The League

Burress Cites Own 'Lack of Judgment'

Plaxico Burress said in a televised interview that he takes responsibility for his "lack of judgment" when he took a loaded gun into a New York nightclub last November.

Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg that night, leading to his guilty plea to a weapons charge and agreement to serve a two-year prison sentence under a plea deal.

"I look myself in the mirror every morning and I'm like, 'You got yourself into it. You've got to get yourself out of it, get your life back on track, get back to doing what you love to do,' " Burress told ESPN. "Four or five years from now, down the road, I'll look back on it and say I was reckless. I made a very bad decision, and I'm suffering major consequences for them. I took away what I love to do most, which is play football. I lost my job. That's where I'm at right now."

The former New York Giants wide receiver said during the interview he doesn't know what to expect during his prison stay.

"I really don't know what to expect, to be honest with you," Burress said. "I know people that have went in and came out, and they tell you about it. But as a person, nobody wants to go to prison. Who wants to go to prison? Nobody.

"I got myself into this situation and, you know, I've got to deal with the consequences for that. I've been accountable since it happened to me from day one. I got myself into this situation by just lack of judgment. I didn't think about the consequences or what it could have been. If I would have thought about it, I wouldn't have made the decision to take that gun into a nightclub. I wouldn't have made that decision."

Burress is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 22 and likely will begin serving his prison term immediately thereafter. He said he plans to spend his remaining time before then with his family.

"I think that will be the toughest thing for me is to be away from my family, my son," Burress said. "I wake up with him every morning. You know, it's gonna be an adjustment. And I'm gonna be away from my wife. She's pregnant. She's due on Thanksgiving day. I'm having a baby girl, and I won't even be there for that."

Details of the TV interview were first released Monday.

Burress said that security personnel at the nightclub knew about the gun and allowed him to enter anyway. He said he'd been in the club "maybe five minutes" when the incident occurred. He was being taken up a flight of stairs to a VIP area when he missed a step, he said, and fumbled with the gun, which he said was tucked inside the black jeans he was wearing.

According to Burress, no one heard the gun fire and he had to inform Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, who was with him, that he'd shot himself and needed medical attention.

"When it happened, I don't even realize that, you know, I'm shot," Burress said. "You know, I'm like, I take two or three steps, my pants were like wet. I had on some Chuck Taylors. I looked down and the tops of my shoes were like red. And I looked at A.P., Antonio, and I'm like, 'Yo, take me to the hospital.' He's like, 'What's wrong?'... I was like, 'Take me to the hospital.' And he was like, 'Why?' I said, 'I just shot myself.' And he was like, 'Nah.' I was like, 'Look.' And he looked at my shoe and... he took me to the hospital."

Asked why he hadn't had the gun in a holster, Burress said: "Bad judgment."

The NFL suspended Burress but announced that he will be reinstated when his prison term ends.

The Giants released the former Super Bowl standout in the offseason.

By Mark Maske  |  August 25, 2009; 3:32 PM ET  | Category:  Crime Save & Share:                 
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Posted by: humbleandfree | August 25, 2009 5:40 PM

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