I'm sure any sports fan has now heard about the Plaxico Burress situation.
Here's some comments I have heard recently.
Today on ESPN's Sportscenter...
James Hasty, an ex-professional football player and current ESPN analyst, says:
It isn't about an athlete carrying a weapon, it's about an individual being irresponsible enough to bring a gun to an establishment when they don't have a permit. You have to carry responsibility when you have a weapon. You have to know that you are bringing it into a place where a lot of people can be hurt and that accidents can happen. It needs to be secured in a safe place.
He then went onto say how he doesn't know of any football player who carryied a weapon when he was playing and that no one should stereotype football players as gun toting athletes. Then he says if you don't know how to operate a weapon correctly and something happens, well, then that's your fault.
As far as Plaxico playing for the Giants again he says definitely not.
This morning on 790 am the Ticket, a South Florida radio station, host Sid Rosenburg was speaking to Dan Lebatard about the situation.
They went on to perform a beautiful radio segment...
Rosenburg, who used to be a New York radio personality and has had past problems with cocaine addiction, was not sympathetic at all and feels Plaxico should pay the price and be booted from his beloved Giants. While he knows he has received second chances, he feels Burress needs to be made an example of so the problem with guns in public can be minimized.
Lebatard was more sympathetic, considering Burress' upbringing and how he has been rewarded his whole life for bad behavior. He feels the mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg (who has already made a comment about the situation), should be more concerned with his buddies on Wall Street because they have harmed others, but are being bailed out while someone like Plaxico harmed his self but is being made an example.
Rosenburg went on to say that it could have been a lot worse if the bullet hit someone else so he should be punished, which is true. Lebatard rebuttled saying that Rosenburg should be more sympathetic since he received a second chance and the law doesn't always take into consideration what could have happened, but always take factor in what did happen.
Both feel Plaxico will never play for the Giants again.
While all are good points, I would have to agree that Plaxico should pay the price so he can maybe wake up and learn from his careless behavior, which has been displayed throughout the course of this entire season. Imagine if the bullet killed someone, what would we be saying then?
All in all, this was a horrible mistake, but if he isn't punished he will continue thinking that he can get away with whatever he wants, like what seems to be the mentality of most professional athletes. I feel bad for the guys, but I'm happy to see these guys being punished because I know if that were a regular guy like me, there wouldn't be a question on if I should be punished.
These guys make millions, they'll live, and hopefully they'll learn.
To end, I would like to make one last comment. I am a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and I was upset when they didn't resign Burress, but because of his actions since he left, all I can say now is good riddance!
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I would like to start by stating that I am a life-long NY Giants fan. As a fan, and as a school teacher, I feel that Plaxico Burress should not be allowed back unto the NY Giants football team.
Why? Plaxico's behavior (or lack thereof), especially over this past year (2008) has demonstrated that he is anything but team orientated. Just like a child, he thinks merely of himself and has not once placed the needs of the team ahead of his own.
Its not as if the Giants will miss him. In fact, Eli Manning and the rest of the Giants receivers have played better (statistically) and scored more points (than their average) in the two games that he has missed this year due to behavioral problems.
Giants fans will not miss him one bit. He is an ignorant child and should be treated as one. He should be permanently kicked off of the team.
Now, that does not mean that I think that he ought to serve prison time. Actually, I feel that being let go from the team and charged a serious monetary penalty will be adequate punishment for his crime.
Why?
Two reasons.
First, it seems that the main way to punish Plaxico is by taking away some of his fortune. The almighty buck! It seems that nowadays that the only thing that gets through to athletes is money. If I were the Giants, I would rip up his contract and stop all payments to his account. Then, have the NFL levee a huge fine on Burress, lets say 10 million dollars; That way the next time an idiot athlete even considers being a selfish bastard he'll remember the story of Plaxico and how he lost a fortune.
What about Pierce? Well, he ought to be punished as well. However, Pierce's crime (as stupid as it was) was committed, in effect, to save the team embarrassment. Pierce was keeping his team in mind when he committed his crime. Don't get me wrong, he too should face serious penalties, but at least he should stay on the team.
What Plaxico did was stupid, but I somewhat understand why he did what he did. Now, Plaxico was not pulling a "Packman" (he wasn't flashing his weapon and threatening people with it. Instead, I think/feel that Plaxico was carrying his weapon as a means of protection. After all, there was a NY Giant (I think Steve Smith) whom was robbed at gunpoint in front of his house (which is in a gated community). I cannot help but empathize with Plaxico's situation. That is not to say that he is excused for what he did. He is a moron. A self-centered son-of-a-bitch. However, I cannot fault the guy for wanting to protect himself. The bottom line is that Plaxico is/was too cheap to hire personal security if he honestly felt physically threatened. The bottom line is that Plaxico is a self-absorbed, self-centered asshole. I don't care who you are, people like that have no business belonging to any team, let alone my favorite football team.
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