Plaxico Burress Is In Legal Trouble?

I had no idea…

Plaxico Burress is a wide-receiver who plays for the New York Giants. He accidentally shot himself in a club last weekend. He faces charges and Michael Bloomberg’s wrath. It’s a relatively big deal.

Unless you’re ESPN. Then you’d have to believe, if measured by the coverage they’ve dedicated to this issue, that Plaxico Burress committed genocide. Every episode of Sportscenter features nonstop coverage of this idiotic shooting. Everything circled in pink, above, is Burress related; there is apparently no other sports news going on anywhere in the world. The degree to which the network has gone overboard on this is shocking beyond words.

Two Other Observations

-Skip Bayless’s downright glee at all of this is edging uncomfortably toward racism. This morning, he was positively thrilled that the mayor of New York had issued a fatwa against Burress, essentially glad that the mayor had reminded Burress of his place. I don’t know; I just can’t imagine Bayless getting this excited if a white athlete had accidentally shot himself hunting.

-If this had been Brett Favre, ESPN’s offices would have drowned in the tears of its own adoring reporters.

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