NFL Films spoke to many of Sean Taylor's friends and family about the life and death of the late Washington safety for the upcoming documentary "Sean Taylor: A Football Life." Teammate and friend Santana Moss was on that list, and when talking about Taylor's murder during a home invasion in 2007, Moss broke down on camera.
Sean Taylor’s death still raw for Santana Moss
It’s been almost seven years since Washington safety Sean Taylor was murdered. Santana Moss, his friend and former teammate, still gets emotional when he talks about it.
“It wasn’t something nice to relive,” Moss told me this week. “A lot of people looked at his death and tried to make a mockery of it, saying that how he lived his life, his death was something that was supposed to happen. And I didn’t like the way that went down. I was happy to be a part of [the documentary], just to know that I was able to give my input of who he was and some of the things that people don’t know about Sean.”
Moss gets asked about Taylor frequently. He gets emotional every time, often to the point of tears, and he admitted that he doesn’t think it will ever stop being so raw.
Santana Moss / Photo: Getty Images “I’ve lost family members that I was able to get over. I don’t think I’ll ever get over this,” he said. “It makes me emotional all of the time. I’m one of those guys, I don’t take stuff for granted most of the time. And it really hit me more after his death that this life that we go about every day like it’s nothing, it’s really not something to play with.”
Moss and Taylor both grew up in the same area in Miami, but it wasn’t until they became teammates in Washington that they formed a bond that was more family than friend. And while Taylor was known to be guarded with the media, behind the scenes he wasn’t afraid to show emotion.
“Sean would tell you he loved you regardless,” said Moss. “He meant a lot to me for the time that he was here, and I feel like I didn’t tell him enough what he meant to me.”
Those kinds of regrets stay with Moss, and he hopes that being a part of this documentary will help with the closure that has eluded him thus far. He also hopes that the viewers get something positive out of Friday’s airing.
“I want [viewers] to see the good and not think about what happened,” he said. “Don’t think about what ifs, because the what ifs aren’t going to do nothing for us. Just know that his life was cut short for a reason. Let’s not sit and dwell on the fact of why, but dwell on the fact that he’s up there looking down on his family and his friends.
“I want people to look at it and see that this man, for the time he was on this earth, did a lot of good for a lot of people.”
“Sean Taylor: A Football Life” airs Friday, September 26 at 9 p.m. ET on NFL Network.
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