Giants' Burress sustains gunshot wound
New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress appears to have avoided any serious injury after his leg was hit by a bullet in an accidental shooting Friday night.
However, multiple sources said they were unsure how long Burress might be out after the latest incident of a problematic and disappointing season. Furthermore, the Giants and the NFL were working to determine the facts surrounding the shooting, which left Burress hospitalized overnight.
According to an Associated Press report, Burress was shot at a nightclub Friday night. Other reports indicated Burress accidentally shot himself.
“From everything I’ve heard, he was really lucky,” said a member of Burress’ family who had been told only general details about the event. Burress had been ruled out of the game Sunday against Washington before he was shot because of a recent hamstring injury.
One source said Burress could face sanctions from the league under the personal conduct policy. However, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello called that “premature.”
“That is all premature. We are working with the Giants to determine the facts,” Aiello said in an email. A Giants spokesman declined to comment on the situation.
As for immediate concerns about Burress’ health, the family member and another source close to the player indicated he should be able to return this season from the wound.
“I don’t exactly what happened with all of this, where he was or whether he had the gun or what. All I know is he’s supposed to be back in a couple of weeks,” another source said. “That’s what I heard the doctors told him.”
This is the latest incident in what has been a disappointing season for Burress, who caught the game-winning touchdown pass for the Giants in their victory over New England in the Super Bowl.
Since then, Burress has squabbled with the team over his contract. After getting a new deal the day the season opened, Burress has been suspended for one game and fined one week’s pay for multiple violations of team rules. He has been fined numerous times this season and over the course of his three-plus years with the team. He was also benched during one game this season.
Burress suffered the hamstring injury in practice last week and missed all but the first series of New York’s victory at Arizona last Sunday. Burress has 35 catches for 454 yards and four touchdowns this season, putting him on pace for by far his worst season since joining the Giants in 2005.
In 2004, he was limited to 35 catches for 698 yards and five touchdowns in his last season with Pittsburgh. As a rookie first-round pick with the Steelers in 2000, Burress had a career-low 22 receptions.
