Pierce addresses his role in Plaxico incident
Posted by Mike Florio on August 4, 2009 12:03 PM ET
Now that Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce has avoided both an indictment and a suspension for his actions following the moment at which former teammate Plaxico Burress put a bullet through his own leg, Pierce has addressed the situation.

Per Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News (who was bumped from his 9:20 a.m. EDT spot on The Dan Patrick Show for some Internet slappy), Pierce had this to say at training camp on Tuesday morning: "I am not sorry for the way I acted that night. I am sorry for putting myself in a position where I had to respond the way I responded."

In other words, Pierce is acknowledging that he shouldn't have been out at a nightclub two nights before a game. He also possibly is conceding that it wasn't wise to pal around with a well-documented knucklehead like Burress.

The more we think about it, the more we think that the grand jury got it right as to Pierce. Though the law technically imposes criminal liability on anyone who possesses a loaded weapon outside of his home or workplace, the law isn't aimed at guys who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The goal is to deter people without proper credentials from taking loaded guns into public places. So the law was meant to apply to guys like Burress, and the prosecution of Burress will go a long way toward making sure that everyone realizes the consequences of packing heat in the Big Apple.


(Here's the full text of the statement.)

Full text of Antonio Pierce statement
Posted by Mike Florio on August 4, 2009 12:22 PM ET
Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News has forwarded to us the full text of the statement provided today by Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce, who learned yesterday that he will not be indicted on felony weapons charges arising from his actions after Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg.

"First I'd like to just make a statement. Obviously it's been a long nine months for me since November 2008 when that incident took place. I'm glad I had an opportunity to speak to the grand jury and let them hear the fact from my lips, not from nobody else, but to hear all the facts from me. I thought I acted very reasonably, responsibly and sensibly. Basically a teammate was down and that was my concern that night, to get him help.

"There's a lot of people I obviously want to thank and I need to thank. First and foremost I'd like to thank my family for doing what they've always done, stand behind Antonio Pierce and knowing who he really is. Secondly my friends. And thirdly, and not lastly, the New York Giants. The whole organization. Probably one of the main reasons I came to New York was because of the organization and front office and people around here, and obviously those statements that they made several times throughout this process.

"With that being said, I am not sorry for how I acted that night, though. I'm not sorry for how I responded. I am sorry for putting myself in position that I had to respond the way I had to respond. There's a lot of lessons I learned from this. I've taken them to heart. I've taken them seriously. There's been a lot of ups and downs. But you know what? Ever since the New York Giants got back to Albany the sun has been out, it's been bright, and Antonio Pierce and the New York Giants are looking forward. I'm tired of seeing myself on the TV and hearing my name on the TV. It's time to talk about the New York Giants and the 2009 season. Anything that happened in 2008 is really irrelevant at this point. I really have nothing to say about that incident or that season because I've got to move forward just like our team does, and that's what we plan on doing."