I have always wondered why some athletes stay out of trouble and why some seem to attract it. Plaxico Burress, Superbowl hero wide receiver for the NY Giants, seems to be starting to go onto the negative end of trouble spectrum. He came from Pittsburgh Steelers with a reputation as a trouble maker but by all reports he was a solid citzen that may have been misunderstood.
This year he has constantly been in Tom Couglin’s dog house for a variety of infractions plus he hasn’t played that much. When he has played he generally has done well but his off field antics have really tarnished his image. Over the weekend he somehow shot himself in the thigh with an unlicensed gun and then tried to cover it up. Yesterday he was arraigned on felony weapons charges and could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
Obviously this is a damaging blow to his promising career I’m wondering what was he thinking carrying by unlicensed gun? I know he is a public figure and could be a target for some over zealous fan but I’m thinking he is making enough money to hire a bodyguard whenever he goes out to certain venues where he may atrract more attention. I suppose like may pro athletes he has this alpha male view of himself and figures “I can protect myself”.
This may be true but you have to do things the right way - apply for a gun permit and learn to use a gun properly. if you don’t get the permit hire a bodyguard how can carry then you have little to worry about. Mayor Micheal Bloomberg is pushing for Burress to get a stiff sentence a gun charge in New York City carries a minimum 3 and a half year sentence.
I doubt Plaxico will see any jail time because he has hired a high powered lawyer and I sure some sort of plea deal will be made. The league will discipline him and the Giants will surely fine him or more. I hope he can get things back together as a pro athlete I’m sure he faces many pressures that the average person doesn’t have to face. He has a wonderful opprtunuity to make a good life for him and his family but he has to realize that like it or not he is a role model and he has to think about his actions. We all learn actions have consequences and in this case the consequences could be quite severe.
The New York Post - All The News That’s Not Fit To Print!
Monday, February 23rd, 2009I used to buy the New York Post every now and then, but it was always for the sports section. Over the many my many years residing in New York I found that the Post was the paper most likely to sensationalize stories and just print plain rubbish. I give the National Enquirer and The Star more journalistic props than the Post! Now that they have allowed the clearly racist cartoon showing two white officer gunning down a chimp and the caption saying ”They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill,” I will not buy the Post again!
Everyone knows who that President Obama was pushing the stimulus in an attempt to jump start our ailing economy. So obviously this is a thinly veiled reference referring to him. President Obama has probably worked harder in his first month of office than any other President in US history. George Bush has left a 1.3 TRILLION DOLLAR deficit in his wake and yet the Republicans continue to rail at the Obama plan. Put politics aside for a change and try and help OUR President get the job done. If the economy crashes we are ALL going to suffer grave consequences. All the inflammatory rhetoric is just uncalled for. How is knocking the stimulus going to get us anywhere, especially when the previous administration has left us and economic disaster. All I hear from the Republicans is tax cut, tax cut, tax cut, what else can be done?! Tax cuts for the rich certainly aren’t helping me.
The Post generally supports Republicans, which is not a problem, they have a right to represent their constituency, but they should find a more civilized way to vent any displeasure with the stimulus. Intelligent discourse is what will help us figure out this problem, not blatantly racist cartoons disparging the leader of our great country. Some people say the cartoon doesn’t mention President Obama by name, all I have to say to that you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand the reference. If you can’t see a problem with the cartoon take off the blinders and look at it objectively.
While the Post has apologized they are still trying to gloss over the issue by saying the cartoon was referring to congress. Oh really?! Why didn’t it say in the caption?! And what is up with the “Beware of Dog” sign on the pole in the cartoon?! Why use a chimp in the first place?! I know there is story about the chimp that was shot dead for attacking a woman and ripping off her face has been all over the news. It is very insensitive to draw a reference from that story where the woman was badly injured and try to link it to the stimulus bill.
Senator Eric Adams burned a copy of the Post as a symbol of the extreme outrage in the community over the cartoon incident. Personally, I would have just kept things simple and enthuse people to do some good for the environment and use the Post to clean up excrament after their animals and then throw it in the garbage where it belongs. After all it’s all the news that’s not fit to print.
Tags: Barack Obama + chimp cartoon, chimp cartoon, Economic stimulus package + chimp cartoon, New York Post chimp cartoon, Senator Eric Adams, stimulus bill
Posted in Barack Obama, New York City News, Social Commentary, US Politics | 3 Comments »