GManiac said:
While I'm not a fan of NY's gun laws, Plax deserved everything he got.
Every single pro athlete in NY is aware of the law. Whether they agree with them or not doesn't matter. If he was that worried about his safety, he should have had off duty law enforcement packing heat for him (like every other athlete in NY).
He could have done what Vick did. Cop a plea and start his sentence ASAP. This all started in Nov 08, almost 10 months ago. He'd be almost halfway done with his sentence and ABLE TO PLAY in 2010 (pending Goodell suspension). Instead, he decided to roll the dice in front of a grand jury. Instead of getting his single charge dropped, he got hit with two additional charges. Now he's looking at 2011 at the earliest. Realistically, he's done.
Hold up.the Two bolded statements are not true at all.
A: Most New York residents are not aware of the law in the sense that they know the penalty and the specifics. So there is no way every PRO athlete knows the law when most are just passing through NY and probably live in another State alot of the year.
B: How many PRO atheletes in NY actually have off duty law enforcement? Seriously? 1 out of 20 maybe? And thats high. Most of them arnt actually MADE of money, they just appear to be to many people. Plax salary secures a nice lifestyle, not a full time security force.
Plax made a dumb move. Bloomberg hates guns. Its pretty simple. He probably wouldnt have been noticed or caught had he not been a celebrity. So dumb yes. A danger to society? Slighty at the time of the incident. But deserving of this sentence NO. But if you live in NY youre pretty use to this kind of thing, and no it's really not that scary. Most of the previous incidents like this in NY do not involve someone who has no reasonable intent to use the gun other than for self defence. In most cases like this, the convicted carries the weapon for a more devious purpose and that should have been taken into consideration in Plax's sentencing. Honestly though, he should have gotten a holster and he could have carried his gun around NY all night and it wouldnt have mattered in the slightest. I honestly wouldnt mind being in a club with an NFL player or any person without motive to use a weapon, knowing they have a gun, unless they are A: Irresponsible B: Wearing Sweatpants.
A. I'll agree with you that most NY residents are not aware of specific laws and penalties. I'm pretty sure the average citizen isn't interested in carrying a handgun. I don't agree with you that members of pro NY sports teams (Giants, Knicks, Yankees, etc.) are not aware.
I can't believe that teams don't provide this type of orientation of local laws (especially gun laws) when an athlete signs with a team. Plaxico knew the law especially, since his wife is a NY attorney (who took the gun from Pierce's house to theirs).Regarding visiting pro athletes, Jalen Rose was recently on my local ESPN radio talking about Plax. He said when he was playing for the Pacers, whenever they went to play the Knicks the whole team was specifically told how screwed they would be if they were caught carrying in NY, and not to do it. Jalen said he carries a handgun for protection whenever he can. He knows which visiting cities/states he can, and which he can't. He did not carry in NY because he was told of the consequences.
B. I'll definitely agree with you here. Not many athletes period can afford full time security, but that's not what I was talking about. I was talking about part time/situational security. If they feel they need firearms for protection when they go out, why can't they hire part time help? Here in LA, it costs me $100 to take a cab home for a 30 minute drive, which is a ripoff. I can't afford a full time driver, but if I'm too drunk to drive home and can't get a buddy to drive me home, I'll call and pay for the cab because I know the consequences if I get caught. I'd definitely lose my license, legal fee money, and my job (it's in my contract) at the very least. Jail time at the worst.
I'm pretty sure there are athletes in NY that carry and don't get caught. Besides making a bunch of bad decisions, Plax was also a victim of bad luck. He got caught. Considering the consequences and what he stood to lose, he never should have put himself in this position tho. This is why I feel that he deserved everything he got.