the pre-draft hype leading up to Clowney being the potential No. 1 overall pick.
But one of L.T.'s longtime former teammates thinks all of the talk is just plain crazy.
Carl Banks, Taylor's former Giants teammate and fellow linebacker knows hyperbole doesn't equal a 13-season NFL career and has seen plenty "game-changers" come and go.
"No. 1, you're stepping over a lot of great defensive ends," Banks told ESPN’s Ashley Fox. "They should hope he's as good as a Richard Dent, Neil Smith, Bruce Smith or Charles Haley. If he can get to that level, he's a dominant player. But you want to jump over those players and say he's the next Lawrence Taylor? It's ridiculous. I just gave you four of the greatest defensive ends, and you don't want to put him in that category because he's already better than them?"
Besides, Clowney has zero career NFL sacks and some might suggest he is a prima donna who took almost an entire college season off while Taylor revolutionized the linebacker position and had 132.5 career sacks. And, according to Banks, L.T. never took a play or practice off.
"LT was the guy that would always set the tempo for practice, whether he hated every drill," said Banks, now an analyst on the Giants radio broadcast. "He would complain after the fact, but he would give 100 percent. ... He never took a play off, never wanted to take a play off and resented players who took plays off. He'd talk about you if you wouldn't finish."
The expectations for Clowney have almost reached almost unrealistic levels.
Taylor turned the game upside down when he came out of North Carolina in 1981. And while the comparisons to the Hall-of-Famer might be unfair to Clowney right now, they are already out there.
Mixed in between all of the troubles in Lawrence Taylor's post-New York Giants career, two things have remained constant and for certain — the Hall of Famer's affection for golf and his loyalty to the G-Men.
At the David Ortiz Celebrity Golf Classic on Saturday, LT had a chance to address both the little dimpled ball and the rouge-faced head coach of the Giants — Tom Coughlin. And he took a hefty swing at each one.
Taylor has all the respect in the world for what Coughlin has accomplished in 10 years with Big Blue, but the legendary linebacker said it’s time to sack the two-time Super Bowl winning coach.
"Tom Coughlin has done wonders for the Giants. Personally, I don’t know if I could play for him, but the guy is a winner, he is a fighter. But I think it is time for him to take his talents on the road," Taylor told the N.Y. Post while at the Dominican Republic golf outing. "He’s done all he can do for the Giants. If he wants to coach, I think he needs to take his philosophies to another team."
LT was quick to point out that his opinion is not a personal attack on Coughlin —who led the Giants to Super Bowl titles in 2007 and 2011— but an observation that the 5-and-8 team will miss the playoffs again for the fourth time in five seasons and the longtime coach's time has come.
"After a while, the players just stop listening," said Taylor. "I respect the man, but it’s time. As much as I like Coughlin and the job he has done, it’s time for a shakeup."
The 54-year-old Taylor is only speaking as a former player who still hits hard, and he doesn’t care what people think about his comments.
"Listen," he said as he sat and smoked a cigar. "Everything is good in my life now. There are a lot of people who care about me and are concerned about me, and the people who don’t like me, I’m not in the mood and I’m not going to try to change your opinion. I’m fine with that. My life is good."
Taylor and Coughlin may differ on certain aspects of their lives — but they both bleed Giants blue.
In a possibly sad case of the apple not falling far from the tree, NFL great Lawrence Taylor's adult son was arrested in Georgia on Sunday on three felony charges of statutory rape, sodomy and child molestation.
Lawrence Taylor Jr, remains jailed on no bond after his arrest in Powder Springs. The troubled NFL Hall of Famer’s 6-foot-1, 230-pound son was arrested about 5:30 a.m. Sunday in the city, which sits about 25 miles northwest of Atlanta, according to the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office. The 31-year-old lives in Powder Springs but was arrested at a different home in the town.
The aggravated sodomy and aggravated child molestation charges stem from an incident Saturday afternoon at Taylor Jr.’s house when a girl, described as under 18 years old, says Taylor Jr. “did with force spread her legs then pulled her bathing suit to the side and gave her oral sex,” according to the arrest warrant, reported The New York Daily News. The girl reportedly told him no several times before the unwanted act occurred.
Georgia law describes aggravated sodomy as unwanted oral sex.
A second girl, described in court papers as under 16, told police she had had sex with Taylor Jr. “5 to 6 times” in February 2012, leading to the statutory rape charge.
If convicted of aggravated sodomy or aggravated child molestation, Taylor would face 25 years to life in prison. A statutory rape conviction carries the possibility of 10 to 20 years in prison, according to Georgia state law.
The once great Giant linebacker — no stranger to financial and drug problems himself — faced rape charges after a 2010 rendezvous with an underage prostitute. L.T. served no jail time but is a registered sex offender and remains on probation in that case. He pleaded guilty to charges of patronizing a prostitute and sexual misconduct, lesser offenses than the original felony statutory rape charge.
Known as T.J., Taylor Jr. made news last year after he auctioned off the Super Bowl XXV ring his father won in 1991 as a member of the Giants. In happier times, as a 17-year-old, T.J. spoke at the 1999 ceremony for L.T.’s induction into the Canton, Ohio, Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Nobody likes to see an athlete's season— or even career— cut short but, if you are old enough to remember Lawrence Taylor's infamous hit on Joe Theismann on a Monday Night Football game in 1985, Tennessee Titans Marc Mariani's gruesome broken leg injury injury brought back those same nightmares.
Mariani broke his left leg while returning a punt against the Arizona Cardinals. Replay showed he snapped his leg near the calf as he went to the ground at the end of a 14-yard return with 9:40 left in the first quarter Thursday night.
He remained on the ground for several minutes as a team doctor put an air cast around his broken leg. He was carted off the field after a few teammates came over to comfort him.
Not surprisingly, he did not return to the sidelines.
Mariani, a seventh-round draft pick out of Montana, was a Pro-Bowl returner in 2010.
Best wishes for a speedy return— in more ways than one.
Last night— while members of the 2011 New York Giants were gleefully showing off their brand new Super Bowl XLVI rings at Tiffany & Co.— a royal member of the Giants' family was looking to unload his.
Lawrence Taylor, the former Hall of Fame linebacker, is auctioning off the Super Bowl XXV ring he won as a member of the 1990 Giants.
At least Taylor— who revolutionized the defensive position— still has the first Super Bowl XX ring he won in 1986 to remind him of better days.
There is something Shakespearean in the desperate and destructive path that the once princely Taylor has walked since retiring in 1994.
Taylor— arguably the greatest Giants player of all— retired after 13 seasons of glory but "L.T." has had nothing but a rash of legal problems follow him since then.
Drugs, tax and family issues have constantly been the cause of most of his legal troubles. His latest trouble came in 2010 after he was arrested for having sex with a 16-year old girl. He pled guilty to the misdemeanors of sexual misconduct and patronizing a prostitute and was sentenced to six years probation in March 2011. He is now a registered sex offender.
With a long history of financial problems, it's no surprise the still popular Taylor finally decided to profit from the ring. He was sentenced to three months of house arrest, five years of probation and 500 hours of community service for tax evasion in 2000.
The End is Near. No, it's not a proclamation by either the NFL regarding the lockout or the GM of the Phoenix Coyotes on the hockey team's future. It's the Day of Reckoning for Mankind, so say the lunatic members of a doomsday group who predict the world will cease to exist after the earth is rattled by series of earthquakes and tidal waves tomorrow between 5 and 6 p.m.
New York City has been plastered with ads warning if the upcoming Apocalypse on Saturday July 21 and how God will only spare those who are pure of heart.
So people, you don't have to fret over overdue library books or the vig to your loan shark. Go ahead, make that nasty, drunken text to your ex because, after tomorrow, it won't matter. It'll all be over soon.
This presumed "Rapture" will spare the souls of the pure by whisking them into heaven while the rest of mankind will be left to face their doom on the crumbling earth. Professional athletes--however adored on earth--are not an exception and some won't be making that trip up to eternal happiness.
I believe the world must be coming to an end because how can you explain Jason Giambi jacking three home-runs the other night. Who even knew he was still around?
And what about the Cleveland Indians? Best team in the majors? Come on. We're talking about Cleveland here. That's enough evidence for me.
Tomorrow's Doomsday is just more bad luck for Cleveland all around. The Cavaliers finally get two top-four draft picks to make up for the left-at-the alter move by LeBron James and BOOM! No more Rock and Roll Hall of Fame or Dawg Pound. It's over. If it makes Cavs fans feel any better, James will be one of the fateful ones slated to be left behind--with no championships.
The Apocalypse will bring some good things. We won't have to wring our hands about the NFL owners and the NFLPA hugging it out. They're all on God's naughty list anyway.
Former NFL great Lawrence Taylor pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges for sexual misconduct today in a Rockland County, New York courthouse. The ex-New York Giant will be sentenced in March and is most likely looking at 3-6 years of probation with no jail time.
Taylor was arrested for his role in a teenage prostitution bust at a Holiday Inn last May 6. He admitted paying $300 to a teenage girl for sex. He claimed he believed the girl was 19 years-old. The District Attorney's Office charged Taylor with "improper sexual conduct involving an underage girl."
In court, Taylor admitted he knows now that the girl was 16 years-old at the time.
Taylor plead guilty to 1 count of sexual misconduct and 1 count of patronizing a prostitute in the 3rd degree.
Outside the courthouse Taylor had no comment but his attorney, Arthur Aidala, said the Hall of Fame linebacker "wants to put it behind him" and is satisfied that the case "ended swiftly." He said Taylor acknowledged that the girl was 16 but his client "was lied to."
Taylor will be sentenced in March. The judge will probably show leniency because Taylor is cooperating with authorities to break up a sex-trafficking operation involving the young girl's pimp.
In addition to the probationary period and monetary fine, Taylor will have to register as a sex offender.
Former New York Giants football great Lawrence Taylor is once again dancing with the bars. On Friday, the ex-grid star was a no-show in a New Jersey court where he is trying to reduce his monthly support payments to his sick out-of-wedlock daughter.
Taylor--who is already awaiting trial for allegedly having sex with a 16 year-old prostitute in a Holiday Inn--emailed the judge a last minute doctor's note blaming a medical condition prohibited him from flying into New Jersey for the mandatory hearing. The "condition" has not been made public.
This excuse apparently didn't fly too well with Judge Peter J. Melchionne. "Why shouldn't I issue a bench warrant?" the angry judge scolded Taylor's lawyer, James Keys. The judge warned Keys that he was ready to sack Taylor with a warrant if he missed another court date.
While LT was willing to blow $300 for an hour with the alleged prostitute last May, the troubled Taylor wants to slash as much as $500 off the estimated $1825-per-month payments to his daughter Erielle. The 12 year-old lives with her mother, Ebony Washington, and suffers from Crohn's disease. The chronic intestinal illness was diagnosed earlier this year. Taylor has never publicly acknowledged Erielle. She is one of seven children Taylor has fathered with a number of different women according to court papers.
Taylor made the motion after Washington filed in Bergen County family court to increase her support deal. Washington says part of the extra money will go towards Erielle's medical bills.
Erielle's mother claims Taylor, who lives in Florida, misses more than court dates. She said Erielle rarely sees her father. "He promises to visit her when he's in the area, but he's never shown up, not once," vented the mother. She claims her only contact is via text messages or through his lawyer.
Washington also said Taylor had promised to increase support payments when his other children grew up and he was financially more stable. Melchionne ordered both sides to show financial statements next month and set a February trial. Taylor has already been accused by the judge of reducing amounts on checks in bank statements previously turned over to Washington's lawyer.
The "Dancing with the Stars" contestant will be waltzing in and out of a lot of courthouses in the next few months. Taylor is looking at up to five years in prison and sex offender registration if he is convicted on felony 3rd degree statutory rape and 3rd degree patronization involving the Holiday Inn arrest. He plead not-guilty in July.
DANCING WITH THE BARS It's not surprising about the mess ex-Giants and football icon, Lawrence Taylor, got himself into last week---it's the sheer stupidity. Taylor's fast, blitzing style of play not only pleased fans but that same recklessness has also followed him off the field too. The alleged rape of a sixteen year-old girl in an upstate New York Holiday Inn was the latest in a long-line of the ex-linebacker's criminal offenses and convictions. The "runaway" was dropped off at Taylor's room by a pimp who allegedly punched her for, at first, refusing to go. What did Taylor do after he was done with her? He gave the beaten and black-eyed girl $300, sent her on her way, and hit the hay. The girl notified her uncle of the alleged rape and he called the authorities. Police said Taylor was sound asleep when they knocked on his hotel room door a few hours later. He was denied a request to use the bathroom and was led away in handcuffs.
Taylor was charged with third-degree rape and solicitation of a prostitute and is out on $75,000 bail. His attorney, Arthur Aidala, denied the charges and claimed Taylor was a "family man" and "he didn't know the girl was underage." Any time those two phrases are mentioned in the same breath, something just can't be right. "As with any celebrity, Mr. Taylor is a target," Aidala claimed. That same notoriety is what charmed courts and kept him from prison in the past.
Taylor's battles with drug and alcohol demons are well documented. He admitted smoking crack the night before games and beating drug tests by using other people's "clean urine." His play on the field had many players and coaches overlook any infractions that occurred. Fans adored his roving, balls-out play. The more devastating a hit, the better. There wasn't a bar or night club where he didn't have drinks lined up and paid for by his admirers. He WAS that vaunted Giants defense which won two Super Bowls--tough and unyielding---just like his persona and lifestyle. The crime that prosecutors are now charging Taylor with now is so repulsive that none of his past supporters can say anything. What's scary is most people don't seem to put it past Taylor. His open admissions of his past trangressions have come back to haunt him. Giants owner, John Mara refused to comment on the charges and all that his ex-teammates can say is that they thought he cleaned up his life. Taylor's current, and third, wife called it a "setup."
Most Valuable Prisoner
It's been over ten years since Taylor was arrested for drugs. He claimed in his book," LT:Over the Edge", he would go through $1000 worth of crack in a night. He was busted for buying cocaine from an undercover agent in 1996, but police reported finding no drugs in his hotel room in the latest incident---only a bottle of liquor. In 2009, he was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident---then driving two miles without a front tire and, before that, tax evasion charges and bankruptcy.
There aren't a lot of things that haven't been said about L.T. in the media. It all comes down to too much. Too much adulation. Too much partying. Too many incidents. Taylor is not some tragic figure who deserves our pity. He needs help plain and simple. In a best case scenario, Taylor's claim he unwittingly paid for an underage prostitute will be proven. Not much light at the end of that tunnel--a light jail sentence and divorce--if he's lucky. The roar of thousands at Giants Stadium now becomes the silent stares of twelve of his peers in a jury gallery.
There is talk of banishing Hall of Fame members for criminal actions. Where do you start? The violence of football is glorified as macho--a man's sport. Its what separates the members of Canton from the run-of-the-mills. Does a DUI constitute banishment? How about assaults and drug convictions? How do you distinguish the man on the field from the man off it? The 1986 NFL MVP has been given many chances and Taylor seemed to benefit from them. This time a young girl is involved in the most sordid of crimes---rape. Lawrence Taylor has let down too many people for too long. If he is found guilty, even the most ardent fan will find it hard to remember Taylor as a gifted athlete. He will get his day in court and, this time, it seems even the staunchest of a Lawrence Taylor goal-line stand may not help.
