Plaxico Burress shot himself.....

i think the team would be better off with him not on the team

How many of us leave the house with a handgun when we go out to "socialize"?
Even when I was a kid and lived in the hood, none of us did.
If it is a place you feel you need to be armed, maybe that's a place you can choose to avoid going to. It isnt like he isnt mobile and cant find safe and reasonable places to go to, I just dont get that.

I didnt read the entire article but my guess it occured after 1am. How many of us at that age with real jobs and responsibilites are out that late and going to places you feel you need guns and are armed? If I these players have options and all the NFL guys do, maybe thats a place/situation they need to avoid placing themselves in. I dont know the other guys you mentioned in the article, I dont follow the NFL but my guess is the ones that got in trouble had a long history of embracing the gun/thug thing and probably were close to where trouble always is. If Im wrong I certainly apologize I know nothing of any of those fellas.

Being rich and putting a security system around your home is much different than associationg with thugs going to night clubs in the wee hours with a gun in your pocket.

I understand carrying a gun because you feel threatened. It is easy to say "if you feel threatened, don't go there". These are young, single guys with some money...what do you expect them to do? Sit at home on the weekend reading the Bible?

Here's the problem I have...why was the gun out? If you are going to carry a gun because you feel that people are trying to hurt you or steal from you, fine. You have the right to protect yourself. But why was Buress's gun not holstered? Guns just don't fire on their own...they are complicated mechanical devices that require a substantial amount of pressure applied in a very specific manner to discharge. So, what was Plaxico doing? Was he showing off? Was he drunk? Either behavior is completely inconsistent with responsible gun ownership.

But that would be my question if I'm Tom Coughlin..."Plaxico, why was the gun unholstered?"

Leads me to believe that there is a lot more to this story.

The violence towards these players isn't random and it's not directed at them because they're professional athletes. They are thug idiots who associate with thug idiots.

I don't want to hear any argument about "not understanding because I'm not from the hood". A seven figure yearly salary seems more than sufficient to severe ties with the criminal sh-t that these people choose to spend time with.

I also don't want to hear an arguments pertaining to the NFL not "educating" these young men. They are grown men who have the resources and exposure to make a profoundly positive impact on the world. Yet, they choose to waste all of that by living their life like a wealthy version of Lord of The Flies.

Bottom line, if you hang out with indivdiuals whom you feel necessitate the ownership of a firearm for safety, you deserve to get shot.

Some athletes just don't take their jobs seriously. Plax is one of them.

Honestly, I wouldn't put TO in this category. He's a DA at times, but it doesn't seem to effect his play for whatever reason.

I often times come into class at 8:00 in the AM after clubbing it all night with a sidearm. Why not just stay home and heal up?

I disagree with anyone defending Burress from carrying a gun. Inexcusable. If you go somewhere, and you're afraid of getting shot and killed...the answer is don't go there. Period.

He was carrying that weapon for one reason only. So he could be a "hard core gangster". I would be willing to bet he wants to get caught. He's made his millions...he probably wants out of the NFL.

And don't tell me there isn't anywhere in NY a guy can't go to party without feeling like his life is in danger. C'mon Coaches...

Some telling quotes from the article

Sean Taylor had been living the gangster life for quite some time. he was no innocent bystander. You cant turn around that big a ship on a dime in a heartbeat etc. If you live that life for that length of time it is going to catch up to you, at some point.

Too bad for him, but you reap what you sow. Viloent crime is going to follow you home if you choose to live that life or if you decide to go out on the town carrying handguns.

I have a gun in my home, I never carry it out with me for a night out on the town, HUGE difference.

Ive been to NYC many times and been out after 12:00 there and never felt in danger, lots of very safe places to go there and of course unsafe if you decide to chose that path.

Unholstered or not, he shouldnt have been carrying a gun, that's asking for trouble and against the law. How many NFL players have we heard about that are in the news because they shot a would be robber or intruder? You dont, because it just doesnt happen in real life.

Dave...read this slowly, take Midol for any cramps...the kid was IN HIS HOUSE with his girlfriend and his kid. His lifestyle prior to his murder had nothing to do with his death. Read the police reports. Taylor was an innocent victim of random, violent crime.



I know LOTS of people who leave the house with a firearm...had a good buddy who delivered pizzas pack a pistol after being held up. I know another guy, a truck driver, who keeps a sawed-off shotgun in his cab because he has to sleep in his truck a lot.

You're missing the point here, though. There are two separate issues. The first issue is carrying a weapon for personal protection. The second issue is using that weapon irresponsibly which, at least until we have more facts, appears what happened in Burress's case.



You're kidding, right? #1...you are a nondescript white guy and #2 (despite your moderate Internet and clinic circuit celebrity), few people on the street know who you or what you have.



Actually, you're wrong. According to the NRA, guns are used over a million times a year to help someone avoid crime. In fact, in the vast majority of those incidents, the gun is not even discharged. The simple presence of a gun is enough to discourage a would-be perp. And, is it against the law? Many states have concealed carry laws. I'm not sure about what the status is where this incident happened.

Again, I think that people have the right to defend themselves. Violent crime can happen anywhere...ask those kids at Virginia Tech or those people who weren't doing anything more "thuggish" than eating at the Luby's in Kileen, Texas when George Hennard drove his pickup through the dining room and started shooting.

Umm, just one difference...YOU AREN'T PLAXICO. YOU aren't recognizable, YOUR wealth, while it might exceed Plax's, IS NOT known. YOU probably aren't going to get challenged by people lubricated with liquid courage.

Now, I am not apologizing for Plaxico. He is a moron. That is evident. He is yet another in a long line of talented football players (amazingly many are WR's....) whose view of the world includes only one themselves. It seems VERY likely that he is someone who has always been given chance after chance, and safety net after safety net because of his athletic ability. It is easy to speculate that if he did NOT have that athletic ability, he would be toiling around in meaningless work, blaming the world for all his trouble.

I was talking to Peyton and Eli over the summer, and both happened to touch on that subject. While Peyton was never the "clubber" Eli..ehem..appreciates a good party. However, he realizes that his celebrity status is NOT very conducive for that part of his life anymore.....because he IS INDEED " marked" and even at the most exclusive places, liquid courage can change many a man. The relayed stories about how the NFL security staff revealed incidences where doormen, waitresses, etc...would let info slip to people..who would let info slip to people...and before you knew it, someone would be arriving at the club, waiting with BAD intentions for whichever NFL star happened to be in the establishment.

Apparently I was incorrect about the Sean Taylor incident.

However; carrying a weapon for "protection" at a dance club is shear idiocy. The fact that Buress shot himself in the leg is proof of just HOW stupid the whole thing is.

If he feels that he needs protection when he goes out, then he should do what other celebrities do; hire a reputable, professional body guard. Or better yet, find a better crowd to hang around with.

Wow for a board that is very very very politically conservative there are a lot of people here hating on his constitutionally protected right to carry a firearm.