Pointedly Pierce
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- November
- 28
I don’t believe Antonio Pierce has joined a gun-toting lunatic fringe element of society, even though his comments about guns in relation to the shooting death of Redskins safety Sean Taylor are disturbing. I just think they’re the function of a man dealing with the loss of a former Redskins teammate he’d just talked to three weeks ago, searching for a solution.
I’m going to offer the questions and his quotes verbatum for your perusal, and then you can tell me what you think.
How difficult has it been for you with the Sean Taylor incident since he was a teammate of yours?
“It is frustrating. I just talked to the guy three weeks ago to make sure he was alright. You hear about stuff like that and initially you hear he is shot in the leg and you think it is something simple and then you hear more details of it. I think it is just a sad case in general where I think athletes in general are being put in a more vulnerable situation.
“What I am saying by that is you are talking about athletes
anytime they get accused of having a gun or something it is for negative reasons. We are just like everybody else in this world. We don’t go around shooting, killing, and robbing people with a gun. You have it for your protection and when you see a situation like this it is very frustrating and I am disappointed about it. I hope the league does something about it to protect athletes.”
Is it shocking when this happens to someone in the league?
“No, it isn’t. There have been a lot of opportunities, you see it all the time, and you hear about situations like that where guys are put in situations where they are left defenseless and we are not used to that. We are always on the defensive side; playing football, taking it from the media, everything. We are defensive in that sense. When you are out in public and you are out away from football and in a situation like this where you are at home you are supposed to be safe. You can’t really do too much to protect yourself because if you have something
that somebody thinks you shouldn’t have, it is a negative thing and I think that is the sad part about the situation.”
What do you think the league can do?
“I don’t know, something different than all these worries about guys having guns and stuff like that. I am not saying you need to have a gun at home with you. I am just saying we need protection, too. We are vulnerable. We are the guys that everybody is looking after, we are the guys that most people are coming after. You don’t see athletes going out there trying to rob people, it is not common. I am not going to say it doesn’t happen, but it is not common. With that being said, I think it is just something where don’t just always look at the bad side when you hear that an athlete has a gun or something like that. I have heard stories about it and sometimes it is for a good reason and it is for protection. We have families. Sean Taylor, he had a daughter and a fiance at home, and when a guy has to use a machete instead of other things, I think it is silly, especially when you know something is going on maybe.”
You are saying you think you guys are marked men?
“I think so because you can’t do anything. If somebody comes to your house and you brandish a gun and you are in your house, you are the one that gets all the blame. “Why does he have a gun? He makes all this money, he should have security.’ Well you know what, you can’t have security with you 24/7. Nobody else in this world does most of the time except the President and other people. At the end of the day like I
said we are humans and we have a life and we have family and we deal with the same problems that everybody else deals with. All I am saying is that it is tough because you are so vulnerable that you can’t defend yourself and I think that is what I am upset about.”
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In some injury updates, Brandon Jacobs took some individual work and said he’ll take it day by day. But Derrick Ward took a full practice and could be ready for the Bears, barring any setbacks.
Speaking of setbacks, Plaxico Burress now has a sore knee to go along with the sprained right ankle that has kept him out of practice since the Green Bay game in Week 2. He stayed in the trainer’s room during practice.
Pierce (ankle) and CB Aaron Ross (hamstring) did not practice. Ross sounded like he’s a longshot to play Sunday, which means Kevin Dockery will take his spot at starting left corner. Chase Blackburn took Pierce’s spot at middle linebacker.
Ciao for now.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, November 28th, 2007 at 5:37 pm by Ernie Palladino.
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Ernie Palladino
His comments are disturbing? Of course there have been cases of athletes misusing guns just like there are cases in everyday society. These athletes are absolutely targets. They have large amounts of money and a lot to lose. What does some thug breaking into Sean Taylor’s house have to lose? Maybe it stemmed from a previous incident, maybe it didnt, its too early to speculate. But under the 2nd amendment in this country I am allowed to protect my house by owning a gun. This should be no different for an athlete. Sean Taylor didn’t get killed in a shootout outside a strip club after pulling a gun. He got killed in his own house, in front of his fiance, trying to protect his family. He was doing what I sure as hell would do. I have no problem with rules not allowing players to bring guns on chartered planes, or roadtrips, or into stadiums. You can’t honestly make the argument they are not targeted more than you or I. Someone robbing or extorting Sean Taylor is getting a hell of a lot more than if they did it to me.
not disturbing at all…he actually makes a lot of sense….
Being rich and famous these days presents a whole new set of problems for people(athletes,actors,business people ,etc).
Today’s bad guys, male and female,think of all kinds of schemes to get easy cash.Our lives aren’t too private,go on the web and you can usually find out where everyone lives.
As far as carrying firearms go,I don’t have a problem if a person meets the legal standards for a handgun.Rifles and shotguns are usually just purchased without training and license.
As far as a players carrying a firearm on a plane,or on NFL biz,not a good thing.Security on NFL biz should be left to the nfl and the team.
What the teams and NFL can do is provide information to the players and personal security,the use of security camera’s,threat assessment,electronic security systems ,etc to be used in their homes should be provided.
And the players have be reminded that by flashing cash,driving exotics,going to strip clubs and who they associate with may be fun,but they may be inviting trouble by drawing attention to themselves.Players could go to their local PD and get off duty or retired officers to house sit or body guard ,it cost money ,but .you’ll get a trained and armed professional.
If you carry a handgun ,you have to KNOW when and how to use it,most civilians who carry a handgun are untrained to use it in the right situation.
taylor did not have a gun in his house. probably because he was forbidden after he pled guilty in that incident where he shot a gun at someone who he claimed stole his vehicles.
pierce didnt mention that taylor used to have pitbulls. nor did he mention what antrol rolle said about taylor having lots of enemies.
a week before someone breaks in, stealsnothing leaves a knife on his bed.
in this incident intruder or intruders break in, steal nothing head right up stairs to taylors locked bedroom door, break thru it and shoot taylor and leave.
this is no robbery. taylor was purposely targeted for whatever reason in his past.
NYG blue..If what you said has some truth,thats one reason why players have to be informed on what to properly do to safeguard themselves and their families.They can’t use street mentality on their safety ,their playing right into the hands of the thugs,of there’s an issue of keeping it REAL ,not going to the police and being branded a snitch ,bitch,and not doing what they do in the street.
Just a factual clarification, Taylor never fired a gun at any point in a previous incident. He was arrested for punching a man who stole an SUV from his property. He was charged with showing a handgun to the man, or “brandishing a firearm.” He never fired it. But regardles, you are correct, this incident probably prohibited him from owning a firearm.
My point is this, he could have went to Police with claims someone was after him. Someone clearly was after him as nyg blue stated above. This was no random robbery. But apparently these were people he knew, who knew him from where he grew up. Whether he filed a report or not with Police, they would come for him. The police cant be around to protect you 24/7. As several former teammates and friends have said, it was only a matter of time.
Its a sad story. The man clearly seemed to have moved on and left his troubled youth behind him. Everyone’s made mistakes as a kid, being 22 and rich makes you do dumb things. But from all reports he changed his life and dedicated himself to his fiance and child. He was home and not with the Redskins to protect his family after a previous break-in.
The NFL can lecture players all day on what to do and what not to do. Unfortunately they can’t go back in players past and erase previous fights and enemies.
I have nothing but sympathy for his family and friends, an assault charge at 22 years old doesn’t make someone a thug or make them deserve this. The thug is the man who broke in his house and killed him. Hopefully he’s caught.
he lived in an upscale area. a district with security and barriers. shows you how secure those areas are.
the point here as in many cases in the nfl now, guys with that street gang background are playing n the nfl.
there is no way an eli manning, a tiki barber, a chris snee or an amani toomer would ever be in a similar situation.
sure it its tradgedy anyone especially so young and with such a great future should lose his life that way.
but we are seeing these things happen over and over nowadays – vick, pacman, rae carruth, etc., etc.
FYI – According to the FBI, if you own a handgun you are 6 times more likely to shoot yourself or a member of your family than an intruder.
I think APs dead on.
i agree with Piere 1000%...
Paul- nothing personal, but that is the dumbest statistic I have ever seen. “Yourself” and “a member of your family” are around your gun 6000 times more than an intruder. What are the chances of a home invasion? What the chances you come home to the house in the gun is in? I can’t believe someone actually studied that.
nyg blue- I understand your point of more guys with troubled backgrounds in the league now. That maybe true. Maybe it wouldn’t happen to the guys you named, but it’s not Sean Taylor’s fault he grew up in a bad neighborhood. I’m not painting him to be Mother Theresa here, but he’s not the devil either. I mean he has nothing to do with Vick, Pacman, or Rae Carruth. None of them were killed. In their cases, they all committed serious crimes which deserve jail time. In this kid’s case, he was killed for nothing.
Despite what the clueless cops are saying at this moment, it’s pretty clear someone was after Taylor. Why he stayed in Miami is puzzling. He had a number of enemies there and should have moved away.
“Despite what the clueless cops are saying at this moment, it’s pretty clear someone was after Taylor. ”
exactly—having said but the police may actually have some idea who may have done it and they are trying to con him or them into thinking that they arent even looking for someone from taylors past?