Plaxico Burress

Plaxico Burress, born August 12, 1977, is a professional football player who began his career in 2000 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He earned his infamy, however, while playing for the New York Giants. While in a nightclub in 2008, he accidentally shot himself in the leg, and was unable to play in the next game. He was hospitalized; it was later discovered that, because of his celebrity status, the hospital ignored procedure and did not notify police of the shooting.

Police were angry as Burress had been in illegal possession of a weapon. The NFL was in an uproar trying to figure out what had really happened – had there been a fight in the club? Police did not believe so; there were no reports of a fight in the club before the weapon was fired. It really did seem accidental. The worst part about this was that Burress had recently signed a contract for $35 million for five years with the Giants.

In 2014, Burress was not signed to any team, but considered himself very eager to get back into the game, and made this clear through various media statements.