If Plaxico Burress' legal problems were confined to the wide receiver, the Giants could feel confident that their Super Bowl repeat aspirations weren't too badly damaged when a gun that Burress reportedly was carrying in a club Friday discharged wounding him in the thigh.
But it seems that at least teammate Antonio Pierce, the linebacker who's a key cog in the Giants defense, could get caught in the whirlpool of the incident for actions he took following Burress being wounded. Pierce took Burress to the hospital but the gun turned up in the glove compartment of Pierce's SUV and police want to know more about that. If there was an attempt to hide the gun, Pierce could also find himself in legal trouble. Giants' running back Ahmad Bradshaw was also at the club but insists he had nothing to do with the incident.
Layered on top of everything else, there are reports that the hospital where Burress was taken, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, didn't notify authorities in a timely fashion.
Burress, who would not have been precluded from playing for the rest of the season by the gunshot wound to his thigh, has been suspended by the Giants and placed on the reserve non-football injury list that would also keep him out of the playoffs. But his problems are bigger than that. The illegal gun charge he faces could carry serious prison time.
While the Giants have fashioned an 11-1 record so far getting so-so production from Burress (35 catches, 454 yards, four TDs), he was still capable of the big play. But Pierce, if the Giants or the NFL see fit to discipline him, might be the bigger on-field loss. He has a team-leading 66 tackles with 1 ½ sacks and two forced fumbles.
Bad news for Pierce is that there is pressure coming from New York mayor Michael Bloomberg that the rich and famous not be treated any differently regarding gun offenses. With that kind of political pressure being exerted, if there is a judgment call on Pierce continuing to play, he may not get the benefit of the doubt.
