Commanders safety Taylor has deal in assault case - ESPN.com *MERGED*

[lukeduke]

Getting back to the suspension. Isn't he still facing some sort of punishment for the spitting incident? There was no ruling because the offense happened in the post season.

 

[Longboysfan]

Big $$$$ usually wins probation.....

Exactly. They hire a great lawyer to get him off.
The State only has a budget so large to go after these guys and go to court.

Economics 101.

What I'm curious about will be the NFL ruling.
When the suspension is.
What it will cover. Team contact and facilities usage.

 

[Yeagermeister]

I said it multiple times in different threads he'd get off with nothing more than probabtion.

 

[burmafrd]

Its just a matter of time before this THUG gets caught and goes up the river.
Skins homers are too stupid to figure that out.

 

[RiggoForever]

Getting back to the suspension. Isn't he still facing some sort of punishment for the spitting incident? There was no ruling because the offense happened in the post season.

Nope. I know because in our 1999 playoff victory over the Lions, Tre Johnson hit a ref while in a scuffle with another player, Johnson was ejected from the game, and told he would be suspended for the first game of the 2000 season that same week. He was allowed to play the next playoff game against the Bucs, because the NFL determined suspending him from a playoff game would be too severe.

If Taylor was to be suspended for that, we would know by now. He was withheld his game check I believe.

 

[dfense]

You've got that right. Trouble follows people who have a history of it. He surrounds himself with trouble makers. He will slip up and get his soon enough. He just isn't very smart. Stupidis as stupid does.

 

[Avery]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2466163

MIAMI -- Washington Commanders safety Sean Taylor has reached an agreement with prosecutors to drop felony charges against him and plead no contest to two misdemeanors in his assault case, avoiding jail time and the possibility of missing any of the upcoming NFL season.

The deal calls for Taylor to be placed on 18 months of probation, talk to students at 10 Miami-Dade County schools about staying in school and make contributions of $1,000 for scholarships to each of those schools, defense attorney Richard Sharpstein said Thursday. A hearing was scheduled for later in the day.

Taylor, 23, had faced a maximum of 46 years in prison if convicted on three aggravated assault charges and one misdemeanor charge stemming from a confrontation last June with a group of people in a dispute over all-terrain vehicles that Taylor owns. Trial had been scheduled to start July 10.

Under the plea deal, the aggravated assault charges will be dropped and Taylor will plead no contest to misdemeanor counts of simple battery and simple assault. If he does not violate probation, even those charges would be eliminated from his record.

"This is a fair and just resolution to this case that was blown out of proportion from the beginning," Sharpstein said. "It's a great outcome for Sean."

The agreement came after the original prosecutor on the case, Michael Grieco, resigned in April after Taylor's lawyers claimed he was using the notoriety to promote his moonlighting business as a nightclub disc jockey. Grieco had posted links to news articles about the case on a personal Internet site.

Taylor's lawyers had repeatedly questioned whether the charges were warranted and whether the victims and witnesses in the case -- many of whom have criminal records -- were reliable.

Taylor, a former University of Miami standout, signed a seven-year, $18 million contract with the Commanders after he was drafted in 2004. He has six interceptions and 120 tackles in two NFL seasons, but has become almost as well-known for his troubles.

Taylor has been fined 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 January playoff game. He was also fined $25,000 for skipping a mandatory rookie symposium.

 

[theogt]

Heard about this on Sirius NFL this morning. Who didn't see this coming from a mile away?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

A plea was bound to happen eventually with a new prosecutor, the weakness of the prosecution's case as a result of all the unsavory characters involved in this mess.

It just wasn't a good case for the prosecution, but the risk to the defense to go to trial was too great. Thus, a plea deal.

 

[Hostile]

I can't wait to hear the Skins fans claim it proves he's innocent. Uh, that isn't what no contest means.

 

[Yakuza Rich]

I can't wait to hear the Skins fans claim it proves he's innocent. Uh, that isn't what no contest means.

They already are over at Extreme Skins.

Rich.......

 

[Alexander]

I can't wait to hear the Skins fans claim it proves he's innocent. Uh, that isn't what no contest means.

They already have.

http://dallascowboyszone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56376

You see, he really just wanted it all over with. He's really innocent, but he just took the bargain because he wanted to put this all behind him and concentrate on football.

 

[Alexander]

They already are over at Extreme Skins.

Rich.......

I feel like punishing myself and having my intellect challenged.

Link?

 

[sacase]

Its even funnier that they think he won't get suspended. I think there is no question of him being suspended especially in light of his prior fines levied by the NFL.

 

[StanleySpadowski]

If I was a 'skins' fan, this deal would scare the heck out of me. Slap on the wrist, donate some loose change to a few schools.....


I said when Taylor "beat" his DUI that it spelled trouble for him because an arrogant young man found out that he could buy his way out of jeopardy. I predicted then that he'd be arrested for something even more serious (legally speaking, not trying to imply DUI is not serious) within the next year.

Now that he's "beaten the system" twice, his opinion of himself as "untouchable" will only rise. A short stint in jail may have cured that and his fans should have been hoping for a 15 day sentence. Short enough not to affect his offseason but long enough to let him know there will be consequences for his actions.


Any plea does set up a civil suit well so maybe a large judgement against him will wake him up but with the victim so unsympathetic that appears doubtful.


The over/under on his next offense is two years and I'd be willing to wager that it won't be for jaywalking.

 

[trickblue]

I can't wait to hear the Skins fans claim it proves he's innocent. Uh, that isn't what no contest means.

Here are a couple of the classics...

Agreed!

If you listen to the interviews with the young man, it's obvious that he's got a good head on his shoulders and I do believe that he was raised right.

I think that he's just got to realize that he's got a lot on the line and, as such, should pick his friends more carefully. Moss and Portis seem like great influences, hopefully he'll follow their lead.

it's gonna be a sad day at cowboyszone.com, silly pokes thought he was going to jail:nana:

wow.... well im relieved... i guess i will be getting a sean taylor jersey. now i cant wait to see what all of the cowboy fans over in cowboyszone think...

Yes, I am a TRUE Commanders fan and have been one for a very long time... That's why I trust the coaches to get players of integrity and class... Commanders have always been about character. Unlike the cowboys, when they jump from one flavor of the month to the next no matter how much integrity or character they lack...

I'm am so freaking Happy this got done..but I hope Taylor learns from this mistake not from the fact tha he almost went to jail but that someone sprayed his car with like 46 bullets - The kid almost died so pls SEAN TAYLOR just concentrate on killing TO and everyone else yr after yr!!

 

[superpunk]

I can't wait to hear the Skins fans claim it proves he's innocent. Uh, that isn't what no contest means.

If it is, can't we claim Irvin never did coke?

 

[MossBurner]

Taylor pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors: simple battery and simple assault. These are the same charges that would follow a two punch bar fight. If Sean does not violate his probation, all charges will be erased from his record.

The new DA had no personal vendetta (unlike the NFL DA "Grieco") and realized there was no case. Sean admitted all along that he was involved in a street fight. This is how he was punished. All felony charges were dropped and Sean pleaded 'NO CONTEST' to a street fight.

He will be fined, not suspended, by the NFL. Ray Lewis was found guilty of obstruction of justice in a federal investigation involving a murder (much more serious charges than Sean) and received only a large fine of $250K. Sean will get a fine less than $75K; that is all that is appropriate.

 

[superpunk]

He will be fined, not suspended, by the NFL.

Is that you, Miss Cleo?

 

[theogt]

If it is, can't we claim Irvin never did coke?

And Jerry's never stepped foot in a plastic surgeon's office.