The Washington Commanders under Dan Synder have a reputation for being cheap, heartless, and lacking common decency. All of that seemed to be on display when they unveiled a “tribute” to Sean Taylor that was essentially a mismatched uniform on a wire mannequin in November. After taking some brutal (and rightful) criticism over the display, they’ve made some updates in the hope that it might seem like a more worthwhile way to honor the franchise legend.
Monday, Washington Post reporter Nicki Jhabvala shared before-and-after photos of the tribute after some updates had been made.
The Commanders made changes to the Sean Taylor installation at FedEx Field, as @PeteHaileyNBCS mentioned.
Here’s a before-and-after …
Note the switch to Reebok on the jersey, the taped face mask and cleats, and the socks. pic.twitter.com/ihsGVptn04
— Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala) December 18, 2022
Previously, the uniform included a Nike jersey, Reebok pants, and Adidas cleats. The jersey was updated to the Reebok version that Taylor would have worn during his playing days. The taped face mask, different socks, and taped-up cleats are a much closer match for how Taylor’s uniform would have looked as well.
Still, it’s just a uniform on a wire mannequin and hardly the kind of display that seems to be a tribute of any kind. And it doesn’t appear that the updates appeased the NFL world in any meaningful way.
“They spent several minutes and dollars on this,” said NFL Network’s Andrew Brandt.
They spent several minutes and dollars on this.. https://t.co/fqiVdXnK68
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) December 18, 2022
“They still dressed up a mannequin,” said Yaya Dubin.
They still dressed up a mannequin. https://t.co/YfJfKg5rea
— Yaya Dubin (@JADubin5) December 18, 2022
“I’m disgusted for my friend/his family,” wrote Ross Cooper. “He deserves so much better. Washington would have been better off not displaying anything. This is an embarrassment to the franchise, fans, disrespectful to Sean, his family. Even w/this lack of caring putting soccer cleats is unbelievable.”
I’m disgusted for my friend /his family. He deserves so much better. Washington would have been better off not displaying anything. This is an embarrassment to the franchise, fans, disrespectful to Sean, his family. Even w/this lack of caring putting soccer cleats is unbelievable https://t.co/gT1M0xXi30
— 𝓡𝓸𝓼𝓼 𝓒𝓸𝓸𝓹𝓮𝓻 (@CoachRC23) December 18, 2022
