THE SIDELINES : Wife of N.Y. Giant Asks Divorce

The wife of New York Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor has filed for divorce after eight years of marriage, accusing her husband of extreme cruelty, according to a published report.

The Record of Hackensack reported today that Deborah Belinda Taylor filed the divorce papers Wednesday in Superior Court in Hackensack.

The divorce complaint said that Taylor’s much publicized cocaine problem was a problem earlier in the marriage but that he has stayed away from drugs since, in the words of Deborah Taylor’s attorney, Michael K. Diamond, “he straightened out his act a year ago.”

Deborah Taylor will seek a lump-sum cash payment representing part of the estimated value of Taylor’s celebrity good will, Diamond said, and equitable distribution of the couple’s home and other assets.