[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 42 (Friday, March 10, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E316]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE GREAT JASON PAUL TAYLOR

                                  _____
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 10, 2017

  Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Jason Paul 
Taylor, a former Defensive End and Linebacker in the National Football 
League (NFL). Mr. Taylor played 15 years in the NFL, most of it with 
the mighty Miami Dolphins. He owns NFL records for fumble recoveries 
returned for touchdowns, interceptions returned for touchdowns by a 
defensive lineman and defensive touchdowns scored, and tied for the 
record in fumble recoveries.
  Mr. Taylor was a four-year letterman and three-year starter for the 
Akron Zips of the University of Akron before being drafted in the third 
round in the 1997 NFL Draft by Miami. A six-time Pro Bowl selection and 
four time first or second team All-Pro, he was named the NFL Defensive 
Player of the Year in 2006. Generous in all ways, he started the Jason 
Taylor Foundation in 2004, dedicated to children in South Florida 
resulting in his receiving the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 
2007, the only league honor that recognizes those achievements made on 
and off the field. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 
2017, one of only four Dolphins players to be elected in their first 
year of eligibility. Following his retirement from the NFL at the end 
of the 2011 season, Mr. Taylor joined the ESPN television network as an 
analyst. He is also a board member of the NFL Players Association.
  At Akron, Jason Taylor was a two-time first-team All-Mid-American 
Conference selection as a junior and senior, as well as an All-American 
pick as a junior. In 1996, he earned National Defensive Player of the 
Week honors for his performance against Virginia Tech, when he posted 
12 tackles, two sacks, two fumble recoveries, three stops for loss and 
tackled a punt returner in the end zone for a safety. Taylor also 
started for the Akron Zips men's basketball team. In 2004, he became 
the third person ever inducted into Akron's Ring of Honor.
  Mr. Speaker, not content to rest on his laurels, Jason's recent 
appearance at the YMCA of South Palm Beach County's Inspiration 
Breakfast generated $40,000 for the financial assistance program that 
lets families in need use YMCA programs. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Jason Taylor 
is a fine athlete and great humanitarian. I want to thank him for all 
that he is doing for our South Florida community. I am so truly pleased 
to honor him today.

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