MIAMI, Dec. 3 -- Washington Redskins players, coaches and officials joined thousands of other mourners to pay their final respects to slain teammate Sean Taylor in a massive funeral service Monday at Florida International University's Pharmed Arena.
As the players filed into the 5,000-seat arena along with Taylor's friends, relatives and NFL players and dignitaries, two large screens showed highlights from the Pro Bowl free safety's football career, starting with clips from high school and scenes from his playing days at the University of Miami, where he helped lead the Hurricanes to a national championship in 2001.
At a vigil Sunday night at his alma mater, Taylor's girlfriend, Jackie Garcia, said he had been "planning to come back and attend school in January; it was his dream to graduate." Taylor was a first-round draft pick of the Redskins in 2004 and quickly earned a reputation as one of the hardest-hitting defensive backs in the NFL.
Among those attending Taylor's funeral were NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and Coach Joe Gibbs. They were scheduled to offer tributes, along with Redskins tailback Clinton Portis, a University of Miami teammate of Taylor's; former Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington; and Taylor's agent, Drew Rosenhaus.
The group of current and former Redskins was joined by a large contingent from the Florida City, Fla., police department. Taylor's father, Pedro Taylor, is chief of police there.
Also attending was O.J. Simpson, the Hall of Fame running back who faces trial in Las Vegas on charges of armed robbery and kidnapping after a September incident involving two sports memorabilia dealers. Simpson told other attendees that he had encouraged his own alma mater, the University of Southern California, to recruit Taylor.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson accompanied Pedro Taylor into the arena. Garcia's uncle, actor Andy Garcia, was in a late-arriving group of family members who made their way into the arena as a choir sang gospel music.
Taylor, 24, died at Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital on Nov. 27, a day after being shot in the upper thigh at his Palmetto Bay home during an apparent burglary attempt. The bullet struck his femoral artery, and he bled profusely before paramedics arrived on the scene. With him in his house at the time of the break-in were Garcia and their 18-month-old daughter. They were unharmed.
Police last week arrested four young men and charged them with unpremeditated murder in the case. Authorities said the men did not know that Taylor was home when they broke into the house and that one of them shot Taylor when he surprised them.
The funeral was held a day after another in a series of tough losses by the Redskins, this one a 17-16 defeat at the hands of the Buffalo Bills on a last-minute field goal. The team is scheduled to play again on Thursday against the Chicago Bears.
Thousands of fans paid tribute to Taylor at Sunday's game, many of them sporting jerseys or towels with his No. 21 on them. All stadiums around the league observed a moment of silence to honor Taylor, and players wore stickers with his number on their helmets.
Source: Washington Post
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