A little less than a year ago, we saw New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress catch the winning touchdown pass in Super Bowl XLII, cradle the Super Bowl trophy in front of adoring fans and join his team for a visit with President George W. Bush at the White House. Earlier this week, we saw a handcuffed Burress escorted into a
New York
law prohibits the possession of a concealed weapon, even if the weapon is licensed by another state, and requires a
mandatory three-and-a-half year prison sentence for anyone convicted of illegal weapons possession. In the meantime, the Giants have placed Burress on the Non-Football Injury list for the rest of the regular season while he recovers from the gunshot wound and a hamstring injury, which he had suffered on the football field. The National Football League Players Association has sued the league, demanding his reinstatement.
Burress is innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law – that is how our American system of jurisprudence works. Nevertheless, it looks like we will not see Burress wearing an NFL uniform again anytime soon. A close examination of his career reveals a pattern of unprofessional, destructive behavior that grew more extreme through the years and has led to the talented Burress’ apparent professional and personal downfall.
The
Plaxico Antonio Burress (born August 12, 1977 in
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REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS 2000 – 2004
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||||||||
YEAR
|
AGE
|
G
|
GS
|
REC
|
YDS
|
AVE
|
TD
|
LNG
|
2000
|
23
|
12
|
8
|
22
|
273
|
12.4
|
0
|
39
|
2001
|
24
|
16
|
16
|
66
|
1,008
|
15.3
|
6
|
43
|
2002
|
25
|
16
|
15
|
78
|
1,325
|
17.0
|
7
|
62
|
2003
|
26
|
16
|
16
|
60
|
860
|
14.3
|
4
|
47
|
2004
|
27
|
11
|
11
|
35
|
698
|
19.9
|
5
|
48
|
Burress’ rookie season was unremarkable on the field and uneventful off the field. The next season, he and then-teammate Hines Ward both topped the 1,000-yard receiving mark, becoming the first pair of receivers in Pittsburgh Steelers franchise history to log at least 1,000 receiving yards in a season.
Burress’ first notable run-in with the law as a pro happened in mid-May 2002. Police in
On the field, Burress enjoyed an outstanding 2002 campaign, setting what are still career-highs in receptions (78) and receiving yards (1,325) to go along with seven touchdowns. During a November 10, 2002, contest between the Steelers and the Atlanta Falcons, which ended in a 34-34 tie after overtime, Burress hauled in nine passes for a Pittsburgh franchise record 253 receiving yards and scored two touchdowns.
Burress started to make his unhappiness about the
Entering the last year of his contract in 2004 with no extension talks imminent, an unhappy Burress skipped spring workouts and minicamps without team permission. The Steelers suspended him for the missed practices. In the meantime, the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported just before training camp that the Steelers front office had no plans to hold contract extension talks with Burress. A hamstring injury and his discontent led to Burress posting his lowest regular-season numbers since his rookie season. After the Steelers were blown out 41-27 by the New England Patriots in the AFC Championship game, Burress, who caught just three passes for 37 yards in the game, publicly blasted the team for not getting the ball to him. A few weeks before free agency, the Steelers announced that they would not use the franchise tag on Burress, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent.
The
The number of free-agent suitors for Burress was very small, but that was hardly a surprise. Most teams had been scared off by Burress’ behavior in
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REGULAR SEASON STATISTICS 2005 – 2008
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||||||||
YEAR
|
AGE
|
G
|
GS
|
REC
|
YDS
|
AVE
|
TD
|
LNG
|
2005
|
28
|
16
|
15
|
76
|
1,214
|
16.0
|
7
|
78
|
2006
|
29
|
15
|
15
|
63
|
988
|
15.7
|
10
|
55
|
2007
|
30
|
16
|
16
|
70
|
1,025
|
14.6
|
12
|
60
|
2008
|
31
|
9
|
7
|
35
|
454
|
13.0
|
4
|
33
|
Burress’ 2005 season was his most productive in two years, and he was earning a hefty salary. However, Burress still was not on his best behavior. Head coach Tom Coughlin benched Burress for a quarter in a September regular-season game, because he had been late to some team meetings. Burress also missed an end-of-the-season meeting with Coughlin following a 23-0 playoff loss to the Carolina Panthers, which caused Coughlin to publicly admit that was concerned about his star wide receiver’s attitude. Coughlin and Burress had a private meeting and supposedly smoothed things over.
In 2006, Coughlin and the Giants’ front office went public with their unhappiness about Burress’ preference to workout in
During the 2006 regular season, Manning’s uneven play dragged Burress’ numbers down. However, Burress did manage to catch a career-high 10 touchdowns. The Giants, however, lost six of their last eight regular-season games. They still made the playoffs as a Wild Card but lost 23-20 to the Philadelphia Eagles. Burress torched the Eagles with five catches for 89 yards and two scores.
Buress started off the 2007 season by skipping voluntary spring workouts and training camps. This time, however, he had an excuse: Burress had undergone offseason ankle surgery. The 2007 offseason was quiet, compared to the 2006 offseason, which had resembled a soap opera at times. Burress was bothered the entire season by a torn ligament in one of his ankles, which forced him to miss almost all the team’s regular-season practices, but Burress still managed to lead the club in receiving. Despite playing with the bad ankle and a sore knee during the playoffs, he set a franchise record with 11 catches for 154 yards against the Green Bay Packers in the 2007 NFC Championship game. In Super Bowl XLII, Burress caught just two balls for 27 yards, but one reception was for the game-winning touchdown.
The 2008 season started the same way as Burress’ other seasons in
Things really started to spiral downward for Burress:
The Giants suspended him for their Week 6 contest against the Seattle Seahawks and fined him two weeks pay ($235,294) for failing to report to the team Monday, Sept. 22 and Tuesday, Sept. 23. Burress claimed that he had “family issues” to deal with but admitted that he should have called the team. Rosenhaus, Burress and the Giants front office struck a deal to cut the fine in half, but the one-game suspension was not rescinded.
We learned that Burress had been fined by the organization at least 40 times for lateness and other violations during his time in New York, and that he had cursed at Coughlin when the coach asked him about being flagged for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty during the club’s Week 7 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Burress also had confronted the referees about the penalty after the game.
In late October, Burress was fined $45,000 for his conduct in the
The Giants benched Burress for the first quarter of the team’s Week 8 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers for missing treatment for a neck injury. Burress tried to play through a hamstring injury in Week 9 against the Arizona Cardinals but took himself out of the game in the first quarter. Burress was ruled out for the Giants’ Week 13 game against the Washington Redskins. The night before the game, as mentioned, Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg at the nightclub.
What Went Through Burress’ Mind At The Nightclub?
Unlike many of you, I refuse to accept the common wisdom that Burress or any athlete that gets into trouble off the field is ignorant and clueless. I think Burress, like many athletes, made some smart decisions to get where he is. At a few different points in his life, Burress had to have seen the big picture and made choices about how to live and how to behave. However, he obviously made a large number of terrible decisions this year. Why? Only Burress knows the answer. Did he feel “invulnerable” and “untouchable” after signing that huge contract extension? Perhaps. Burress’ behavior obviously pushed his relationship with the Giants to the breaking point. He repeatedly defied the team’s authority and disobeyed rules. The frustrated
This is a man who had the drive, intelligence and experience to become a successful NFL receiver and a Super Bowl winner, and parlay his success into a $35 million contract extension, but Burress was not smart enough to avoid shooting himself in the thigh. During that fateful evening in a
One last thought: If Burress, who is 31 years old (he will turn 32 in August) is convicted on the gun possession charges and serves just the minimum three-and-one-half year sentence, he would be 34 years old when he gets out of prison. Is there a strong market in the NFL for a 34-year-old wide receiver who has been out of the league for three-plus seasons?