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Should Antonio Pierce be punished for Burress’ stupidity?

By ArtieFufkin

Lost in the most recent uproar surrounding the Plaxico Burress case is the fact that Giants LB Antonio Pierce is also facing indictment from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office for his part in the shooting.

Pierce, who was with Burress at the Latin Quarter Night Club last November when the moron shot himself in the thigh, could face a jail sentence of his own for reportedly possessing the weapon after the shooting. From the NY Post:

Pierce & Burress

According to law-enforcement sources, a security guard picked the blood-splattered, still warm Glock up off the club floor and stashed it in the glove compartment of Pierce’s Escalade.

Cops say that after driving Plax to the hospital, Pierce drove to Totowa, NJ, where both players live. He then dropped the gun off at Plaxico’s house.

Prosecutors have considered “flipping” the security guard to nail the two players, according to sources.

We’ve known for months that Manhattan DA Robert Morgenthau (who is retiring at the end of the year) is going to use this case as his swan song, and is hell bent on having Plax serve some jail time to make an example of him. But does Pierce deserve the same treatment?

Although he’s slowed considerably in recent years, Pierce is still the captain of the New York defense, and losing him for any amount of time would be a big blow to the Giants.

Giants owner John Mara issued a statement today in defense of his captain, saying the charges against Pierce are unwarranted:

“While we in no way condone Antonio’s decision to be in a nightclub in Manhattan less than two days before a game, we cannot understand the DA’s position that Antonio is subject to criminal charges. When this incident occurred, Antonio reacted out of concern for the health and well-being of Plaxico Burress. His first priority was to make sure Plaxico received proper medical attention for what very well could have been a life-threatening wound. There was no criminal intent on the part of Antonio, who was thrust into this predicament simply because he accompanied Plaxico that evening and because he made the decision to immediately take Plaxico to the hospital. We believe it is unwarranted for the DA’s office to press criminal charges against Antonio under these circumstances.”

At the end of the day, I sincerely doubt Pierce will do any jail time.  This is mostly media grandstanding on the part of the DA, and an attempt to gain further leverage against Burress.  But I don’t think they gain anything in the court of public opinion by going after Pierce.

It would be like charging A.C. Cowlings with traffic violations in the OJ Simpson case.