AP Photo/Dean Hoffmeyer
Jason Wright, president of Washington Football Team, apologized to the team for implementing the decision to remove Sean Taylor's No. 21 jersey.
The group announced Thursday that it would hold a ceremony at Sunday's match against the Kansas City Chiefs. Wright said that the "short notice" does not adequately reflect Sean's impact.
In his four years at Washington, Taylor was a Pro Bowler twice. Taylor was 24 years old when he was killed in a home invasion.
He is still a favorite figure in Florida, so it makes sense to retire his jersey.
Some were surprised by the timing of Thursday’s announcement.
Bobby Mitchell's jersey retirement announcement in June 2020 was followed by his official ceremony in September. This took more than a full year. Taylor on the other side, however, has less than a week of preparation.
The retirement ceremony, whether intentional or not is a good sign for the Washington Football Team.
Washington has a 2-2-2 start. They rank last in attendance with an average of 51,002 fans per home game. The NFL is reopening its investigation into the allegations that WFT employees were working in a hostile environment. Ownership is also under scrutiny.
As part of the investigation, Jon Gruden's racist, homophobic, and misogynistic emails were discovered. Bruce Allen, former president of WFT, was one of the people Gruden wrote the offensive language to.
Will Hobson, Washington Post reporter, reported Wednesday that former team women had been offered money by attorneys to keep them from talking about their experience with the Washington Football Team.
WFT is not the only one to be criticised for its perception that Taylor's goodwill is being used to boost its bottom line. Deadspin's Dave McKenna noticed that the team was selling Taylor-like plush dolls on the 11th anniversary. The doll was removed from the online shop.
