The NFL continues to cry that they are a "family" sport. They slap players on the wrist and think that it makes a difference. Look at Plaxico Burress this season. He was suspended by the team & the league earlier in the season, without pay. Then, he whines and complains and they give him his money back but force him to sit out a couple of games. Who was hurt? Not Buress but his fans and anyone unfortunate enough to have his undroppable ass on their fantasy team.

Now he takes an illegal weapon to a nightclub and then manages to shoot himself in the thigh, gets Rashad & Pierce to help him cover it up, persuades the ER staff not to report it, then turns around and reports the "accidental" shooting to his team to stave off any investigation. Nice, huh? So, will the NFL punish those 3 players enough to make it clear that this kind of behavior is unacceptable? I, personally, doubt it. To do so at this point in the season would greatly diminish the NYG chances in the playoffs. Will the team? Again, I doubt it for the same reasons as the league. That leaves the city, and it appears they will go after these "men" as agressively as possible. Unfortunately, that will take time and they will be playing for the rest of the season and post season (except Burress who may have finally injured himself enough to be on the IR list).

Is there a solution? I dunno, but I hope someone has one. I think they need to go back and fix college recruiting; make any player with a felony conviction ineligible to recieve scholarship spots maybe. Get rid of free agency for an extended time after joining the league and cap salaries for the first 5 years? Would that fix it? Again, I don't know but those are the 2 ideas that seem the most logical.

I was going to say theres no way Burress doesnt get suspended but they already have. Hes out 4 games now. The NFL isnt messing around anymore. Six players just got suspended for the year for steroids also, some of them fairly high profile.

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"We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home."

I'm more concerned with how the state handles it. Unauthorized use of a firearm carries a minimum 3.5 year jail sentence. We'll see if he gets a day in there.

NYC mayor has already gone public with his soapbox of wanting "fullest prosecution to the law" and his desire to basically put Burress in jail for several years. He even talked about the celebrity status that Burress has as being a great reason (besides the obvious of him breaking the law) to prosecute and put him behind bars. Then again, this is the same mayor that saw Puff Daddy (or whatever he calls himself now) get off scotch free in his gun trial a few years ago... and naturally Burress has the same lawyer that PD had. So I am sure the mayor has an internal grudge against that lawyer

Giants won't miss Burress at all in my opinion. However, the Pierce thing is a far more difficult loss for them. And if Pierce has to miss any time, or his play is affected mentally by this whole process, then it could spell troubles for the Giants.

Actually let me change my wording- Giants won't miss Burress in the regular season. But a 6'5 WR with the talent like Burress could come in handy on that end zone fade route for a touchdown in a major playoff game. While the other Giants receivers are competent (Toomer, Smith, Hixon), I don't feel they are on the talent level of Burress... nor do I recall any of them being 6'5. Which (since I am the same height) does make a big difference in some athletic pursuits... like catching passes over cornerbacks who stand 5'10.

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What does this have to do with the NFL being a "family" sport?

Fribur, here's my reasoning:
Players make alot of money because the NFL makes alot of money. The NFL makes alot of money through marketing itself as a family sport. If they marketed themselves as a sport like boxing, or hockey the NFL would not be so lucrative a business. Many of their advertisers would move away from them, companies would not be so eager to put their names on stadiums and cities would not be so eager to pay for those stadiums. Because the NFL markets itself as a family sport, which pays those ridiculous salaries to players, it follows that the players should be responsible for the reputation of the league.
I haven't looked yet at what the league did but if that 4 game suspension doesn't include salary and only games he would be physically able to play in anyway it's a joke. It's already just a slap on the wrist. Not only was he carrying an illegal weapon, he apparently was brandishing it like the thug he is. In addition he conspired with other players and hospital staff to cover up the incident.
Depx, the NFL has gotten harsher than previously but, again in my opinion, they simply haven't gone far enough to clean up their image.

But him getting into trouble, to me, doesn't really make the NFL not a "family" sport. It's not a part of the game, and the game is still pretty much a G rated event to watch.

I would definitely be against this. Humans are fallible and deserve second chances. That scholarship could be their ticket to a better, law abiding life.

I'd love to see some averages on how much second chances really help felons vs. how many end up back in jail because they're too fucked up to do anything really worthy out side of prison.

I guess you could make a case that just 1 success is enough, but I'd side with 1 repeat offender that hurts someone again is too much as well.

People are assholes.

Burris is a dumb ass, and needs to be locked up. Hell, have Vick transferred up here to show him the ropes.

I would agree with you except that the NFL holds up the players as heroes/role models and that leads to disgusting things like mothers bring their children to the courthouse to get Michael Irvin's signature while he's being sentenced for drug posession. Football is entertainment and whether it's Buress or Pee Wee Herman what happens outside the job has an impact.



I'm all for second chances but when given a choice between comparable players it would be nice to see the guy whose vertical leap is 2" less but has kept his nose clean in high school be given that opportunity over the girlfriend abuser.
College sports programs are not rehabilitation centers; they simply aren't equipped to be nor should they be. But perhaps knowing that they may be ruining their chance for money/stardom by their poor choices in high school would lead to better critical thinking in high school athletes. Prevention rather than ignoring the problem.
Notre Dame under Charlie Weis is a perfect example. I used to be a fan. What he has done to the program is a disgrace. While the disparaging nicknames like "Good little Catholic Boys" were annoying, it was what the program was known for producing before Weis took the helm and began recruiting solely on the basis of athletic ability (as much as he could within the NCAA rules).

Agreed 100%.


[Edit] PS Throw the book at Burress and hopefully get through to the collective idiocy that is the typical NFL player. Note that I say that as a longtime rabid Cowboys fan, and thus I am no stranger to the depths of idiocy that the NFL player is capable of reaching. Furthermore, as banged up as the secondary is and kick returners are, I'm disappointed to see Pacman back in the NFL.

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This statement bugs the crap out of me. You dont hear about 99% of the typical NFL player because they are good people. You hear about the exceptions and make them the rule. That is crap.

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Sometimes people go to prison that don't need rehabilitation because they are good people and had some bad luck.

Didn't you see Con-Air?