Former New York Giants superstar
Lawrence Taylor has found himself in a difficult situation.
Taylor has been accused of soliciting sex from a 16-year old girl in a hotel room in Manhattan. This incident is the latest in a long line of problems for the former National Football League MVP, who has a history of drug addiction. It appeared that Taylor was cleaning his life up, so the latest tragedy is sad to witness for those who've learned to love him once again. But then again, he is innocent until proven guilty, so we all must keep this in mind.
This recent string of events is going to have a huge financial cost for Taylor, and I thought it might be interesting to talk about some of the financial hurdles associated with allegedly being caught with your "pants down" (pun intended).
Tiger Woods might also be able to relate to an even greater cost for a sex scandal. Woods started 2009 as the highest paid athlete in the world and has since lost nearly all of his major endorsements. Of course, many would argue that infidelity is not nearly as bad as rape, but when it comes to seeing your brand go up in smoke, both Woods and Taylor have felt the misery up close.
http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=832153&pid=832152&uts=1273520297
http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf
Blacks in the News
Usher Raymond IV attends the 12th Annual Ford Freedom Awards Scholars Lecture at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on May 6, 2010 in Detroit, Michigan. 12th Annual Ford Freedom Awards - Reception Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History Detroit, MI United States May 6, 2010 Photo by Monica Morgan/WireImage.com To license this image (60375984), contact WireImage.com
Monica Morgan/WireImage.com
WireImage.com
BlackVoices.com
Blacks in the News
This May 6, 2010 photo shows note written on the back of a photograph from Yolanda Lancaster to her mother Juray Tucker in Tarboro, N.C. Since 2006, nine African-American women have disappeared near the small central North Carolina city of Rocky Mount. Seven bodies were found along rural roads or in woods outside town, most so decomposed that investigators couldn't tell how they died. At least one of the women was strangled, and all the deaths have been classified as homicides. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
Blacks in the News
In this May 6, 2010 photo, Juray Tucker wipes a tear from her eye as she speaks about her missing daughter Yolanda Lancaster in Tarboro, N.C. Since 2006, nine African-American women have disappeared near the small central North Carolina city of Rocky Mount. Seven bodies were found along rural roads or in woods outside town, most so decomposed that investigators couldn't tell how they died. At least one of the women was strangled, and all the deaths have been classified as homicides. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
Blacks in the News
In this May 6, 2010 photo, Juray Tucker speaks about her missing daughter Yolanda Lancaster in Tarboro, N.C. Since 2006, nine African-American women have disappeared near the small central North Carolina city of Rocky Mount. Seven bodies were found along rural roads or in woods outside town, most so decomposed that investigators couldn't tell how they died. At least one of the women was strangled, and all the deaths have been classified as homicides. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
Blacks in the News
In this May 6, 2010 photo, Juray Tucker speaks about her missing daughter Yolanda Lancaster in Tarboro, N.C. Since 2006, nine African-American women have disappeared near the small central North Carolina city of Rocky Mount. Seven bodies were found along rural roads or in woods outside town, most so decomposed that investigators couldn't tell how they died. At least one of the women was strangled, and all the deaths have been classified as homicides. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
Blacks in the News
In this May 6, 2010 photo, Juray Tucker walks to her car where a flier of her missing daughter Yolanda Lancaster is taped in the window, in Tarboro, N.C. Since 2006, nine African-American women have disappeared near the small central North Carolina city of Rocky Mount. Seven bodies were found along rural roads or in woods outside town, most so decomposed that investigators couldn't tell how they died. At least one of the women was strangled, and all the deaths have been classified as homicides. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
Blacks in the News
In this May 6, 2010 photo, Juray Tucker holds a photograph of her missing daughter Yolanda Lancaster in Tarboro, N.C. Since 2006, nine African-American women have disappeared near the small central North Carolina city of Rocky Mount. Seven bodies were found along rural roads or in woods outside town, most so decomposed that investigators couldn't tell how they died. At least one of the women was strangled, and all the deaths have been classified as homicides. (AP Photo/Jim R. Bounds)
Blacks in the News
Usher Raymond IV attends the 12th Annual Ford Freedom Awards Scholars Lecture at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on May 6, 2010 in Detroit, Michigan. 12th Annual Ford Freedom Awards - Reception Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History Detroit, MI United States May 6, 2010 Photo by Monica Morgan/WireImage.com To license this image (60375984), contact WireImage.com
Blacks in the News
Usher attends the 12th Annual Ford Freedom Awards Scholars Lecture at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History on May 6, 2010 in Detroit, Michigan. 12th Annual Ford Freedom Awards - Media Roundtable Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History Detroit, MI United States May 6, 2010 Photo by Monica Morgan/WireImage.com To license this image (60373904), contact WireImage.com
Blacks in the News
Dozens of gravestones were uncovered at the old Johnson Cemetery, a historic African American cemetery, during a recent cleanup, April 28, 2010, in Camden, New Jersey. (Tom Gralish/Philadelphia Inquirer/MCT)
Blacks in the News
The tombstone of Private George Lodine was one of those uncovered in the old Johnson Cemetery, a historic African American cemetery, during a recent cleanup, April 28, 2010, in Camden, New Jersey. (Tom Gralish/Philadelphia Inquirer/MCT)
Blacks in the News
Starting from the simple to the complex, let's lay out the financial costs for Lawrence Taylor's rape allegations:
1) Alleged cost of the prostitute - $300: According to court papers filed in Manhattan, Taylor paid $300 dollars to have sex with the 16-year old girl. For some reason, Taylor allegedly paid double the going rate for a prostitute in Manhattan, which is (according to court documents), $80 for oral sex and $150 for intercourse. Not sure why he might have paid double, perhaps he's just that generous.
2) Attorney's fees - hundreds of thousands: According to Lawyers.com, the national average hourly billing rate for an attorney is $284. But you can bet that Lawrence Taylor is probably not hiring average attorneys for a mess of this magnitude. In addition to this, New York tends to overprice everything, so I wouldn't be surprised if a long legal mess costs Taylor several hundred thousand dollars.
3) Loss of endorsement deals - unspecified: After the charges were filed, Taylor immediately lost his endorsement deal with Nutrisystems. He probably also lost any pending endorsement deals he was working on behind the scenes, as well as any commentator positions or acting jobs (yes, Taylor was working to become an actor). I wouldn't be surprised if the losses are in the millions, since Taylor's name was just starting to mean something again. In some ways, he was an athletic version of Todd Bridges (who played Willis on "Different Strokes").
4) Cost of a possible civil suit - millions: No matter the outcome of a criminal trial, the victim can also sue you in civil court (that's how they brought down the other athlete-turned drug abuser, OJ Simpson). In some cases, the civil trial can be more financially-devastating than the criminal trial. This young girl and/or her parents may try to make Taylor pay an even higher price after all this is over. Where were this girl's parents anyway? Yes, it's sad to see a 16-year old girl out in the streets, having to choose between an abusive pimp and old men who want to sleep with her. It truly breaks my heart.
5) Cost of a divorce - depends on what's left over: I was shocked and amazed at the way Lawrence Taylor's wife vehemently defended her husband on television the other day. While a man can only dream of marrying a woman who is so unquestionably loyal to him, the truth is that I was concerned about her connection to reality. Not to say that Taylor isn't a reformed man, but was this woman actually aware of the fact that she might be mistaken about her husband? We all know that some married folks keep very dark secrets. Either way, if she does decide that her husband actually committed the crimes he is accused of, she may file for divorce. In that case, she will be able to take a huge piece of whatever financial resources Taylor still has in his possession.
6) Price of lost respect from adoring fans and his children - Priceless: Lawrence Taylor was our hero. But then again, for many of us, he always will be a legend, because we only had to tolerate him on the football field. But should it turn out that he is guilty of this latest set of accusations, it will disappoint us all, especially those who love him. Taylor will lose the trust he'd spent years regaining from his children, family and close friends. There's no way to put a dollar figure on that.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and the author of the new book, "Black American Money." To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here. 
Judy A. Smith: Ask Judy: 'I Didn't Go To School For This'
What You May Not Know About The Fight Against AIDS
Comments: (21)
Add a comment
By: Liz on 5/21/2010 6:51PM
Wow. It shouldn't be about what "race" anybody is when they do things like this. Obviously this story is featured on this site because Taylor is black, but the color of a person's skin should not be used to condemn, justify, or rationalize their actions. Hopefully someday people can just be people. Humans.
Nordicman said, "Blacks bring up pass injustices instead of being outraged at the behavior of the black athletes and the shame and embarrassment they bring to the race."
Racism is still alive and being practiced on institutional levels. You can't blame people for at least questioning whether someone is treated differently based on their "race," because unfortunately, it happens!
Of course what Lawrence Taylor did wasn't good. But it is kind of ludicrous to analyze it from a financial perspective, since that is something that doesn't really matter to the general public, as others have said. The financial loss he will experience is his problem. The real issue is the fact that he sought a young girl to have sex with, and may or may not have cared whether she was at least 18. I don't care what anybody says about the girl knowing what she is getting into, blah blah blah. She's a CHILD. And children who enter the world of prostitution basically do not have the maturity, life experience, or education to know what they are getting themselves into. (Watch "Real Young Girls.")
This story brings a multitude of societal issues to mind. I hope that people of the U.S. can use this situation as motivation to instigate change in this country - change that would keep more children out of prostitution and away from drugs, and more people out of prison.
Reply to this Comment | Report This