Lawrence Taylor's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

Since this morning, the age on LT's alleged prostitute has been bumped from 15 to 16, and he's no longer accused of beating her (her pimp is). Do these revelations make things better? No, they do not.

Taylor was in court today, after spending the night in lockup. He was charged with third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute, and released on bond. As he left the courthouse, he smiled and waved to the crowd that had assembled, while his lawyer proclaimed him innocent.

Lawrence Taylor didn't have consensual sex with anyone last night. He didn't have sex with anyone," said Aidala. "Mr. Taylor is going to fight each and every one of these charges."

Police weren't particularly forthcoming during their afternoon press conference, but we already know the bulk of their charges.

They claim that the Bronx girl, who was reported missing in March, was delivered to the Holiday Inn in Montebello at 1 a.m. this morning. Her pimp, Rasheed Davies, allegedly punched her in the face and drove her there against her will, where Taylor allegedly paid $300 for sex.

A search of the room turned up a bottle of alcohol and a used condom, though no evidence of drug use. Taylor claims to be clean for more than a decade, as chronicled in the A&E show "Intervention," the latest episode of which aired on Monday and featured Taylor.

So now we've hit the trifecta for horrible sports allegations. Do the respective stories of Taylor, Roethlisberger and Huguely color the reporting on the others? Can we draw any meaningful conclusions from three different alleged crimes that cross all boundaries — lacrosse vs. football, race vs. class, amateur vs. pro, active vs. retired?

Nope. They're all awful stories in their own right, with individuals facing their own demons. Let's treat them as such.

Lawrence Taylor charged in rape of 16-year-old girl in Ramapo [Journal News]

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Hey, now that we're all really bummed out, have a great night! More tomorrow.