Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Plaxico Burress.....what an idiot!

"Bloomburg said that he wants to make an example of him to the NFL and the rest of pro sports and that he should do the mandatory jail term."

Do Football Players Need Self-Defense?

Physically huge NFL players admitting they feel threatened by crime? This hardly fits their tough, macho image. Our concern is supposed to be for women walking alone at night. Who can have sympathy for a professional football player such as Plaxico Burress who is 6 feet 5 inches and weighs 232 lbs.?

Burress, who has no previous criminal record, now faces between three and a half to 15 years for illegally carrying a concealed handgun with him in Manhattan, if convicted. He was arrested Monday and was released on $100,000 bail. � Burress had had a concealed handgun permit in the state of Florida for the last five years, but he forgot to renew it in May this year.

While the massive size and strength of NFL players might make them seem like unlikely potential crime victims, their wealth and high public profile nonetheless make them particularly attractive targets for violent criminals. While �only� two players were murdered last year, that means a murder rate of 118 per 100,000 people, compared to 5.9 per 100,000 for the rest of the population. In other words, the rate for NFL players was 20 times higher than the average for the rest of the country. This is even higher than the most at risk segment of the population -� young black males between 18 and 24. It is even higher than the risk faced by police officers.

Last year, the Washington Redskins� Sean Taylor was killed during a robbery at his house. The Denver Broncos� defensive back Darrent Williams was killed outside a nightclub.

As Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber noted, �We are targets, we need to be aware of that everywhere we go.� Yet, the news coverage doesn�t engender much sympathy for Plaxico Burress.

So, what do many NFL players do when they realize that their physical strength does not give them enough protection from violent crime? The same thing that many other would-be victims do � they get guns. Well over 50 percent of NFL players are estimated to own guns, somewhat higher than the 45 percent of American adults who own guns.

Not everyone approves. Mike Ditka, the Hall of Fame tight end and former Chicago Bears football coach, advocates banning NFL players from owning guns. Ditka said, �I don�t understand the league, why can anybody have a gun? I will have a policy, no guns, any NFL players we find out, period, you�re suspended.� AOL Sports writer Michael Smith also supports the ban and says, �If you carry a gun around, you�re more likely to hurt yourself than protect yourself.�

It would be great if the police were always there to rescue would-be victims, but as the police themselves understand, they virtually always arrive on the scene after the crime has already occurred. Fortunately, just as criminals are deterred by higher arrest rates or longer prison sentences, the fact that potential victims own guns deters some attackers. The Department of Justice�s National Crime Victimization Survey, which covers almost 30 years, also shows that having a gun is consistently by far the safest course of action for victims.

Over the last three or four years, numerous professional players can attest to the benefits of owning guns. For example, Corey Fuller, the 5-foot, 10-inch, 210-pound defensive back for the Baltimore Ravens, was confronted by two armed robbers outside his Tallahassee house. One robber chased Fuller into his house where his wife and children were sleeping, but Fuller was able to grab a gun and fire at the attackers, who then ran away.

T.J. Slaughter, a 6-foot, 233-pound linebacker, was arrested for allegedly pointing a gun at motorists who pulled up next to him on the highway. Slaughter denied that he had pointed the gun at the motorists and claimed that they had threatened him. No charges were filed, though, possibly following Dikta�s rule, the Jacksonville Jaguars still cut Slaughter the next day. Jacksonville claimed Slaughter was performing poorly.

Professional athletes� physical strength hardly makes them immune to crime. Take a couple additional examples.

� The Oakland Raiders� Javon Walker (height: 6-3, weight: 215 lbs.) was robbed and beaten this past June while visiting Las Vegas. He was hospitalized with a concussion and facial injuries.

� The Houston Texans� Dunta Robinson (height: 5-10, weight: 184 lbs.) was robbed by two men in his home a year ago. The robbers bound him with duct tape and stole jewelry.

Unfortunately all of the nation�s four leading pro-sports leagues � the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball � trivialize the athletes� concerns over safety. The NFL�s official advice: �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.� The league advocates passive behavior when confronted by a criminal.

Fred Taylor (height: 6-1, weight: 228) a running back with the Jacksonville Jaguars made the point clear: �League officials tell us we need to take measures to protect ourselves. But the NFL says we can�t have guns in the facility �even in the parking lot. Crooks know this. They can just sit back and wait for us to drive off, knowing we won�t have anything in our vehicle from point A to point B.�

Even professional athletes are not supermen. T.J. Slaughter expresses no regrets for having a gun despite running afoul of political correctness and being cut by the Jaguars. He says, �I believe legally owning a gun is the right thing to do. It offers me protection. I think one day it could save my life.� It seems a lesson that many who are not quite as strong can also learn from.

Burress didn't have a pistol permit. He can't get one in NY anyway's because he is not a resident of this state, he lives in NJ. He committed a felony, plain and simple. He should be punished just like anyone else would be.