Petition to fire Leonard Shapiro and Michael Wilbon of WP

[SkinMeAlive]

The answer to your question of "Wouldn't you have been more shocked if this happened to another Redskins player" is No for me.

Any time anyone is senselessly murdered it is shocking. That's why it's called "murder". To me, this is no less shocking than the murder of any President, although they get the fancy term "Assassination".

Any way I look at this, a life was taken for no good reason. Past offenses or perceived offenses in no way explain or justify the situation.

The media frenzy of factless speculations and half-truths is a complete injustice to those affected both directly and indirectly by this tragedy. The last thing I want to read or hear is half-witted speculation about "why".

And I'd prefer not to hear any media garbage about seeking "justice" because there is no such thing. Murdering someone who murdered someone simply eliminates the second person. It does not bring the first person back.

Sometimes the media should show the common decency of either commenting only on positives and facts, or of simply not commenting.

[riggofan]

btw Did anybody actually bother to read Wilbon's article and think about it? Its a great article, and I think you're mistaken that its derogatory towards Sean at all.

He makes no assumptions about the murder and says nothing bad about Sean's character at all.

The whole point of the article is that many people, not just athletes, need to put as much distance between themselves and bad elements from their youth as possible.

[ike075]

The media frenzy of factless speculations and half-truths is a complete injustice to those affected both directly and indirectly by this tragedy. The last thing I want to read or hear is half-witted speculation about "why".

This goes ten times as much for the home town paper for a community that is mourning over their loss. It is like being at a brothers funeral and your cousin keeps on saying he had this coming because he once did this or that wrong (besides the fact that it wasn't totally proven he was wrong) which may have nothing to do with him being killed yesterday. These reporters where going for shock and could give a rats @#$^$ whose hearts they stepped on along the way. With a tragedy like this at least a little decency and restraint is in order and not wild baseless speculation.

Ikester

[BossHog]

I've been a Redskins fan my entire life, 31 years at this point, and I can remember ONE instance of a criminal breaking into a player's home and fatally shooting him in his bedroom. That player is Sean Taylor. So, yes, I was shocked.
I can not understand why some actual missteps and some alleged and often falsified missteps are somehow supposed to mitigate the shock I felt when hearing that a person of Sean's stature was shot in his own home.

Nor do I understand how you can compare one of the most distributed newspapers on the planet to a message board.

Why don't you compare apples to apples and compare ARTICLES written. You'll find over 1000 of them in our database... not a single unnamed source ever used, not a single agenda ever hidden behind... just fact-based writing.

Standards that obviously escape WP.

If I gave a rat's ass about 'promoting THN in any manner', I could have written a very controversial article yesterday too. All I would have had to do was ignore facts, dwell on innuendo, and completely throw out integrity, tact, and class...

... just like the Post did.

Instead, I invested my time into trying to put together a tasteful commemoration of Sean Taylor's life (despite it meaning that I had to fight off tears for a few straight hours while I stared at Sean taylor's images staring back at me)

Instead, I told all of moderators to be patient and compassionate with people and understand that it was a very difficult day for people

Instead, I didn't work at all and made sure that the board was up and running all day long so that people could vent and commiserate.

I chose to show some common decency.

[SkinMeAlive]

I chose to show some common decency.

There's nothing 'common' about decency.
All the more reason to appreciate THN.

[VRIEL1]

I have not read the article because by clicking on the site and reading it would give the WP more hits which I belive would make a case for them about controversy brings readers.

I will admit that when I first heard about Sean my first thought was "I wonder who he pissed off", or "I wonder who he owed money to?" I quickly thought of the 4 wheeler incident. I would presume someone got punished and paid a price and wanted to get even. Then I heard about the break in a couple of days prior and a kitchen knife found on his bed....his bed. That would appear to be a slight threat to me.

I can think of only three things to do in that case:
1. Call the police and get out to a motel or out of town.
2. Get a big dog.
3. Purchase a hand gun.

People are a product of their upbringing and environment. Not sure what type of upbringing Sean had becuase I was not there but his negatives were clearly a part of his environment. I can say I liked when the Redskins picked him but quickly faded when he seemed to good to go to the NFL's manditory camp. The DUI didn't help. I don't care how one twists the tail he was drunk and drove and should not have. Funny how money can get you out of anything. Then the 4 wheeler incident. Yes I would be upset if someone stole my property. Yes I would go looking for it. I just can't bring myself to take a gun along or someone with a gun and confront them. I can see confronting without a gun or if it's to dangerous then calling the police would be in order. The whole scenario screamed of Thug behavior. The only time this is not Thug behavior is if you live in WV and then it's Redneck behavior.

I think we all will agree that Sean seemed to have grown up. but as I heard on the radio today I doubt the people he associated with grew up. Which does not help his situation.

Poor timing? Yes. Perhaps just another African American writer voicing his frustrated oppinion about black society.

[SKINFAN]

If you have strangers in your house, your 18month old and your fiance was in there with you, what would you do. It all boiled down to that, all the other events mean nothing, he was in that situation at that time, he fought to protect his family. That is how I will remember him, and I will honor his memory thru that, and not how his past was.

[ike075]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... id=topnews

Police Theorize Taylor Was Victim of Botched Burglary
MIAMI, Nov. 28 -- Miami-Dade police said Wednesday they have no suspects in the Sean Taylor murder investigation and appealed for assistance from the public in solving the crime, saying evidence collected so far indicates that the Washington Redskins safety was a random victim of a botched burglary attempt.

Police have "no reason" to think the incident was anything other than an attempted burglary, one likely involving more than one intruder, Miami-Dade Police Department Director Robert Parker said at a news conference at police headquarters.

"There is nothing that indicates that this was something that involved Sean," Parker said. "We're more along the lines, or the thought process, that this was a random occurrence."


Now clearly all the facts have not been uncovered yet but this is exactly why I was saying these reporters need to shut up and let the cops do their job instead of dragging a murdered man name through the mud.

Ikester

[KazooSkinsFan]

Sorry, but this is lame. Free speech is one of the most cherished freedoms of our country.

If you don't like what's being written in the Post, don't buy it. Don't read it.

I'm just asking because I don't understand. How is it not free speech for the marketplace to influence the media? Isn't that free speech too? The first amendment rightly refers to the government not restricting free speech. While I have disagreed with almost every attempt for the marketplace to fire people for speaking their views, including in this case, I don't understand how free speech doesn't also protect their right to voice their views that's what should happen as well.

[langleyparkjoe]

If you have strangers in your house, your 18month old and your fiance was in there with you, what would you do. It all boiled down to that, all the other events mean nothing, he was in that situation at that time, he fought to protect his family. That is how I will remember him, and I will honor his memory thru that, and not how his past was.

That's pretty right on man. One could argue that because of his past whoever did this was tyring to get even? Or maybe because of the stolen property thing they wanted to play "get back"? I was waiting for the police to figure this out but will we ever know the truth? I don't know, but it boils down to the guy pulled his machete out vs. a gun and the machete lost. Unfortunately that machete symbolizes our guy
But I must confess, it made me VERY proud that he died defending his home and family, nuff said.

[KazooSkinsFan]

http://petitionspot.com/petitions/firewilbonandshapiro

I signed it. I couldn't believe how inappropriate and insensitive his article was.

Others have been fired for much less. While all of Redskins nation mourns the lose of Sean Taylor....these guys want us to think we shouldn't be surprised and he probably had it coming.

Sheesh.....we got more support from Cowboys fans then these two $@%# who write for the Washington Post.


Ikester

OK, Shapiro's a horses...kneecap. But I read the Wilbon article and I don't think that quote pulled out is an accurate representation of the point of his column. I thought Wilbon was actually pretty good and made valid points.

And for the record, I am NOT a Wilbon fan. In the many years I spent in the DC area I rarely read his articles because I thought he was a Bear fan who loved to lampoon the Skins at each and every opportunity. I can't say what his more recent Post writings are because I rarely read him for the reason I just stated.

But the title of this article caught my attention and I read it. I don't see the problem with it, can someone explain it to me?

[1niksder]

http://petitionspot.com/petitions/firewilbonandshapiro

I signed it. I couldn't believe how inappropriate and insensitive his article was.

Others have been fired for much less. While all of Redskins nation mourns the lose of Sean Taylor....these guys want us to think we shouldn't be surprised and he probably had it coming.

Sheesh.....we got more support from Cowboys fans then these two $@%# who write for the Washington Post.


Ikester

OK, Shapiro's a horses...kneecap. But I read the Wilbon article and I don't think that quote pulled out is an accurate representation of the point of his column. I thought Wilbon was actually pretty good and made valid points.

And for the record, I am NOT a Wilbon fan. In the many years I spent in the DC area I rarely read his articles because I thought he was a Bear fan who loved to lampoon the Skins at each and every opportunity. I can't say what his more recent Post writings are because I rarely read him for the reason I just stated.

But the title of this article caught my attention and I read it. I don't see the problem with it, can someone explain it to me?

I can't say I don't read Wilbon but based on what other said about the article I choice not to read it, I rarely read Shapiro or Whitlock so missing their's wasn't hard. Whatever I've read over the past few days that somehow saw fit to bring up Sean's past issues I've stopped reading at that point. It's easy to bring up what he did two-three years ago if that's all you have to go on, but it's the media and if I can find out things like...

The house that Taylor was killed in didn't have alarms but it use to have a bunch of pit bulls running around outside. Until a certain QB made having so many and being a professional football player would project the type of image he was changing. T

he man died protecting his family with a blade because the State said he couldn't own a gun. The guy was home alone with his family. He could have had a house full of people that could legally carry guns, but then what would the story be. His past wasn't and isn't the story right now and it should be left in the past.

He was shot at home with his family early on a Monday morning, how is that not surprising to a "sports reporter" when home is the last place you'd expect a NFL player (injured or not) to be during the NFL season. They took his death as a opportunity to dump on him one more time no matter how they try to spin it after the fact.

[RedskinsFreak]

The only place for his past in the reporting of what heppened this week is in showing how far he had come.

The magnitude of his growth isn't fully explained if you don't have the 'before' to go along with the 'after.'

But that's it. Shouldn't go any further. And it's way too early to jump to any conclusions -- but you need to at least be prepared for what might come to light.