27 November 2007

Taylor, Lennon, and Company.

The attack on and death of Sean Taylor continues to stun the world, earning top real estates in newspapers such as the Miami Herald, online news sites from BBC.com to washingtonpost.com, and news broadcasts from your local six o'clock broadcast to PTI and SportsCenter.

Just as chilling is the fact that this attack is only the latest in what could be determined a rather frightening trend. And I'm not even talking about Michael Vick.

The break-in incident reported in Taylor's home eight days ago is mentioned in nearly every article on yesterday's shooting. But don't forget that on Jan. 1 of this year, Darrent Williams, cornerback for the Broncos, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Denver. Bryan Pata, a defensive lineman at U. Miami (ironically enough, Taylor's alma matter) was shot and killed a few miles from Taylor's home.

Thirty years ago, politicians and musicians (Kennedy, Kennedy, King, and Lennon) were the ones getting gunned down in their homes or the vicinities thereof, or in hotels, or in the streets. Ten ago, musicians like Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. were still getting shot in the streets, but teens and young children in schools became the new genre of victims. Now we've come to include athletes in the mix as well.

It's a bit frightening to consider what the next trend might be.

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