Posted on Thu Nov 29, 2007 at 10:28:34 AM EST in NFL
More on: Antrel Rolle, Sean Taylor, crime, Cardinals, Redskins, media (all tags)

Sean Taylor's body didn't even have time to get cold before people started speculating about the circumstances surrounding the home intrusion and eventual murder of the rising NFL star. And a lot of the assumptions the mainstream media outlets were distributing tended to be rather harsh, basing their claims on his Hurricanes heritage and previous run-ins with the law. Well, the presumptions aren't limited to the media. Despite the police accounts of a botched burglary; one of Taylor's best friends thinks it was a deliberate hit.

He really didn't say too much," Antrel Rolle said, "but I know he was pretty much scared every time he was down in Miami."

Rolle and Taylor, whose fathers were policemen in Homestead, Fla., started playing football together when they were six years old. They went on to become University of Miami teammates and NFL first-round draft picks. Both wore No. 21, Rolle for the Cardinals, Taylor for the Washington Redskins.

"There was so much surrounding him," Rolle said. "Everyone was talking about him bad, so he just had to distance himself from everyone and live a life of his own. ... Within the last year, I've never seen anyone make such a dramatic change."

Withdrawing from a bad crowd isn't easy, though, Rolle said.

"They say it was a burglary. It absolutely was not a burglary," he said. "Down South, where we're from, there were many people talking to Sean, a lot of jealousy, a lot of angry people.

"Sean, he had a large group of friends, and he no longer hung out with those friends, so you never know where this came from.

Rolle also said that "They've been targeting him for three years now," and that "At least, he has peace now."

We kind of thought Taylor was getting a bum rap because he was from the U and got slapped with the "hoodlum" label, but if his own long-time friend is calling it a deliberate murder then the media's hype might be sincere. But Antrel can say what he wants; he's not supposed to be unbiased. It just seems a bit callous to us that despite the authorities' contradictory account, news outlets were determined to create a sensational story.

Links:
[The Canadian Press]: Cardinals' Rolle vows to honour childhood friend, says death was no burglary
[Rocky Mountain News]: Rolle: Taylor was targeted

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