A Giant Headache

Even as the New York Giants continue to dominate their opponents on the field, a major off the field distraction continues to fester in the form of Plaxico Burress. The troubled star wide receiver has been injured for most of the season, but things turned downright bizarre on Friday.

Actually, bizarre doesn't quite cover it.

Criminal is more like it.

Plaxico Burress plans to turn himself in to police Monday morning in New York City and plead not guilty to criminal possession of a weapon, his lawyer said.

Benjamin Brafman wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press on Sunday that he was advised the New York Giants’ star receiver will be charged after accidentally shooting himself in the right thigh.

“I do not expect that Mr. Burress will make a statement,” Brafman wrote.

He met with Burress for about an hour Sunday at the player’s home in New Jersey.

“I would ask that his fans, the Giants and the media withhold judgment in this matter until all of the facts have been disclosed,” Brafman wrote to the AP.

Brafman is a well-known criminal lawyer who has defended mobsters and other high-profile figures, including hip-hop impresario Sean “Diddy” Combs on a bribery and gun possession charge in 2001.

Burress is lucky that he only managed to shoot himself in the leg in a non-life threatening injury. He just as easily could have shot and killed someone in the club with an unregistered firearm. Burress also doesn't have a New York concealed carry permit and his Florida license (which wouldn't be recognized in New York in any event) expired in May.

What was he doing with the firearm in the club in the first place? Why did he feel the need to start unloading the handgun while drinking a glass of wine? You can't get any more reckless than that while handling firearms (okay, there are a few ways, but drinking and firearms definitely do not mix).

Local papers are all screaming for the Giants to send Burress packing. I can't blame them either. He's not only a distraction, but he's broken the law and put himself and others in jeopardy with his actions. The NFL will have to consider disciplinary actions as will the team.

UPDATE:
A bad situation is just about to get worse. Antonio Pierce, one of the defensive leaders on the team, was apparently involved in the incident as well. He was with Burress at the time of the shooting. Also, The Record provides a different account of how the shooting occurred. According to this version, the gun Burress was carrying somehow slipped down his pants and discharged into his thigh and Pierce came to his assistance and began berating Burress for packing a firearm. Burress then pleaded not to get the police and ambulances involved.

According to the Daily News: "The mercurial Giant was waved inside the crowded Latin-themed club on Lexington Ave. about midnight. He downed several drinks, making already jittery security guards more nervous about his weapon.

"As Burress was being led into a VIP area, with a drink in his hand, the gun slipped down his pants leg. He reached for the weapon, but fumbled it and it went off, sources said," the News reported." The bullet tore through Burress' already injured right thigh, police said.

...

Pierce, 30, rushed to his bleeding teammate and applied pressure to the wound as Burress screamed in pain amid the hip-hop beats piping through the club, sources said. As he worked to slow the bleeding, Pierce berated Burress for bringing a loaded handgun into a club.

Panicking, Burress told his teammate not to call 911 for an ambulance, sources said.

Pierce helped the bloodied receiver out of the club before taking off with the gun and stashing it somewhere in New Jersey, sources said. A Giants representative left Washington, where the Giants are playing the Redskins this afternoon, to retrieve the gun for investigators.