Plaxico Burress Stopped Smiling When He Was Put in Handcuffs
The news of star wide receiver Plaxico Burress' self inflicted gunshot wound and the ensuing legal and paparazzi attention is another look into the life of a young man who believed bad things could happen to him and they did. Unfortunately he made it into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Burress, a Super Bowl hero with the New York Giants of the National Football League went out to the Latin Quarter on Friday evening with a teammate. Because well paid and high profile athletes seem to attract trouble that includes attacks on their person and home Burress was carrying a gun. It was licensed in Florida but that had expired and unfortunately he was in New York City. New York requires its own licensing process no matter how many other states recognize one's right to carry a firearm. Burress hadn't obtained one.
While out at the club Burress shot himself in the thigh accidentally. His wounds aren't serious and not another person was hurt which in and of itself is a miracle. But what happened next and how he came to carry a gun into a nightclub should be a topic for discussion.
Burress' teammate Steve Smith was recently held up outside his home. A player for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL was shot a few months ago while seated in his vehicle and is paralyzed for life. A star with the Denver Broncos lost his life almost two years ago outside a club after a disagreement inside. He died in a limousine from gunshot wounds.
On the heels of all that Burress went out and was carrying his gun. A fair number of current and former NFL players admit to doing the same as a result of the increasing number of attacks on them. That was the bad stuff he was fearful of. The trouble he now finds himself in wasn't even on his radar. Like a child who never had fallen while doing something dangerous and ignored his parents' advice to be careful Burress didn't listen to the NFL advisors who teach their players how to stay out of trouble. And carrying a gun in a club begs for trouble. But Burress thought he was solving the problem of potential trouble instead of courting it.
After his gun was discharged he and his teammate Antonio Pierce, according to press reports, tried to hide the gun and went from hospital to hospital in Manhattan to attempt to find one that would treat his leg without reporting it to the police. Eventually Burress' wife joined them, she was given the gun by Pierce and her husband was cared for at Cornell Medical Center.
He wasn't available for the police who went to his home to speak to him about the incident and finally hired criminal attorney Benjamin Brafman, he of Michael Jackson and Sean "Diddy" Combs fame. Brafman notified the police that he was in communication with Burress, had been hired to represent him and told them he'd be turning himself in for questioning on Monday. The police told Brafman his client could expect to be charged with at minimum, criminal possession of a unlicensed firearm. He is also flirting with another felony charge of illegally discharging a firearm.
Burress arrived at the police station in New York at 8 in the morning on Monday and within hours was handcuffed and taken into custody to be booked in a downtown jail on felony charges. The look on his face as he was put into a police cruiser was remarkably different from the one he had as he got out of his Cadillac Escalade in the early morning. I think that handcuffs will do that to a person. He had been introduced to criminal justice and the rules that govern human behavior no matter if you are a star or a worker bee. The police are also mulling over the facts that relate to Antonio Pierce and the medical center who might have committed crimes in the attempted cover-up if in fact there was one.
The NFL has strict rules about personal conduct when it crosses the line of criminality and involves weapons. Burress faces severe discipline and a potential suspension from his team for the rest of the football season. If Pierce is implicated in an obstruction of justice charge he can bank on punishment as well. The league spends a fair amount of time educating its players about the trouble that comes with their status of rich and famous athletes. But players would have to believe that the bad stuff the league tells them could actually happen.
So let's recap: a man who is afraid of being attacked breaks the law by bringing an unlicensed gun into a nightclub and it discharges resulting in the possibility of two felony charges. He may or may not have tried to cover up the incident by involving a teammate and a major hospital in New York. Those actions could bring more charges. And now he may lose the ability to practice his profession and make a living to support his family. His attorney will be heavily involved with the district attorney's office in New York as well as dealing with the NFL and the press who are feasting on this story. Burress is so high profile in New York that Mayor Bloomberg was moved to discuss the gun laws that he violated. It is more than likely he'll not be playing football for a while and probably never again with the New York Giants.
Not much to absorb all at once right? A sorry state of affairs when an adult acts like a child and ignores all the warnings about night time activity and weapons.
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Okay so the problem was that, he didn't bother to have the safety on, or a gun with a safety lock, and he let the registration ran out, and didn't check NYC gun laws. That's not that bad. I think management is just pissed with Plax right now, and since we're winning. Management rightly feels they don't need him. I don't see what he did as that bad, dumb as hell, but not bad.
i totally agree with oldchef's comments. yes, these athletes work very hard to perform to the level they do, however, with millions of dollars in salary is it really necessary to carry gun(s) in a public arena? if you feel like your life is in danger or the 20 people in your entourage cannot protect you...then
bloomberg might be going over the top on this one...but, if it was some unfamous african american male that can't afford a team of attorneys.
dumb move for such a smart player.
My son is a professional athlete and knows a lot of these guys who put themselves in risky situations that end up costing them more than fines or suspensions. When high salaries, youth and testosterone are in the mix, these guys think they are invincible. Superheroes. Unfortunately, we will continue to hear about their stupid antics until boys stop being boys which will be never.
I will also add to my previous comment that Blooomberg, by opening his mouth about this issue with Burris, is influencing prosecutors, district attorneys, judges or whoever is involved in this case for the city, and is therfore biasing them against Burris. King Michael has spoken. He should have kept his mouth closed.
Adding to Burress's problem is that handgun control has always been one of Bloomberg's pet issues. The mayor is demanding that Burress be punished to the maximum extent of the law. The DA has his marching orders--seems impossible that he will be able to cut Burress any slack, even if he were inclined to, not after the mayor's tirade yesterday.
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Yeah and Handgun control works so great in NYC and the surronding area from someone who was stuck up on my job with a handgun, probably bought in the city, a year ago. I hate his little pet projects like handguns and paying people pay more for enterning Mahanttan. He needs to learn that just because sounds good in theory does not mean it works out in pratice. See: Socialism.
What the hell is a guy with a $35 Million contract doing in some club with a gun? Either don't go to those clubs or go with a bodyguard if you must go. As someone else said, he surely has enough money to have the entertainment brought to his home or some safer venue. Give up the bad boy image, you're a freaking millionaire!
I guess when you get to a certain age you start to se things differently. Maybe it is my age, and when I grew up, but I have no sympathy for this guy or any of the other athletes who do these kinds of stupid things. If a proffesional sports figure is worreid about personal safety when going to a "club" my suggestion is "don't go to clubs" Unfortunately being seen with high profile people in high profile places is more important than studying film, getting a good nights sleep, reviewing plays with other teammates. The days of the Cal Ripkens, Roger Staubacks, or other talented low key pro sports players are gone forever. They have lost their hero status to a lot of young people.
This is what happens when you deny a person's right to defend and protect himself.
What? They shoot themselves in the leg?He was probably aiming for his foot.
customgree
I'm with Lex. What Happens? You shoot yourself in the leg. Torrep prides himself in being a libertarian but c'mon Plaxico can afford a bodyguard. Besides, he is a star
receiver for the best team im football, he caught the winning touchdown in the Superbowl
and he decides to flaunt the NFL rules??? Stupid on a massive scale. He ended his season on a team that would have given him another shot at super stardom in this
coming superbowl. He hurt his career. He hurt his team which will win without him and
probably trade him to the Lions. Forget your right to defend yourself. When you are
making millions of dollars and can strike fear into every secondary in the NFL you
don't shoot yourself in the leg! You play nice off the field so you can be ready on the field
and laugh to the bank til your career ends from natural causes. You win a spot in the
hall in Canton and you give your speech to admiring fans and look forard to all the clubbing you want for the rest of your days. But noooo. He has a right to defend
himself and shoot himself in the leg. What nonsense. Burress is this years poster
child for Fool.
Hello Paula,
You'd make a good boxer. "The mentality of a gang banger" does hurt others. He is now going to put his family, friends, teammates, team, the league, the hospital, and the late-informed police force through a number of scenarios which can't be classified as healthy or beneficial. The financial impact will not be positive, either. But you're correct, we'll have to wait for the dust to settle to find out the real truth. As a sidebar, the P-Diddy gun affair directly affected and helped raise the minimum mandatory sentence for illegal gun possession from 2 years to 3 1/2 years in NYC. The DA's office lost that case to Mr. Brafman. I don't think they want to lose this one. The Mayor, also running for reelection, adds pressure to the case.
Plaxico deserves anything he might have coming to him. Since his days as a Steeler he's shown that he feels he's above the law (and any shred of common decency). I live where many of his friends from his stint in Pittsburgh did. His grossly oversized truck would invariably be parked (illegally) in our rather small guest lot in such a manner as to inconvenience the maximum number of the other resident's guests when he came to visit, sometimes completely blocking access to the lot for hours on end. Did he care? Absolutely not! He's the perfect example of somebody who (as my mother would say) thinks his sh*t's caramel and everybody wants to buy a box.
By no means am I defending Plaxico and his choices, behavior, etc., BUT, I would urge everyone to examine the life and times of Babe Ruth, and any number of other athletes from back in the "good old days." This type of behavior is not unique to the modern day athlete.
FZliveson,
Are you out of your mind? "I hope he gets off lightly. This may be all he needs to go on a
different walk in life and make a real difference in peoples' lives." This statement totally contradicts your previous sentences. I don't agree with Mayor Bloomberg's stances on a number of issues, but this time he is completely on the mark. Prosecute Burress and others involved to the full extent of the law. Sadly, the hospital was complicit in originally suppressing the incident as well as his teammate and his employer, the New York Giants, who failed to notify the authorities and the league as soon as they found out about it. Equal justice under law is what is going to make a lasting impression on those who are extraordinarily impressed with athletes and other public figures.
Paula Duffy,
Your statement, "Because well paid and high profile athletes seem to attract trouble that includes attacks on their person and home Burress was carrying a gun.", is very presumptuous regarding the reason he was carrying a gun. Here's my theory: I think he has developed a fondness to carry a gun wherever he goes and he probably has for a number of years. In other interviews, he has portrayed himself with the mentality of a gang banger and I think he enjoyed his machismo act.
Venice 1: A gang banger? I might agree if he hurt someone other than himself. I'm sure we'll get the full length version of it all from his lawyer if he decides to try the case in the press.
Paula Duffy
Umm, I have a solution. If all these guys keep getting shot in and around night clubs -- stop going to night clubs! How much fun can they really be? It sounds like a bunch of guys get drunk, do a bit of blow, start throwing the hairy eyeball at each other, and then go for their guns.
Stay home, make some hot cocoa, and call a couple of hookers to come over for you and your friends.
Excellent advice.
What's an athlete doing going drinkin' anyway?
What person carries a gun into a bar?
Pitiful that the nation pays so much for people who can run fast
catch leather airbags or throw or kick balls through goals.
When, oh when are we going to reward people who would take
a truckload of money to a university and build a laboratory or
send promising students abroad to get tutoring in a different culture?
Our society is tweaked, bathed in ignorance and doped up by the
food and drug supply, we think we need.
I hope he gets off lightly. This may be all he needs to go on a
different walk in life and make a real difference in peoples' lives
FZliveson: It might make a difference in his life but he's gotten off lightly far too many times already in his football life and personal life. I have a feeling he's run out of luck.
Paula Duffy
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