Plaxico Burress, New York, and The NFL: Three Wrongs Don’t Make A Right

Plaxico Burress managed to shoot himself in the leg in a New York nightclub as he attempted to recover a Glock pistol carried in the waistband of his sweatpants after it dislodged itself and slid down his pants leg. In short, he made a grab for it through the pants material and hit the bang switch during the process. Oww!

Talk about Burress continues to dominate todays pre-game shows, with stories of coaches bringing lawyers and cops into the locker rooms and ex-players lecturing on how, if a place is so dangerous that you feel the need to bring a gun, you probably shouldn’t be there in the first place.

Everyone seems to be missing the point, however. NFL players are well-known public figures known to carry large amounts of cash and expensive jewelry. Four players have recently had high-profile run-ins with bad guys. Sean Taylor was killed in his home and Darrent Williams was gunned down outside a nightclub. Another player, Richard Collier, was shot 14 times doing nothing more than sitting in a car. So what, then, are these guys to do – sit at home surrounded by armed guards?

The NFL itself doesn’t help the situation, stating, “In some circumstances, such as for sport or protection, you may legally possess a firearm or other weapon. However, we strongly recommend that you not do so. Any weapon, particularly a firearm, is dangerous, especially so when it is in a vehicle or within reach of children and others not properly trained in its use.” Additionally, the NFL bans otherwise legal possession of a handgun at any location of an official NFL function, including stadiums, dorms, parking areas, team hotel/motels, promotional venues, etc.

Some players are, in fact, licensed to carry concealed handguns in several states. New York, however, prevents all but the uber-priveleged from legally carrying for self defense, even going as far as to lecture local NFL teams that New York has no tolerance for players who violate the law. What is not widely known, however, is that such permits are very hard to come by and require extraordinary justification (or political connections – you decide) to obtain, placing most out of the reach of your average citizen.

So my bottom line is this: Plaxico should have had his gun holstered, the NFL league rules should allow players to protect themselves, and New York should adopt shall-issue handgun permit legislation.

Of course the odds of all this happening are about the same as the Detroit Lions winning the Super Bowl this year. Oh, well.