Family approved heavily criticized Commanders’ Sean Taylor memorial for these reasons.
Ahead of Sunday’s game with the Atlanta Falcons, the Washington Commanders unveiled a Sean Taylor memorial, which coincided with the anniversary of the South Florida native’s 2007 death.
The tribute, a wire mannequin with a Redskins helmet, uniform and cleats, was criticized on social media.
However, the Washington Post reported Taylor’s family approved the display.
WUSA, a CBS affiliate in Washington D.C., reported Taylor’s daughter, Jackie, said the soccer cleats were her favorite part of the memorial.
“I’d probably say the soccer cleats, because that was something that was super special to him,” she said, according to the outlet.
Taylor died at the age of 24 on Nov. 27, 2007 after an intruder shot him in his upper thigh in his Miami home. Taylor, who was a former Miami Hurricanes star and a graduate at Miami Gulliver Prep before his NFL career, was a two-time Pro Bowl selection in his first three seasons.
The Associated Press reported “several Commanders players wore Taylor jerseys to the stadium and said it was important to pay tribute to the hard-hitting defender.”
One of the critiques against the wire mannequin was the mix and match of a No. 21 Nike jersey with Reebok pants and Adidas cleats. The NFL switched to Nike from Reebok as its official player uniform supplier in the 2012 season, five years after Taylor’s death, Yahoo Sports reported.
