Either American judiciary courts are fascinated by them, or NFL players somehow emit an aura of reverse psychology on their prosecutors, as the past week has shown that only fools truly deserve to go to jail, while those who are cold, calculating and well aware of the crimes they have committed simply get off with a light slap on the wrist.
While O.J. Simpson (albeit a former football player, but it still counts!) finally got what was coming to him, albeit 14 years late, this past week, he literally got away with two counts of murder in 1994. The whole world knew it, everyone groaned when they heard the verdict, and in case you had any doubt...does the title
If I Did It ring any bells?
Michael Vick, being completely forthcoming about
the atrocious acts he committed against those pitbulls he had fighting each other literally for their survival, along with the other various felonies and gambling charges he has on him, is getting out of prison next summer. While all the reports say he's flat broke by now and will be poorer once his debts start being paid (if he is not charged under Virginia law), he stands to make a lucrative deal with an upstart competitor league to the NFL, that being unless the NFL actually allows him to return.
And these two despicable men somehow lead to Plaxico Burress. Dumb name, even dumber person. Why he felt the need to bring a gun to a nightclub, amidst his own security detail (and the fact he's now a NY sports legend for the winning touchdown in Super Bowl 42) is beyond me. Why he decided to depend on a 20-cent elastic waistband in his sweatpants to hold up said gun is even more beyond me. But the fact that both the NFL and the New York courts don't seem to believe that the pain and embarrassment of
shooting yourself in the leg, costing him millions of dollars and the rest of this football season, and with potentially huge repurcussions in the years to come, is just nuts.
New York mayor Michael Bloomberg has entered the Burress fracas, saying that if Burress does not get at least three and a half years for not having a legal possession permit in New York, then it will be a "
mockery of the law". I understand full and well that what Burress did was illegal, no doubt. But so far they have found no intent to use the weapon for harm (besides to himself), and seemingly are keen on using Burress as an example for tougher crime laws (apparently Bloomberg is getting a little jealous of ol' Rudy's glory days...).
And as for a "mockery of the law"? How one man gets away with two counts of capital murder with no jail time, another gets less than two years for a massive, violent dogfighting ring that has made him the black sheep of professional sports, and yet this man, while a huge moron by any standards, now stands to go to prison the longest of the bunch? This sounds like the mockery to me. Plaxico was not carrying to hurt anybody, as far as we can tell. To stroke his masculine ego, maybe. But that is not cause for a long stretch of jail time.
Even if Burress receives no jail time; hell, NO fine, NO punishment at all, his career has a good chance of being over. He's always been considered a flight-risk (even before this shooting), so he will almost certainly be team-less come February, so he already stands to lose most of his money. The damage to his leg alone may be bad enough it will negatively affect his playing forever. The embarrassment of being "that guy who shot himself" will make the likes of Bill Buckner seem miniscule in comparison, so even if he does play again, unless he has a miraculous T.O.-like resurgence, he will always carry that over him. His career is screwed, and there's a very, very good chance he will have plenty of free time to think about what he's done. Plenty of free time for community service, plenty of time to have a more positive impact on the community and its gun laws than to spend it in jail just to please Mayor Bloomberg.
Simpson and Vick are deplorable, disgusting people, and while there certainly is the capacity for rehabilitation and for them to change their ways, the amount of time either of them served, are serving, or in the first case of Simpson, lackthereof, this is not enough time. Michael Vick will be released when he is only 28 years old. He potentially has another 10 years to his career, whether in the NFL or elsewhere. A full decade to make back his fortunes, forget all of his troubles, supposedly "repay" his debt to society, and who knows, the potential to offend again.
The true mockery of the law is how these crimes are treated, and how celebrity is treated in the courtroom. If Plaxico Burress were a Terrell Owens or a LaDanian Tomlinson this discussion may not be had, as they may not even be considered for this type of punishment. But when a stupid, victimless crime gets more jailtime than a felon who pled guilty to a number of horrifying charges, there is your mockery. Let Burress off with a large fine and community service, let him serve out his days doing car dealership commercials in upstate NY (
Hi Mom!), and pass over that generous jail sentence to the real criminals.
