As the Washington Redskins continue their very public grieving over murdered teammate Sean Taylor, the distinction between mourning the dead and exploiting the dead is becoming ever more blurry…. The solemn dignity of the Missing Man tribute has devolved into a maudlin circus that’s turned Taylor from a tragic figure into the patron saint of an improbable Super Bowl contender….
Anyone who’s ever lost someone they were close to can attest to the reality that grief manifests itself in different ways. We all handle grief differently, and there most assuredly is not a “right” or “wrong” way to process the pain and anguish that can accompany the finality of the death of a loved one. It hurts, damnit…and that’s all there is to it. No one has the right to question or pass judgement on how anyone else handles and channels their grief…even a know-it-all sportswriter.
The Washington Redskins have grieved the loss of their murdered teammate, Sean Taylor in a very open and public manner. This makes sense, since the Redskins ply their trade in a very public endeavor. I can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like to lose someone in such a brutal, senseless manner. One day, you’re lining up and taking the field to play a kid’s game. The next day, you’re planning a funeral. No, I don’t think any of us can begin to relate to what the members of the Redskins family (for that’s what a football team really is, an extended family) have been going through over the past few weeks. That’s what so angers me about John McGrath’s incredibly mean-spirited and disrespectful diatribe.
Since the Redskins lost to Seattle on Sunday, they’re done for the season, which means the McGrath won’t have to worry about being offended by the team’s mourning the loss of a beloved teammate.
But the solemn dignity of the Missing Man tribute has devolved into a maudlin circus that’s turned Taylor from a tragic figure into the patron saint of an improbable Super Bowl contender.
It’s one thing when the slain safety is commemorated by hats, T-shirts, souvenir magnets and No. 21 rally towels, as proceeds from those sales are being funneled toward a memorial fund the Redskins have established for Taylor’s 1-year-old daughter.
On the other hand, what is the team’s motive in releasing a depth chart noting that Taylor will start at free safety for the first-round playoff game scheduled Saturday at Qwest Field? We know what happened ‚Äö√Ñ√¨ we won’t ever forget the first NFL player murdered during the course of a season ‚Äö√Ñ√¨ but we don’t need an intentionally committed clerical error to grasp the reality of a senseless killing.
And so I wonder: Is the inclusion of Taylor on the depth chart a genuine tribute, or the latest nod to a macabre superstition?
I wonder if McGrath has ever had the opportunity to play a team sport, to understand how shared effort toward a common goal is what unites teammates in a way that eludes those outside that circle? When you sweat and sacrifice and hurt together for months on end, each person striving not to be the weak link, it bonds people in a way you just don’t normally find in most of our day-to-day existence (like a newsroom, f’rinstance….). In my mind, at least, this would certainly explain why the Redskins have very publicly grieved Taylor in the manner they have…and they have every right to do exactly that.
McGrath is entitled to his opinion, just as I’m entitled to ridicule him as a clueless, insensitive jackass who doesn’t have the sense to understand that his column is just plain offensive. Disagreeing with the way some folks grieve doesn’t make them wrong. Not everyone is enlightened enough to grieve in the same manner as you might. If the Redskins have chosen to honor their murdered teammate in the manner they have, then who is McGrath- or anyone else- to deny them that?
Sometimes it really is better to be merely thought a fool….
