Girlie Glimpse @ the Gridiron, Vol. VII

Redskins safety Sean Taylor is in critical condition as a result of gunshot wounds he sustained on Sunday as he sat out his second week in a row with an injury. While I'm saddened to hear of his life threatening injury, I also find myself asking why anyone would be surprised. Take the following from CBS news into account:

Although extremely talented, Taylor has been in trouble - on and off the field - numerous times since he was drafted with the No. 5 overall pick out of Miami in 2004. He has been fined at least seven times during his professional career for late hits and other infractions, including a $17,000 penalty for spitting in the face of Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game in January 2006. He was also fined $25,000 for skipping a mandatory rookie symposium shortly after he was drafted.
In 2005, Taylor was accused of brandishing a gun at a man and repeatedly hitting him during a fight that broke out after Taylor and some friends went looking for the people who had allegedly stolen his all-terrain vehicles.
Taylor reached a deal with prosecutors last year after they agreed to drop felony charges against him. He pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors in the assault case and was sentenced to 18 months probation. The pleas prompted another fine from the NFL but kept his football career intact.

So why are guys like this rewarded by being allowed to be NFL players? Or NBA or MLB for that matter. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that if you take a troubled individual, give him oodles of money and just enough fame to go to his head that you're asking for big trouble. What happened to the days when professional sports players were expected to at least keep some semblance of right and wrong? I sincerely hope Mr. Taylor recovers fully. But I also hope that the NFL and other professional sports organizations smarten up and require that players adhere to a behavioral standard a bit higher than what they're requiring at the moment.