Now that Giants star wide receiver Plaxico Burress has been suspended and put on the reserve/non-football injury list (details), which ends his season, he's got to deal with the fall out of being charged with two felony counts of illegal weapons possession after he accidentally shot himself in the thigh (his gun slipped down his sweatpants) at LQ nightclub in Manhattan on Friday. Here's a summary of new details:
- According to the Daily News, Burress will "lose the remainder of his $3.5 million salary - $823,529" and the Giants could "withhold the $1million payment of his $4.25 million signing bonus." Besides a potential fine of one week's pay (over $200K) , the Giants could trade him or cut him "If he is cut before June 1 he would count for only $4.4 million in 'dead money' against the 2009 salary cap."
- Defense lawyer Robert Gottlieb tells the NY Times that since the 3.5 year minimum for illegal gun possession was established, if Burress "plead[s] down [to] one count," he "would still face a minimum of two years in prison." (Mayor Bloomberg, who has made gun violence a big part of his mayoral platform, fought to enact the tougher legislation.) But given the high-profile nature of the case, Gottlieb doubts the DA's office will accept a plea.
- The doctor who did not report Burress's gunshot wound to the police, as per the law, has been suspended: "Dr. Josyann Abisaab, 44, does not work directly for New York-Cornell Hospital but is affiliated with the facility."
- The NYPD impounded Antonio Pierce's SUV; Pierce, who was with Burress at the club, apparently drove his teammate to the hospital. His lawyer said, "Mr. Pierce, given the extraordinary circumstances of the evening, acted responsibly in trying to save what could have been the life of a friend."
- The State Liquor Authority might yank LQ's liquor license.
- And Stephen Colbert took up the plight of Plaxico last night
And Giants coach Tom Coughlin said, "When you lose a player of Plaxico’s ability, it is incumbent that everybody step up and fill the void. In the last two seasons, this team has done an outstanding job of that. We made it clear to Plax today that we are here to support him in any way possible."
