Taylor eulogized as a hero, buried as a victim

MIAMI – A football star. A passionate, caring father and partner. A hero, in the proper sense of that word, and a victim.

Relatives, friends and teammates eulogized slain football player Sean Taylor on Monday as a man who had found his way to fame, wealth and maturity – only to lose it to senseless violence at a tragically young age.

Escorted by his family and close friends, Taylor’s body later was taken to a local cemetery for a private burial.

“Some plants become flowers, like Sean,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson said in the service, issuing an emotional plea that lessons be drawn from this death, new tragedies averted.

“Even champions live in danger,” Jackson told the star-studded crowd. “None of us will say, even champions, that our homes are safe. We’ve accepted violence as the norm. It must be rejected.”

About 3,000 people gathered at the Pharmed Arena on Florida International University’s main campus to remember Taylor, a star safety for the Washington Redskins, slain last week during an attempted burglary of his Palmetto Bay home.

He ran toward the intruders, not away, determined to protect his girl-friend and 18-month-old daughter, both named Jackie. He was just 24.

“Thanks for being a hero and giving your life to protect Jackie and Jackie,” Drew Rosenhaus, Taylor’s agent, said during the three-hour-plus service.

Most in attendance wore a pin emblazoned with Taylor’s uniform number: 21.

The service began with a slide show of photos of Taylor, followed by hymns and prayers, and then remarks by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, Redskins owner Dan Snyder, coach Joe Gibbs and many others.

“It’s times like this that make all of us struggle to find the meaning in life,” Goodell said. “The NFL is proud of Sean Taylor. He loved football and football loved him back. But more important is what he was as a man and what he was becoming as a man.”

Later, Taylor’s 18-month-old daughter in a Redskin-hued burgundy dress, toddled up to her father’s closed casket as her aunt, Carolina Garcia, spoke about Taylor’s relationship with Garcia’s sister.

“I have never come across anyone who loved their partner the way my sister loved Sean,” Garcia said. “She loved him from the moment she laid eyes on him. It was the same day Sean went home and told his stepmother he needed to learn Spanish because he met Jackie.”

Many tributes flowed even before the memorial service began.

“He always stood up for what was right,” said Kareem Brown, who played defense with Taylor at the University of Miami.

Now a member of the New York Jets, Brown remained in South Florida after Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins so he could pay final respects to his friend.

“He was a leader,” Brown said. “That’s how I’ll remember him.”

Guests sat on long rows of white chairs or in the stands. Large floral wreaths, some in the burgundy and yellow colors of the Redskins, framed both sides of Taylor’s casket. One wreath took the shape of a U, decorated with carnations of orange and green, UM’s colors.

Among the attendees: many former Miami and current NFL players, including many of Taylor’s current and former teammates.

Andre Johnson of the NFL’s Houston Texans, who played with Taylor at UM, said, “This is something that you hate to see happen. This day means a lot to me.”

The Redskins flew to South Florida early Monday in the wake of Sunday’s gloomy home loss to Buffalo.

On the other side of South Florida, four young men remained in custody, charged with murder and other offenses in Taylor’s death. Police said the men planned to burglarize Taylor’s house, thinking he wasn’t there.

He was there, and he was shot last Monday as he surprised the intruders and defended his girlfriend, their daughter and his home with a machete. Grievously wounded, Taylor died the next day.

“Sean will never, ever be forgotten,” said pastor Alphonso Jackson III.”