There’s no question the Washington Football Team fumbled the announcement of Sean Taylor’s jersey retiring. What should have been a joyous celebration for their fans turned into a firestorm for the franchise.
Washington announced Thursday Taylor’s jersey would be retired this Sunday during their game against the Kansas City Chiefs. That sparked outrage from many fans for the short notice.
The team released a statement trying to explain the short notice, saying the franchise had always planned to have the honoring of Taylor this Sunday.
Team president Jason Wright also chimed in his apologies via Twitter. Later in the day, Wright published a more extensive apology and explanation to the fans in a written briefing.
Wright said the team knew using alumni weekend was the right moment to retire arguably the most popular player in franchise history. Plans include bringing in Taylor’s family, including his fiance’, daughter and father.
“But we screwed up the execution and, as a result, we realize that we hurt many of our fans deeply,” Wright wrote. “And for that I and we as an organization are sorry.”
Taylor played three and a half seasons for Washington before his untimely death. He was shot in the leg during a home robbery in his Miami house. The bullet severed his femoral artery. He died the following day on November 27, 2007.
Taylor had grown to be one of the most inspiring safeties in NFL history. Following his death Taylor was immortalized by Washington fans, teammates, and up-and-coming safeties.
Thus it’s completely baffling, how the team’s brass failed to understand the importance of honoring Taylor. Fans have clamored for the No. 21 to be retired for years. Yet the mismanagement shows a lack of consideration to grasping how much Taylor meant to an entire fanbase.
“We thought that saving the news for a game week reveal was the best way to focus the message on Sean and his legacy,” Wright continued. “We didn’t realize that so many of you wanted to make a trip to FedEx Field to be present for this moment — a true lack of understanding of what you, the lifeblood of this franchise, needed to mourn our collective loss and celebrate Sean’s legacy.”
The team planned to hand out Taylor’s rally towels to the first 10,000 fans to arrive at FedEx Field. However, due to the large outcry, Wright said they’ll make more available to purchase while committing all proceeds to a legacy project in Taylor’s honor.
