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.
