Washington Commanders will build statue to honor Sean Taylor - ESPN

The Washington Commanders will build a statue to honor their late former safety, Sean Taylor, two years after unveiling a memorial installation that was criticized by their fans — and has already been permanently removed.

Taylor, whose No. 21 was retired in 2022, becomes the organization's first former player to be memorialized with a statue. Taylor's daughter, Jackie, will be involved in helping design the statue. She was 18 months old when he was murdered in November 2007.

«I'm just thankful for the whole process,» said Taylor, a freshman volleyball player at North Carolina who wears her father's former number. «I think the fans will really enjoy what they're going to see and getting the second opportunity, you don't really get many second opportunities. The fact that we're able to get a second opportunity is nice… There's a lot of excitement.»

Taylor made it clear that her family was appreciative of the previous memorial installation, which was displayed inside the stadium.

«Any opportunity we get to honor my dad, we're going to take it positively,» she said in a video conference call.

But many fans felt different, pointing out that the initial installation failed to include the proper jersey (Reebok instead of Nike) and that they didn't apply pieces of tape all over his facemask — as Taylor did while playing. The organization soon altered the installation to include these changes, as well as using the proper style of socks and cleats.

The Commanders informed the Taylor family that the installation has been removed. Washington hosts New England in the final preseason game Sunday night.

«After careful consideration, we have decided as an organization to remove the Sean Taylor installation from Commanders Field,» a team