The Man Who Broke Theisman's Leg and the Law

Joe Theisman’s leg break; it’s notorious.

The man on the other side of the hit is Lawrence Taylor, a 6’3”, 237 pound outside linebacker for the New York Giants, coming in hot for the sack. Most known for the snap of Theisman’s calf, Taylor’s reputation for off-the-field legal issues has overshadowed his 13-season career.

Plagued by issues with drug and alcohol abuse, Taylor’s most shocking legal issues came in 2010 when he was charged with solicitation (a misdemeanor) and third-degree rape (a felony)². The charges came in early May 2010, when Taylor allegedly paid for sex with a 16-year-old prostitute.

Eight months later, in January 2011, Taylor struck a deal with officials of Rockland County, New Jersey in which he avoided a possible four-year jail sentence in exchange for six year probation and enlisting on the state’s sex offender registry³. He vehemently denied knowing the young woman he solicited was underage, but admitted, “Sometimes I look for some company.^”

Physical craving aside, Taylor pled guilty to two misdemeanors in the face of a scenario that inevitably left him admitting to participating in criminal activity. What is not in jeopardy is his hall-of-fame status. He was inducted in 1999 and addressed the induction audience, saying:

The thing I want to leave all the people is that, you guys, life, like anything else, can knock you down. It can turn you out. You’ll have problems everyday in you life….And no matter how many times it knocks you down….A Hall of Famer never quits. A Hall of Famer realizes that, a Hall of Famer realizes that the crime is not being knocked down, the crime is not getting up again.

A man who was once hailed for knocking men down of the playing field continues to try to get up from the consequences of his own criminal history.