Sarah Taylor, the wife of Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, knew what was in store for her family the literal moment quarterback Joe Burrow failed to connect on a two-point attempt at the conclusion of Thursday night’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.
Taylor’s decision to go for the win has been met with wide-spread criticism. It would have been praised as genius had the Bengals pulled it off but because they didn’t, the bullseye was placed squarely on his back. And unfortunately, in today’s hyper-charged society, that comes with a trickle-down effect.
Not only was Sarah sad for Zac and the team, but she was also sad for herself and her children knowing how fans were going to react.
In an emotional Instagram post early on Friday morning, Sarah expressed “rage” over the coming wave of hate that would be directed toward her family when out in public.
ZT wife on IG. Just trying to show the personal aspect of things man. Here we are as fans sitting on our couchs fuming. We’re not putting in the hours like this and then getting screwed by the refs. Really puts it into perspective for me on the personal side @BengalsCaptain pic.twitter.com/fYb34GgVDD
— Eric Howland (@ejhowland1021) November 8, 2024
“I am in rage mode right now and should delete Instagram,” she wrote. “I just want people to know how hard this is to watch. My husband went work on Monday at 5:15 am. Spent the night at the stadium. Came home Tuesday at 11pm. Left for Baltimore Wednesday and will get home at 4 am. Tomorrow. He’ll work all day tomorrow bc they have a game Sunday.
“My kids haven’t seen him since Sunday. He had the perfect game plan. Brooks was mad at me for watching the last play (with) my head under the covers and I said I’m sorry people will say stuff to me everywhere I go for the next week and he said ‘me too mom get over it.’ I don’t know how these coaches and players do it but the best thing I can do is move on like them.”
Even when everything is going right, being a family member of an NFL coach or player takes a toll. When things are going poorly, it’s much worse. All too often we see fans violating personal space and lacking basic respect, and it’s clear the Taylor family has endured all of those things more than once.
This type of behavior should be called out and addressed. Sarah and her children have nothing to do with what happens on the field and they should not feel anxiety for going about their daily lives based on the results of a game.
