Parents may want to think again before letting their child train with Mark Taylor. Video has emerged of the Macon, Ga.-based sports trainer causally using the n-word — and using racist/bigoted language.
One such video, recorded while driving, purportedly features the Warner Robins coach spewing racially insensitive garbage about Atlanta’s Black population, including calling a young Black lady in a car next to him a n*****, and saying that she’d be hung from a tree by someone Taylor refers to as “Ro.”
Then, there’s video of Taylor, who shows off a holstered Glock near his bed, making a mock room service call requesting “y’all n*****s to bring me some chicken wings and two hoes. A redbone and a white girl.” Taylor ends the call by saying that this mysterious “Ro” character will “probably throw her out the window when he’s done with her.”
Utterly abhorrent language from any human being. The fact that he works with children as young as eight years old makes this bigotry worse. However, this particular ex-convict should never have been allowed to work with children.
Taylor has a criminal record
According to WMAZ-13 Macon, Taylor served time in prison in the late aughts. In 2007 he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of influencing a witness. At that time he was working for the Houston County, Ga. school district as a teacher and coach at Northside Middle School. At one time Taylor was banished from Houston County for stalking his ex-fiancée, who was a teacher. A ban that was rescinded by the county per ABC 15 Macon.
I’m not going to comment on his connections in the college football world, or the success of Speed Edge Sports. The sports training industry is full of hustlers who show pictures they took with coaches and players and claim to be friends with them. The most notable organization that has gone so far as to issue a statement publicly disassociating itself from Taylor, is the Christian School in Macon, Ga. which allowed him to train athletes on its grounds.
But to the parents out there with children who want to play competitive sports, be thorough when researching who will be working with them. Don’t just visit the company website and Facebook page. Go a little deeper, especially if the person is local. Find out why he is training privately instead of coaching.
Some damning information might be out there that can prevent a damaging decision.