Bonus questions:
1. Do you think the expression "poster boy" should be avoided when writing about an African American man?
2. Do you think "[a] Giants football player can be forgiven a certain amount of confusion regarding state lines"?
IN THE COMMENTS: Bissage said...
If Mr. Burress is going to be on a poster, it should be an lolplaxico:IM IN UR NITEKLUB
SHOOTIN MAI LEGG
পোস্টগুলি
৯১টি মন্তব্য:
I never heard of him.
As a Giant fan my reaction is...he's another Jeremy Shockey. Great talent but an even greater ego. Its all about him. Get rid of him.
As for breaking the law, guilty. Send him to jail. NY has the toughest gun laws in the country which is no secret to any gun owner. The i didn't know defense just doesn't play.
Oh and btw you would think it would occur to this moron that if i have to carry a gun in order to go to a nightclub and have a good time..maybe...just maybe i should decide its not the place for me.
2. Do you think "[a] Giants football player can be forgiven a certain amount of confusion regarding state lines"?
He probably doesn't know what a state is. His problems started when he was named Plaxico.
"the vast majority of illegal guns in this city were bought legally in Florida and other Southern states. Those guns keep pouring in despite all our efforts to stop them. Our only recourse is deterrence, absolute zero tolerance."
"NY has the toughest gun laws in the country which is no secret to any gun owner."
So much for the constitutional right to bear arms. And screw being able to defend yourself.
I don't follow this stuff, and didn't know of the charges, so I expected he robbed a store or something. But he merely had a gun. I do not care that he's another pampered over-ego'd athlete. Doesn't matter. He has the right to bear arms as written in the US Constitution.
Which means absolutely squat anymore. No arms right. No right to property. No Constitution.
Jesus. Parts of this country are insane.
He left the Steelers.
Crucify him!
Poster Boy is way out of line. Plax deserves our respect. How about Poster Proud African-American Male?
1. Do you think the expression "poster boy" should be avoided when writing about an African American man?
Why does race have to even enter the discussion? "Poster boy" has absolutely nothing to do race.
Poster boy - snort!
Oh, good lord, next you'll worry about him being niggardly with tips or something.
I think the gun laws in the NorthEast are probably unconstitutional, but unless you're making a peaceful protest you're out of line. And I think brining an unlicensed gun to a nightclub where you will be (presumably) drinking is just plain dang stupid.
I think a "normal" punishment is fine, thanks. I also think the NFL should permanently revoke the right to play of any player with a felony conviction.
-XC
I just found out about this for the first time and I am heartbroken.
Plaxico has long been my favorite and he would be a household name were it not for that big fatso showboat Pavarotti hogging up the limelight and banging all the hot chicks.
It's not fair!
1. Do you think the expression "poster boy" should be avoided when writing about an African American man?
Oh for goodness sake. Is the term 'poster boy' now racist?
Can the rest of us crackers get the damn code book so we're up to date cause it's certainly hard to keep up in these post-racial times.
I don't think this would happen in Green Bay.
Hey instead of poster boy how about this?
Plaxico Burress: Textbook Definition of Why Sticking a Loaded Gun with the Safety Off In Your Waistbelt = Dumbass.
I think Pogo identified Mrr. Daly's real beef with Burress: it's not any special treatment afforded the defendant, it's that he was charged with, gasp having a...GUN! Oh, the horror.
As for silly reporters and their righteous invocation of zero tolerance for gun possession, anyone remember Carl Rowan?
I wonder what Mr. Daly has in his closet?
I think the mandatory sentencing law is absurd.
People who have guns should be shot.
"Why not just make him an example of famous people getting equal treatment under the law?"
That's exactly the question I had. He took his gun to the bar and left his brain behind, so he's a stupid SOB to get himself shot. What about that justifies the maximum sentence? I'd agree that he needs to be punished for 1. Having an unlicensed gun, and 2. Having one in an establishment where alcohol is served - a law breaking act in just about every city as far as I know. But the punishment has to fit the crime. No more, no less.
-----
Also: I'm completely in favor of gun rights and concealed carry. I'd even go further and say that it's unconscionable that large municipalities like Chicago no longer allow any sort of private carry. In spite of that, Burress is a lousy example to hoist for carry rights. For starters, his license was expired. Furthermore, it wasn't even for the state of New York to begin with; it's a Florida permit, and as far as I know, NY doesn't reciprocate with Florida (if they do, please correct me on this).
If Burress was legally carrying a gun, then I'd be willing to defend him. But putting aside his numbskullery for a minute, objectively his case is not one about firearms carry rights. It's one about the improper handling of a firearm, and simultaneously about the illegal carrying of one. I haven't seen anyone here in ths blog come out and complain about this being a case of defending carry rights, but I've seen it in other forums, and I've made the same response there: That doesn't apply to his case.
"That doesn't apply to his case."
How so?
You say " It's one about the improper handling of a firearm, and simultaneously about the illegal carrying of one."
Improper handling I agree with.
But how isn't "the illegality of carrying" an example of 'a case of carry rights'?
I defer to Trooper.
Who's dumber, Plaxico Burress or Michael Vick?
If Mr. Burress is going to be on a poster, it should be an lolplaxico:
IM IN UR NITEKLUB
SHOOTIN MAI LEGG
"But how isn't "the illegality of carrying" an example of 'a case of carry rights'?"
This isn't a case where someone's trying to limit a pre-existing right. That's how. He needed a New York permit for the gun, and if information on the web is accurate, he needed an additional permit for NY City itself. He had neither.
"This isn't a case where someone's trying to limit a pre-existing right. "
I disagree. NYC is limiting the pre-existing 2nd Amendment right, reaffirmed in Heller.
"He needed a New York permit for the gun"
And if the NYC permit process is so lengthy and complex as to effectively prohibit gun ownership and self-defense?
"New York City's licensing system has turned a right into a privilege. Like all privileges, it's enjoyed only by the few. There may be more than 7 million people in the five boroughs, but only 40,000 have valid handgun permits. Licensing isn't the thin end. It is the wedge. If you want to find out what that modest-sounding licensing requirement can mean in the hands of a bureaucracy that doesn't want you to have a handgun, come here, to the City."
cf Andy, Get Your Gun - difficulties of getting a handgun permit in New York City
"SHOOTIN MAI LEGG"
Bissage!
Well, whatever Pogo. I don't like how NY restricts weapons permits either. But Burress is not a good case to use to make this point.
Only bad people carry guns. Including police and our military.
So sayeth the media and lefties.
I agree with Pogo...people who have guns should be shot.
Well, I guess he was shot, alright.
Plaxico supposedly means "peaceful" in an African language.
It sounds like a gasoline additive that keeps your engine tranquilized.
Heck even in Texas, carrying a firearm into a bar is a crime. But some of these guys get way too much slack, often as early as middle school, undeserved except for athletic talent and generally more than most of their peers who manage to behave themselves in spite of fame.
Bottom line if you are that big and that strong and feel you need to take a gun into a bar (much less play with the damn thing), you don't need to go. Its not 1875 in the wild west.
1. Do you think the expression "poster boy" should be avoided when writing about an African American man?
No. That sounds like some rule a hand-wringing, whitebread liberal would come up with and that only other hand-wringing, whitebread liberals would care about.
2. Do you think "[a] Giants football player can be forgiven a certain amount of confusion regarding state lines"?
Yes, but more importantly, I think New York is so out of line with their gun restrictions, that their restrictions deserve no respect. They blatantly violate Constitutional rights.
If the issue is his playing with a gun in a bar, charge him for that. But for merely having a gun in NY? Give me a break.
If you normally carry a pistol, what are you supposed to do with it if you want to go into a bar? It is not like they have convienient lockers outside of such places.
The story doesn't say if Plaxico had a concealed carry permit from Florida, but if he did wouldn't it be honored everywhere in the USA? If not, doesn't that run into commerce clause problems?
2. Do you think "[a] Giants football player can be forgiven a certain amount of confusion regarding state lines"?
Ann, are you implying something about the intelligence of Giants football players?
Its not 1875 in the wild west."
Then make it illegal to do so in NYC. As it stands, making it impossible to own a gun for self defense merely encourages illegality. Somehow, as in all other cases, severely restrictive gun laws don't reduce gun crime or murders in NYC.
It's not the Wild West, it's the Wild East in NYC and DC, and the Wild North in Murderapolis.
And the Wild Small Town in Rochester MN, where drive by shootings are becoming an every-week event.
Great job at gun control, guys.
Yes, MM, I don't think the Fuzzy's or the Stadium View has a VIP lounge...
It should be noted that if even 2-3% of the residents of Mumbai had concealed weapons, the 10 terrorists would have gotten much less far in their rampage.
If you normally carry a pistol, what are you supposed to do with it if you want to go into a bar? It is not like they have convienient lockers outside of such places.
Well they have these things called shoulder holsters. They also have ankle holsters too.
Sticking your piece in your waistband is just a good way to shoot off your other piece.
"Well they have these things called shoulder holsters. They also have ankle holsters too. "
Not much point buying one if they're illegal to actually use.
Daly says in his column that Burress' handgun was "registered" in Florida, but as far as I can tell Florida doesn't have any kind of gun registration. The retailer must retain record of the sale, by Florida law (and of course the ATF form 4473 also must be retained by the retailer) but that's not really the same as registration. I suppose Daly's statement is just another case of NY-think escaping its rational bonds.
dbp, it's not the Commerce Clause that's violated here (can there still be such a thing, post-Raich?) Perhaps you mean the Full Faith And Credit clause?
Not much point buying one if they're illegal to actually use.
Well there's breaking the law, and then there's shooting yourself in the leg. If I'm going to be sitting in jail, I'd rather be there sans gunshot wound.
Just sayin'.
1. Do you think the expression "poster boy" should be avoided when writing about an African American man?
Yes. It's right up there with that other thoughtless and abhorrently sexist slur "tarting up".
First, what this highly-paid athlete did is currently against the law. He can fight it on losing Constitutional grounds or enter a plea of extreme stupidity.
As I was first told when handed my elephant gun, “Don’t’ point it at anything you don’t want to shoot.” Per-Plaxico missed that class.
On the other hand, he reminds me of a famous television lawman:
Barney Fife: Gun-drawing practice, ten minutes every day. If I ever have to use this baby, I want to teach it to come to papa in a hurry.
Why no tag for the "New York Giants", Ann? I hear tell that they are the world champions.
Putting a round in the chamber and then tucking the pistol in a pair of sweatpants is way dumb.
And the guy has a jillion dollars, he should be able to afford trousers and a holster.
Out here in God's country, we just hang shotguns and rifles in pickup truck windows. Very low crime rate here.
Bissage,
He is sort of the LOLcat version of a thug, isn't he?
Poster child would have been a better choice of words.
Western 1960's television series called Have Gun Will Travel starring Richard Boone.
Big city 2000's television series called Have Gun Will Get You In Big Trouble starring Plaxico Burress.
1. Do you think the expression "poster boy" should be avoided when writing about an African American man?
Nigga please!
Plaxico was aping some kinda wild west cowboy shit and shot his own damn self. Fuck em.
Pogo, don't miss my point. I'm saying if he felt like going to a bar was so dangerous that he felt that carrying a handgun was necessary, he shouldn't have gone and damn sure shouldn't have been playing with it. People who make a lot of money, or have a lot of money and/or fame, give up lots of things in exchange for the advantages they have.
I make a lot of money on my job but give up the right to not have to piss in a cup if my employer asks under the conditions I agreed to.
Its not about the 2nd Amendment. its about being smart. Plaxico Burress doesn't know or care about the 2nd Amendment, don't make him into a hero, he's an idiot, a fact no football fan over the last 7-8 years is not well aware of.
I think it is about the 2nd Amendment, SteveR. The fact that Plaxico Burress is priveleged and apparently not smart isn't the point.
He should be charged for his carelessness, I agree. That's different than being charged for carrying, and facing 3 years for it.
Unlike in DC, NY does not utterly ban handguns, they just almost ban carry. Still not good, but allows you to have them for defense of home or business.
That said, even NY did have sensible carry laws, they would very likely still bar those that are carrying from consuming alcohol, so these idiot is a poor place to make a stand. Finally, if Plaxico had a real fear for his safety, he should have spent a few bucks and hired a proper bodyguard.
I like guns - I think responsible adults should be allowed to carry guns. This guy is neither responsible nor an adult.
"This guy is neither responsible nor an adult."
This is very much like the Lori Drew case; an unpopular defendant charged with a stupid crime just to make an example of him/her, or something.
But these same laws will be used against the commoners and no one will defend them and they won't be in the papers.
We still have lost freedoms even if Plaxico is an arrogant fool. We should support the Constitution in spite of him.
Sending this guy to jail would be a horrible and unproductive outcome, but I don't see how you can get around it. The price of strict laws and mandatory sentences is that sometimes you have to execute non-threatening drug mules and sometimes you have to lock up valuable athletes.
The media's treatment of black athletes caught with guns is the best example of racism today. If this had been Bret Favre having a hunting accident there would have been some laughing at him but no one would have portrayed Favre as a thug and a criminal.
Last I looked possessing a gun is a Constitutional right. I am not so sure that in light of Heller, New York's gun laws, where it is practically impossible to obtain a permit, are Constitutional. More importantly, consider the predicament of many famous black athletes. Many of them come from very bad neighborhoods. Since they are famous and come from such places, they are known by a lot of very bad people. Worse still, they are known for being famous and being rich. Moreover, many of them have large extended families that may or may not be on the up and up and even if they are have God knows who for friends. That is what happened to Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor last fall. He was not a criminal and was not known to hang around them, but one of his cousins had a criminal thug boyfriend who broke into Taylor's house and robbed him shooting him fatally in the process.
Considering all of this, it is not surprising that many black athletes carry guns. I certainly would if I were in their position. But the media never talks about any of the reasons to carry a gun beyond being a criminal. All the media ever sees is a big scary young negro with a gun. It is disgusting and racist and perpetrated by people who claim to be liberal and enlightened. The liberal superstitions about guns trump all forms of decency including racial tolerance.
The NY gun laws are a joke and immoral. No way does Burris deserve prison time.
Darcy, perhaps it can be made into a 2nd Amendment issue but defending him, in any way, shape or form, sets the cause back, not advances it.
Most guys walk around witn a weapon in their pants, they just don't whip it out and play with it in public, even under the table.
John, well said, and my thoughts exactly, but better stated.
1. This clusterfudge shows once again that no one with common sense should ever go to New York for any reason. I think the sentence for possessing heroin is much less than 3 to 15, which suggests that Burress should be able to go to gun rehab instead of prison.
2. The Sean Bell shooting taught us that not even an unarmed black man should go to a nightclub in New York.
3. You have to be at the clout level of an Andrew Cuomo or a Punch Sulzberger to get a carry permit in NYC. The logistics involved make it impossible for any mere visitor to get one.
If this had been Bret Favre having a hunting accident there would have been some laughing at him but no one would have portrayed Favre as a thug and a criminal.
We don't have to speculate, In 1999, Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight merely had to pay some $500 in fines, with no lasting effect on his character or employability. Knight had failed to report that he shot his friend while hunting in Wisconsin. When the story came out, it was revealed that he was hunting without a license, triggering another fine. Nor had he bought a license the year before, which led to a third fine.
According to the AP, "Knight, 59, told investigators that as he turned to aim at the bird, his finger slipped off the shotgun's safety and hit the trigger, accidentally firing the gun before he was ready to shoot. Shotgun pellets struck Mikunda in the back and upper shoulder, causing wounds that were not life-threatening but required medical treatment.
"Knight told investigators he didn't think he needed the license to hunt on private property. "
A "kid" who used to play Nerf football on my front lawn is now a very successful NFL quarterback.
The last time I saw him at his parents' house he had two bodyguards, both big enough to crush me with one hand.
Appaently there is a price to pay for celebrity.
Plax should have hired some muscle instead of packing heat.
Former Law Student,
I forgot about Knight. If I am not mistaken that was the second time he had shot someone hunting. Lets not forget about the Vice President getting juiced up and blasting his buddy hunting in Texas.
Burris was stupid to have shot himself. But that does not make him a hard core criminal or worthy of jail time. You would think with the city on the verge of bankruptcy Mayor Bloomburg would have more to worry about than Burris. But, I guess when Bloomburg sees a young black man with a gun, his racism gets the better of him.
For another example of this kind of double standard, notice sometime how baseball players (who are predominately white and hispanic) routinely engage in bench clearing brawls and bean each other with 90+ mph fastballs all to the "boys will be boys" "that is how the game is played" tisk tisking of sports writers. In contrast, when one NBA player (who are predominately black) takes a swing at another and it illicits an "oh my god the negros are rioting again the commissioner needs to put a stop to it" response by all right thinking white sports writers.
In 1999, Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight merely had to pay some $500 in fines, with no lasting effect on his character or employability. Knight had failed to report that he shot his friend while hunting in Wisconsin.
The next time Indiana came to Madison to play basketball the Wisconsin student section, fearing for their safety, turned out in Blaze Orange.
It was hilarious.
Consider a *blush* in place of my 11:13.
AllenS said...
Who's dumber, Plaxico Burress or Michael Vick?
Plaxico was one dumb niggah, but Michael Vick was not only dumber repeatedly showing up at dog fights attended by 500 people and openly gambling and boasting of his ownership and flouting of Fed law, and his tax evasion... he was also pure animal abusing eeeevviiiilll
*****************
John - Like the NYC laws on concealed weapons or not, Plaxico broke a big one.
For all I know you may find our drug laws insane and the "war on Drugs" a futile wast of time. But if 'ol Plaxico was caught at the airport with a kilo of coke in his suitcase for he and his posse's partying and getting the bitches and 'hos, I doubt you would be weeping if he went to the pen.
I think Pres. Bush should include Burris in the midnight Pardons list on 2nd amendment grounds. That's a twofer because Burris is a black man and the Republican base will feel all warm and loving about Bush again.
Cederford,
Doing a kilo of coke is not a constitutional right. Owning a gun is. Further, yes you are right that the drug laws are very bad laws. But they are just that bad laws. The gun laws in contrast are downright barbaric and based on liberal ignorance and superstition. People like Bloomburg and his ilk are no better than the witch burners of medieval Europe.
Licensed or not, drunk driving is a crime. But drunk drivers reinforce the idea that all drivers should be licensed. Plaxico is the post-it note of why gun owners should be licensed and trained in firearm management....He is hare brained and stupid, but he will not go to jail. You have to have an exagerrated sense of grievance if you think this arrogant millionaire is in some way a victim of racism.
It's so hard to be black that they all should get reparations...immediately!
This is very much like the Lori Drew case; an unpopular defendant charged with a stupid crime just to make an example of him/her, or something.
But these same laws will be used against the commoners and no one will defend them and they won't be in the papers.
Yes! How can people not be bothered by a tyrannical government that has the ability to put people in prison for years because they choose to exercise a Constitutional right. He's charged with having the gun. That's wrong, and there's no way around it.
John said...The media's treatment of black athletes caught with guns is the best example of racism today.
If that's the "best" form of racism you can find then racism is pretty much dead and buried.
And in case it needs saying, football has nothing to do with my perspective. I'd never heard of this guy, don't follow football at all, and couldn't even tell you whether many teams were college or pro if you listed them by name.
I don't care who he is; he has Constitutional rights.
Reparations for Obama! And estrogen shots for his ho ho ho wife.
It's all because coach Coughlin disrespected Plaxico. Tha's right. Tha's right.
In the Soviet Union and even currently in Russia the rules of the game are opaque and as a result, it has been and even now remains impossible to operate in that country and behave legally, in the sense that you can always be found to be in some violation of some rule or law or ordinance.
Because everybody can be found guilty of something, one must always suck up to the government, lest it turn on you and prosecute.
That is the essence of a totalitarian state, and describes NYC and other arenas in the USA now.
"Plaxico is the post-it note of why gun owners should be licensed and trained in firearm management.."
Sorry, but I'm having trouble seeing the correlation between "Plaxico is an idiot" and "The government should have a bigger say than it already does on who is allowed to own the tools of self-defense".
"I don't think this would happen in Green Bay."
Who was that Packer who used to hang out with Favre and went to trial for banging the underage girl? He was from Boston and he was fucking hot. What girl would not of wanted to be fucked by a good looking, rich, hot, amazing body, football player?
Have we got another fake Titus among us? "Would of" for "would have" seems completely lacking in fabulousness to me...
Mark Chmura (tight end), Titus.
The confluence of race, guns, arrogance, hubris and celebrity has all contributed to the witch’s brew that is the case of Plaxico Burress. Plaxico’s mother made a mistake when she named him, she should have called him Forrest Gump. He is basically a disorganized and disassociated guy who has been coddled and protected throughout his life. He has a distinct lack of malice which is one of the reasons his teammates rush to protect him. He is not a genuinely bad guy like a Stephon Marbury or a Pac Man Jones or Mike Tyson so both the team’s management and players are predisposed to give him more slack. He doesn’t roll into a club with his posse and take over like so many of these guys do. In fact his big problem with the Giants happened because he blew off a day’s work to be with son. Stupid yes. Criminal no.
The problems of the association of athletes and criminals in places where drinks are served are a long and storied one and have nothing to do with the fact that Plaxico is black. When the Irish ballplayers of the Black Sox scandal were hanging around with gamblers and hoods they ended up fixing the World Series. Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker two baseball immortals were forced to retire because of their ties to gamblers. Paul Hornung as suspended for a season because of gambling. Pete Rose. Dozens of athlete’s coaches and broadcasters have been arrested for having a gun. The beat goes on. The problem now is that when the players go to a club the skells follow them home to stick them up or to do a home invasion. Stephen Smith of the Giants was robbed at gunpoint last week. Eddie Curry of the Knicks had a bunch of knuckleheads burst into his home and tie him and his whole family up while they robbed them. Antoine Walker had the same thing happen. Paul Pierce of the Celtics was pierced by about a hundred stab wounds a few years ago in a club. So these guys feel that they have to protect themselves and their families. So they get a gun. Now to own and carry a gun is lot easier in the states these guys come from. Florida, Texas, and places like that. They don’t know or just ignore the draconian gun laws of New York City and New Jersey. They figure they can just slide like they always did because they are star athletes. Everything is fine until somebody gets their eye put out.
Now it is a full fledged Bonfire of the Vanities pile on. The asshole scumbag Nanny Bloomberg has to open his big yap and try and convict this guy before there is an indictment let alone a trial. Of course if he got caught with a gat he would just change the fucking law like he did with term limits. Self righteous douche bags like Michael Daly (a fucking journalist and you know how I feel about them) and Mike Francesca (pompous TV and radio know it all) will pontificate that Plaxico has to go to jail. Guess what douche bags. 90% of the felony gun arrests are pleaded out to a misdemeanor with a suspended sentence. Even gang bangers and corner boys. A stable family man with a job in his first offense almost never goes to jail. So they have to choose to put him in jail. To make all these assholes who could never play feel good. To score political points. Make no mistake about these sportswriters and pundits are the guys who got wedgies from the football team in high school. So they will get on their high horse and spout off nonsense when they don’t know what they are talking about.
Does Plaxico deserve some punishment? Sure. Suspension by the NFL. Even cut him off the team if you want and take away his money. Knock yourself out. I hold no brief for him because he is a member of THE WORLD CHAMPION NEW YORK GIANTS. I think Plaxico is one of those guys who does more harm to himself than to anyone else. But personally when I see people like the corrupt Nanny Bloomberg and scum bag journalists and jealous pompous sportscasters piling on someone, I have to be on the other side. All the way. I want to let the criminal justice work just as it would for anyone else. Without the mayor and the newspapers calling for his head. Hey just call me a crazy bleeding heart liberal.
Sorry for the long post.
Back to the twat jokes.
"Sorry for the long post."
No, Trooper--you preach it, bro! Any sermon that contains the phrase "asshole scumbag Nurse Bloomberg" by definition cannot be too long.
Like I said, I defer to Trooper.
I agree with Trooper... except for the part about how it would be fine for the NFL to cut Plaxico over this. That would be lame. The NFL shouldn't be as lame as the bureaucratic class.
No love in this thread for the name Plaxico. I like it. I think it's an especially great name for a football player. He should just go by Plaxico and forget Burress. Be like Cher, Prince, or Madonna.
Then again, maybe Cher, Prince, and Madonna are not good models for an NFL player's PR...
"Lets not forget about the Vice President getting juiced up and blasting his buddy hunting in Texas."
I apparently forgot. How about a link to a reputable source about the juiced up part.
Anyway, so what kind of pistol was this anyway? I own several and not a one will fire without me pulling the trigger. Even with a round in the chamber.
Plaxico is a fine name, Freeman. It's just that the person holding it is a bonehead.
Keep in mind that a lot of the agitation to suspend Burress from the league is less the fact that his transgression involved a gun, and more than he had yet another transgression of any kind. It's more in the nature of a "final straw" suspension than anything else. The fact that a firearm was involved is practically incidental to the fact that he's just pulled another boneheaded move.
He's no Pacman Jones by any stretch - at least the person shot in Plaxico's case was just himself, not some bystander - but the words "model citizen" can only be applied to him ironically.
Tibore, I don't think that is quite fair. I mean he missed a day of work and got heavily fined. He is late for meetings and stuff like that. But these sportwriters get all macho and tough when they get to slap around a player. THe insist on the rules can't be broken. The only reason why Couglin became sucessful was that he relaxed the rules. Did you know he used to fine players if they were less then five minutes "early" to a meeting. Being two minutes early ws not enough. He has calmed down a lot since then. But not the sports nerds who love to hang players out to dry. Especially a good player. What Plaxico does in a year, Manny Rameriez does in a week.
Trooper, you think I'm only discussing the missed meetings and tardiness? I'm also referring to the back taxes embarassment, the domestic dispute/restraining order incident, the criticizing of officiating incident... the saga of Plaxico Burress isn't just his skipping out on minicamp and a few days of practice here and there. It goes beyond that.
And yes, like you said, he's mostly a harm to himself. I agree; that's why I said he's no Pacman Jones. Doesn't change the fact he's a bonehead, and doesn't change the fact that the Giants are sick of a bit more than just some skipped practices.
Tibore you are a smart guy and you know your stuff. All of things you mentioned are true but what do they all add up to? I mean you can be Chairman of the Ways and Means if you don't pay your taxes. Or Mayor of New York. Domestic disputes happen all the but Plaxico is no Jason Kidd as he has never been accused of slapping his wife around. She is a lawyer by the way and a pretty smart lady. Haven’t you ever got your load on and called in sick to work with a lame excuse? Haven’t you ever had a bad patch where you kept coming in late for one reason or another? The Giants tolerated a hell of a lot worse off crack heads like Lawrence Taylor and many other talented players as long as they needed them. Some of the guys in the fifties and sixties were mean drunks who slapped their wives around but stayed on the team as long as they were useful.
Plaxico is a human being who makes mistakes. He just made a big one. What I hate are these self righteous fucking weenie sportscasters who are leading the mob to run him out of town on a rail. These worthless scumbags never did a useful thing in their life and all they can do is tear people down. They do not have an ounce of compassion in their evil twisted souls. It is no accident that a commie yuppie prick like Keith Olberman started as a sportswriter. Who the fuck are they to stand in judgment? They make me sick.
Plaxico will get reamed and loose his deal. These cunts will rejoice in a job well done. Innocent bystanders who only tried to help like the lady doctor and Ronnie Barnes the trainer will get smeared. If Plaxico can still play next season he will get a contract. Some team will use him if he has an ounce of talent left. They will squeeze the lemon until there is nothing left but the rind.
The worst kind of journalist is a sports journalist.
Trooper, what do you want me to say? Reporters are jackasses, ignore what Plax has done? I'll agree times ten on the first part. Being an Indiana U. and Bob Knight fan through the years have shown me exactly how self-righteous and idiotic these guys can be; I still refuse to read certain guys because of the crap they've thrown on Knight. And no, I cannot stand Olberman either; he's a self-centered jerknut who's over impressed with his own (lack of) cleverness, and all too well represents this generation of idiot talkng heads who simultaneously mistake clever wordplay for genuine intelligence and end up doing committing the exact opposite of journalism by adding heat instead of light. And yes, I have witnessed that hubris before; as a group, sports reporters are a lynch mob. They just lynch with ink and text, not rope. If your point is to have me call a majority of national and big-market sports reporters unmitigated, self righteous twats, then get the hell out of the way, or I'll run you over while I'm doing so. I only truly respect less than 10 sports reporters, and only a couple of them are national.
But if you want me to equivocate being tardy to work, or falsely calling in sick when I'm not that sick to a domestic charge, withdrawn by his wife or not, or tax evasion, then please, re-examine what you're saying. Yes, for the umpteenth time, this guy's no Pacman. Once he pays his dues, let him play. What he's done, and his impact on society is orders of magnitude less Pacman's. But Burress has got to pay his dues for this incident, because like Knight, it's his own damn behavior that's got him in the situation he's in. And like Knight, the problems resulting in his potential leaving have nothing to do with the sick self-righteousness of the reporters who're hypocritically tut-tutting while privately gleeful about his commission of his acts. He's done them himself.
I noted that the Giants and some fans want to cut him loose; I never agreed with that position. I never cared either way, because I believe he'd be picked up by some team that needs a receiver, and I only truly follow the Colts anyway so I can care less where he goes. But I did not err when I said he's not a model citizen. He's not. No, he's not a dangerous thug either, like some of the Indiana Pacers Larry Bird thankfully traded away, nor is he a serious danger to society, like Jones was proven to be. But he's no model. Not with his insolence to his team, his fan base, the sport, and society in general. And there's nothing exaggerated about that judgement whatsoever.
Thanks for the compliment, Trooper. I think you're a smart guy too. It's just that I don't see how calling a spade a spade is wrong or unfair here. I loved and supported the hell out of Knight and miss the hell out of his teams, but there's no way I can deny that he put himself in the situation that led to his dismissal. He has some serious faults, some epic shortcomings. And likewise, I don't see how any Giants fan can deny the fact that Plax also screwed himself into his own dilemna, any compassion for his behavior or genuine complaint about the ones reporting on him nonwithstanding. It's just fact.
Tibore we agree almost 100%. I don't hold any brief for Plaxico. If you can't do the time don't do the crime. It's just that this is a pile on and in fact his various infractions are a bunch of bullshit in comparision to what a lot of other guys have done who get a one game suspension and are right back in there. I am the kind of guy who doesn't get in a fight for himself but who ends up jumping in when people gang up on someone else.
As you said, Plaxico is no Pacman or Mike Tyson. He is a befuddled confused inarticulte guy who seems a little lost. I think his physical talent far outstrips his mental acuity and he is a well meaning doof. Sort of like Forrest Gump. With a gun.
But sometimes those guys just spread disaster in their wake. Antonio Piece, Ronnie Barnes and that doctor are proably regreting that they ever heard of Plaxico.
I just don't go for the pile on.
"Poster boy" has never been a racially-linked phrase, so I'd say it's okay to use it even about a black man. I agree he should get equal justice, not special treatment for either better or worse merely because he is a celebrity.
No, I do NOT think that a Giants player can be 'forgiven confusion about state lines.' Gun advocate John Lott pointed out today that Burress was in violation of Florida's weapons permits laws, too, by letting his permit expire last May. No matter what they tell them in college, laws do apply to football players and they need to be aware of that.
I agree with the announcer who did the sidelines commentary for the Redskins game this past Sunday, at the memorial game for the tragic shooting of Sean Taylor a year ago: if the bar is so tough it's not safe without a gun, it's not safe at all, get out of there and go have a good time somewhere else.
I always enjoyed Plaxico's performance on the field and I feel like his mother must feel: I want to shake him until his teeth rattle and holler, "WHAT were you THINKING?" He has shot himself in his moneymaker: the legs that gave him his terrific speed and grace. If he'd grabbed the gun a little faster as it fell out of his waistband, he might have shot himself in, ah... let's call it his "groin area." WHAT was he THINKING?
He may not feel very lucky this week, but if he'd manage to shoot himself in either the iliac or femoral arteries, we'd be having this discussion at his funeral.
Yes, Trooper, that's absolultely fair. Stepping back for a bit, you're right. I see your point. Folks are indeed piling on Plaxico. He's done his act on his own, but 20,000 voices nattering about it is indeed a bit much. So I see why you said what you said. Part of being a public figure is the feeding frenzy around your acts, and that's not being said as an excuse, it's being said as a complaint. There's just too much commentary about it. And we all here are adding to it.
I think this, and one more post in the thread I just saw pop up above will be my limit on this.
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