PRO FOOTBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE NFL : Taylor Discusses Racial Barriers

New York Giant linebacker Lawrence Taylor says he has felt racial prejudice, but has not spoken about it before because no one asked.

“For years I believed that because I was successful in the white man’s world, I’d never be touched by prejudice. It was a false sense of security,” Taylor said in an interview in this week’s Sports Illustrated.

“Clubs are always inviting me to play on their golf courses, but I’ve been denied membership in prominent country clubs here (in New Jersey),” the avid golfer said. “I’m a member at courses all over the country, and I can’t get a membership in the area where I live. Is that wild? But, of course, they all want you to play in their tournaments, and when I’m there, the only other black person I see is the cook. Yeah, they love me there, but it’s all a facade.”

Taylor, 32, also believes that his substance abuse problems were viewed differently because he was black.

“There has always been a wild and crazy fringe in the NFL,” Taylor said. “Ted Hendricks, John Matuszak, guys who got drunk and raised hell. But no matter how drunk and crazy they got, it didn’t really mean much in the eyes of the fans because they were white guys.

“But let a Lawrence Taylor get out of line, and, hey, it’s a little different. I don’t want to get into a black-white issue in the world of pro sports, but it speaks for itself.”

Linebacker Tim Harris, who has held out for 58 days in a contract dispute with the Green Bay Packers, was granted permission to discuss trades with unspecified teams.

Harris has been asking for a one-year contract worth $1.4 million. The Packers had been offering a two-year deal that would pay Harris $840,000 this year and $940,000 next season.