L.T.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor is undeniably one of the greatest defensive players in football history.  

During his 13-year stint with the New York Giants, he led the team to two Super Bowl titles (1987 and 1991), and was named NFL MVP in 1986. 

Jessica Piazza/TWIF 

As a disruptive force at outside linebacker, he revolutionized the game with his relentless pursuit of the quarterback – racking up a remarkable number of sacks throughout his illustrious career.

Taylor significantly altered pass rushing schemes, offensive line play and offensive formations used in the NFL because of his intense, hard-hitting style of play. But away from the field, his intense, hard-partying, and reckless lifestyle has earned him a quite another reputation.

Nearly 30 years ago, when Taylor was drafted by the Giants with the No. 2 overall pick, Coach Ray Perkins said, “He was the cleanest player in the draft. By that I mean there was no rap on him.” 

However, times have drastically changed for the phenomenal athlete more widely known as “L.T.” His controversial lifestyle has left his reputation littered with charges of drug abuse and alleged rape.

Taylor has admitted to several instances of drug usage. In his autobiography, he stated that he began using drugs as early as his second year in the NFL, and used the urine of his teammates to pass drug tests. 

Lawrence Taylor with Deion Sanders at the 2010 NFL Draft in New York 

In 1987 Taylor tested positive for cocaine. He briefly entered into rehab which proved ineffective as he was suspended in 1988 after a second failed drug test.  As a third positive test would have ended his career, he gave up his drug practice (but not for good).

Taylor picked up the habit again after his retirement, in which he began using drugs on a regular basis.

Though Taylor was working several regular television jobs, such as a football analyst for TNT’s “Sunday Night Football” and a color commentator for “Toughman” on FX, his drug use was spiraling out of control.

It was during this period of his life that he lived almost exclusively in his home with white sheets covering his windows, associating primarily with other drug users.

“I saw coke as the only bright spot in my future,” Taylor said, and he was arrested in 1996 for attempting to buy crack cocaine from an undercover officer.

Since 1998, however, Taylor had cleaned up his act and adopted a healthier lifestyle. He pursued a career in acting, appearing in the films “Any Given Sunday” and “The Waterboy,” as well as the HBO series “The Sopranos.”

Taylor on “Dancing With The Stars” 

Taylor was also a contestant on the eighth season of ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars,” where he appeared friendly, pleasant and affable. And he credits his focus on his golf hobby to helping him part ways with his destructive lifestyle. 

Taylor often speaks of the drug-abusing stages of his life as the “L.T. periods,” in which he was an adrenaline junkie living life on a thrill ride. He said, “L.T. died a long time ago, and I don’t miss him at all…all that’s left is Lawrence Taylor.” He seemed to finally have gotten his life on the right track – that is until recently, when he was accused of raping a 16-year-old girl in an upstate New York hotel room.

Though Taylor denies the allegations, he was arraigned on charges of third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute on Thur., May 6.  If convicted of both crimes, he faces up to five years in prison and must register as a sex offender for the remainder of his lifetime.

Taylor’s lawyer, Arthur Aidala, rejected the accusations saying, “My client did not have sex with anybody. Period…Lawrence Taylor did not rape anybody.”

Apparently, the girl had been driven to the hotel by her pimp who had beaten her and instructed her to have sex with Taylor. The girl claims she was sexually assaulted and paid $300 for the occasion.

However, there are conflicting reports of what really happened since the story emerged.

A friend of the girl has come forward and stated that the teenager told her the encounter was “easy money” because she didn’t even have to have sex with Taylor.

Taylor at the press conference for the 2004 Lingerie Bowl in Los Angeles 

In a sworn statement, the friend said, “She was excited to make some money. When she got back in the car, she wasn’t mad or anything like that.”  She went on to say that the girl is lying, and that Taylor is innocent.

Taylor has admitted he hired the prostitute to come to his hotel room that night. But, as for the accompanying accusations, I don’t believe that he forced himself on the girl or had any malicious intent regarding their rendezvous.

Also, I don’t believe that he knew the girl’s exact age, not that it completely justifies his actions, but attests to the fact that he did not believe she was a minor. It’s certainly not absurd to think that she was at least 17 years old, in which case the situation would have been considered consensual. In fact, the friend of the teenager claims the prostitute told Taylor she was 19.

Obviously, Taylor has had his share of run-ins with the law, but never has he been known to cause physical injury or harm to a person.

For the most part, he has displayed a very benevolent and jovial personality. Even the New York Police Department affirmed that Taylor was cooperative when they arrived to arrest him at the hotel.

Although the teenager is the perceived victim of this incident, I think her lifestyle and behavior elicit a lot of red flags. The fact that that she is a runaway (reported missing by her family in March), and has been mingling with the wrong crowd for several weeks, says a lot about her character. After all, she is a prostitute, and I’m sure Taylor was not the first client she met with to sell her body.

Taylor’s decisions in the past were associated with his drug addiction and dependence on narcotics. It just does not seem in his disposition to deliberately carry out an act of sex abuse.

Hopefully the girl can get the help she needs, and Taylor receives a fair and just punishment for his actions. He is free on $75,000 bond, and is due in court June 10.