One of the more infamous moments of my career came the day I was assigned to get a photograph of New York Giants Lawrence Taylor after he was charged with DWI. On March 24, 1989, I was working for the Newark, NJ bureau of the Associated Press when I was assigned to stake out a Paramus, NJ service station where Taylor’s car had been impounded after he was issued a summons for DWI. We had heard LT was going to come o the station to retrieve a golf bag for a golf trip he had that weekend.
I had waited for most of the morning with a reporter in a cold New Jersey Spring rain when a car pulled up, journalists ran towards it, the passenger window rolled down to reveal the future Football Hall of Famer who politely answered general questions for TV cameras before turning his attention to me, the ONLY still photographer and said adamantly, “Don’t take my fucking picture!”
I went into the office of he service station and called the office and said, “He seems pretty firm not wanting to have his picture taken, what do you think?” We already knew that LT was legally below the limit and was most likely suffering from food poisoning when he was found unconscious and sprawled across the front seat of his truck on the Garden State Parkway.
My boss said, well, there’s already a national advisory that there will be a picture, so go get a picture. So, I headed back to the car where there were still a couple of New York TV journalist talking with LT. As they finished, they started to step away, LT and I locked eyes once more and he again said,this time, a little more adamantly, “DON’T TAKE MY FUCKING PICTURE!!” Well this was literally do or die, so I lifted my camera and “BOOM" the strobe went off making this surreal moment even stranger as I captured the 6’3” 240lb outside linebacker looking incredulously at the 5’ 8” 170lb photojournalist who against anyone’s better judgement dared to push the shutter on his Canon F-1.
I got one frame off before Taylor, showing his 40 yard dash 4.6 sec form was directly in my face. I explained how this was a news story with national interest and if he had a problem, he could talk to my editors. After calling me an “A-hole,” calmer heads kind of prevailed, Taylor getting back into the car as his driver and two other passengers tossed various obscenities in my direction.
I approached the car once more to give my side and hoped he’d understand. Instead he reached down in front of him, picked up a fast food wrapper, and threw it at me along with another curse. I instinctively threw up my hand and the wrapper deflected back into the car onto his lap. I left with mixed emotions that I made that image. I had a job, this was the story and sometimes photojournalists can’t choose what images we are asked to provide.
About 6 weeks later, LT had his day in court where he was acquitted of DWI. The real villain was revealed as ‘acute food poisoning,' from some bad fettuccine with cream sauce Taylor ate on a flight. 'I feel happy. The justice system works,' a beaming Taylor said after his acquittal in a Saddle Brook Municipal Court trial that lasted less than four hours. I thought to introduce myself and again plead MY case but thought best to let him enjoy the victory without any lasting negativity.
