Agent Zero learned zero from Plaxico Burress’ downfall
After New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg in a nightclub in November 2008, costing him millions of dollars and earning him a two-year prison sentence, one might have assumed that we wouldn’t be reading about another prominent athlete illegally totting a firearm anytime soon.
Burress’ precipitous fall, it was assumed, would scare athletes to the point that they would review their gun habits in the same way that Michael Vick’s demise educated them about dogfighting and associating with nefarious individuals.
The Burress incident, however, appears to have brought no such awakening, as evidenced by last week’s news that Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, one of the NBA’s most popular players, stored guns in his locker at the Verizon Center and may have pulled a gun on teammate Javaris Crittenton.
The particulars of Arenas’ case (he admits to storing the weapons but denies threatening Crittenton) don’t matter as much as the broad meaning: Burress’ downfall apparently had no impact on Arenas.
si.com
1/4/10
