I recently wrote about athletes getting in trouble in trying to understand why they just couldn’t stay away from problems. However, in light of Sean Taylor’s murder I thought of all the trouble that athletes have to deal with, even when not doing anything wrong. Noted, Taylor had a history filled with questionable acts; whether he was spitting in Michael Pittman’s face during a playoff game or pistol whipping someone, he didn’t come off as a great person. But, also noteworthy is the fact that he was said to be attempting to change his life around after the birth of his child. I must admit, I was not too surprised, like many others, that he was shot. Though, I was taken aback because of his age; 24 is much too young to have died.

Indeed a sad story but not tragic. Darrent Williams’ story was tragic. At 24 as well, Williams unfortunate outcome resulted from an incident that had nothing to do with him; but it had everything to do with his friends.

Granted, athletes are in a lose-lose situation. They are either victims of jealousy or manipulation. Aggression or scorn. That will never change. But, in that case how could they ever cope? “Mo’ money, Mo’ problems” right? Though these aren’t justifications for these terrible acts, but the sooner athletes, actors, entertainers etc. realize that they are targets of negative attention the less they’ll run into problems.

Now, I do not claim to know their circumstances but generally, it all stems from the fact that once they are famous they still find themselves in the same places they used to hang out at before. It’s easy for me to say but, they should try to separate themselves from the nonsense of their pasts. Will it stop them from being targets? No. Will it decrease the chances of a mishap? Quite possibly.

I’ve been listening to a lot of people comment on the underlying social issues dealing with race and economic background, which are well founded. However, changes can be made on an individual basis in order to avoid these problems. Unlike the other cases of celebrities being attacked, we do not know the cause of this act yet. Taylor might be the victim of a sinister plot or of his past, either way I hope others learn from this and take many more precautions for their safety.