Burress done for season
Six other NFL players also get suspensions
Their crimes varied from alleged weapons possession to use of banned substances. On Tuesday, some prominent NFL players got their punishments.
The New York Giants fined and suspended Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress for four games — the rest of the regular season — after he accidentally shot himself in the right thigh over the weekend at a Manhattan nightclub. The team also placed him on the reserve non-football injury list, which means the wide receiver couldn’t come back for playoffs, either.
Also on Tuesday, the NFL handed down four-game suspensions to six players, including the heart of the Minnesota Vikings’ stout defensive line, for violating the league’s anti-doping policy.
All six were punished for using a diuretic, which can serve as a masking agent for steroids.
The suspended players were running back Deuce McAllister and defensive linemen Charles Grant and Will Smith of New Orleans; defensive linemen Kevin and Pat Williams of Minnesota; and long snapper Bryan Pittman of Houston.
The punishment means all six will miss the end of the regular season, an especially harsh blow to Minnesota, which relies heavily on the Williamses in its run defense, which ranks second in the league. Pat Williams is a former Buffalo Bill.
The Giants punished Burress a day after he was charged with illegal weapons possession, which carries a penalty of 3z to 15 years in prison if he’s convicted. Burress is due back in court again March 31, unless he reaches a plea agreement.
Burress arrived Tuesday morning at Giants Stadium, and met individually with Giants President John Mara, General Manager Jerry Reese and coach Tom Coughlin. He left for a medical test and returned in the afternoon for another brief session with team officials.
Even as they suspended him for conduct detrimental to the team, Giants officials expressed concern for Burress, who caught a touchdown pass from Eli Manning that gave the Giants a 17-14 Super Bowl win over New England in February.
“As we have said since Saturday morning, our concern is for Plaxico’s health and well-being,” Mara said. “This is an important time for him to take care of his body and heal up and also deal with the very serious legal consequences and other issues in his life. When I spoke with Plaxico he expressed great remorse for letting down his teammates.”
Police and prosecutors still want to talk to a pair of Burress’ teammates, Antonio Pierce and Ahmad Bradshaw, who were at the club when the shooting occurred but insist they did nothing wrong.
Neither Burress nor his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, was immediately available for comment.
Dr. Scott Rodeo, a team physician, examined Burress and told the Giants that the gunshot wound would have sidelined the 31-year-old player for four to six weeks anyway.
In Minneapolis, Angelo Wright, the agent for Pat Williams, said he planned to file a motion in federal court in the next 24 hours, presumably to put off his client’s suspension.
A seventh player, Atlanta’s Grady Jackson, was not suspended. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Jeff Pash, the league’s chief counsel, had asked for additional information.
If a player’s team makes the playoffs, the player will be eligible to return to the active roster Dec. 29.
The suspension of Pat and Kevin Williams, who are not related, may prove to be the most critical.
The Vikings lead Chicago by a game in the NFC North with four games left, in large part because the Williamses are considered the NFL’s best defensive tackle combination.
Sunday, they led a goal-line stand that kept Chicago from taking a 14-3 second-quarter lead. On the first play after the Bears were stopped, the Vikings’ Gus Frerotte threw a 99-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian, giving Minnesota a 10-7 lead it never lost, a 14-point swing.
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