rip Terez A. Paylor, an icon of Kansas City and sportswriting
February 10, 2021
On a sunny day in 2016, I found my 21-self in the press section of the Chiefs offseason workout. While mesmerized by the likes of Tyreek Hill making a padless cross-field sprint look easy, Jamaal Charles warming up to the side, I realized something very quick. I had no idea what I was looking for. It was the summer before my senior year of journalism school, an internship for the Kansas City Star. I’d chosen sportswriting because I’d always known the power of storytelling as it comes to sports, and also because I landed it and wasn’t about to turn down a summer gig at my hometown’s paper.
I can’t remember how exactly it played out, but as the panic of my sports ignorance set in, I remember introducing myself to Terez Paylor, per advice from my editor. Not only did help me make sense of what I was looking at, Paylor put me at ease. He didn’t make me feel stupid for not knowing how to begin, something that felt gracious and cool coming from a veteran of the Chiefs and sports like himself.
While there weren’t many given my more alternative sports stories (i.e. Olympics and Zika related; roller derby; subjects less impacted by my lack of knowledge), I felt, not intimidated, but excited at the learning opportunity it’d be to spend a few hours with Paylor.
We laughed with Herbie Teope, another Chiefs’ beat vet. And I took notes in that summer’s notebooks on what Taylor told me, the questions Taylor asked, and how he approached the players in press conferences.
It might not look like much, but writing this small sports article was one of my proudest journalism accomplishments. Thanks for your kindness and time that summer. May you and your beloved legacy rest in peace.