Plaxico Burress has been indicted by a grand jury on felony weapons charges. He’s been indicted on 2 counts, and also 1 count of reckless endangerment. In the worst case scenario, he goes to trial and is found guilty of all charges. That means he’ll be in jail for a minimum prison sentence of 3 1/2 years if convicted, prosecutors announced Monday.. I’m pretty sure he won’t go for the minimum sentence; he’ll go for less because that’s what big time, big money attorneys like Benjamin Brafman are paid to do (get plea deals). But this officially begins his exodus from the NFL in my eyes.
Commissioner Roger Goddell now has to suspend Burress indefinitely. Why? Well, he has to in order to be fair and consistent. He has set a precedent by indefinitely suspending Vick upon his indictment and must be consistent. In all fairness, Burress is lucky to not have ended his career with the bullet he accidently put into his leg that night. I don’t see how he can legally wiggle his way out of this mess. We wouldn’t even be talking about the shooting anymore if the gun he has was registered to him. I’m not here to preach my political views about guns and gun control. But I’m sure we can all agree that some people just should not be allowed to carry them.
If I feel that I have to be packing in order to go to some establishment (ANY establishment) I’d have to think more than twice about going there. Burress is not a single man, and I know men will be men, but he has a wife and child to think about. Strip club visits are nothing new to athletes and other famous people. Visiting a strip club doesn’t make him a bad husband or father. But being famous, outspoken, and already having had issues in the past with suspensions and fines makes it a questionable choice for him. He shouldn’t have gone, and he shouldn’t have had a loaded, unregistered weapon with him. Not everyone thinks that they are slicker than the next guy and can get away with anything due to their money or fame. Burress embarrassed himself that night and he nearly took down the career of his teammate Antonio Pierce along with his. Pierce is lucky he didn’t get indicted also for possession of an unregistered firearm as he transported it across state lines to Burress’ home and give it to his wife.
Now all we can do is wait for the trial to happen. I’m pretty sure nobody will expect to have Plaxico on their team this year although he most likely won’t be tried until spring of 2010. He could help any team out with his skills assuming that his leg is 100% or close. Unfortunately, Goddell is going to have to suspend him, whether he wants to or not. Regardless of whether he goes to trial or takes a plea deal, he’ll be doing some time behind bars. I won’t speculate how much time he’ll do if he takes a plea deal. I will speculate that Robert Morgenthau, the Manhattan D.A. who is campaigning for the book and the kitchen sink to be thrown at Burress, will do everything he can to make sure that there is a trial.
I don’t know if Burress has a sense of entitlement to be in the NFL and earn millions. I won’t say it’s a privilege to play in the league. It’s a job. But unlike most jobs, it’s hard to find excellent candidates to fill the open positions and the employers (NFL, coaches, front office) often give a lot of slack for bad behavior by its biggest talents. If by some miracle, Burress only serves let’s say 1 or 2 years, he may be allowed by Goddell to seek employment again in the league. The difference is that he’s a receiver, and he’ll be 33 or 34 by that time. He doesn’t play one of the positions where the average player can play past 35 or so. He’s exhibited a lot of immaturity through his career, which will make it very hard for him to get another job if he ever becomes eligible for it. Mike Vick was granted the opportunity to seek employment in the NFL again, it doesn’t mean that he’ll get that job. I’m sure a team will sign him, but they don’t have to just because he’s interviewing. Unless Burress can swing a deal to get Jesus Christ to represent him in this case, I’m pretty sure this is the beginning of the end for Plaxico Burress’ career in the NFL. Hey, if it’s still around when he gets out, I’m sure the UFL wouldn’t mind having him. That is, if he’s truly remorseful for shooting himself in the leg.
