A Giant Behind Bars: The Life Of Plaxico Burress
Share the post
Share this link via
Or copy link
The man who used to wear No. 17 for the New York Giants and caught the most famous touchdown pass in team history passes through a massive steel door, and now he is walking toward you. He has green prison-issue pants and a blue-shirted corrections officer with him step for step, as if the guy were a defensive back. The irony isn’t lost on No. 17, who used to run free in secondaries, a 6-5, 230-pound handful, and now can’t shake free of anybody.
Once inside the visitor’s room of Oneida Correctional Facility, the officer heads to the guard station. Plaxico Burress sits down at a little square table. He looks straight ahead at the three brown gates, razor-wired walkway and two metal doors that separate Oneida’s 955 inmates from the outside world, and starts talking about his son Elijah.
Elijah is 3 years old and a big Giants fan. He watches most every game, with a helmet on his head, a ball under his arm, and, of course, a No. 17 Burress jersey on his back. He cheers for Brandon Jacobs, his father’s best friend on the team, and for all the guys. Mostly, though, Elijah keeps asking his father why he isn’t home and why he doesn’t play for the Giants anymore.
“What do I tell him? How am I supposed to answer those questions?” Burress asks at the outset of a 90-minute interview, his first with a print reporter since he went away. He touches the soul patch on his chin and looks down for a moment.
Click here to view photos:
RELATED:
-
Ann Coulter Says, 'We Didn't Kill Enough Indians' In Response To Native American Professor Discussing Decolonization
-
Trump Threatens CNN Over Segment Sharing ICE Block App, Suggests Prosecution For Creator
-
Concerns Grow Over Tennessee School Voucher Program
-
Senate Poll Shows Jasmine Crockett Leading Dems, Fox News Responds By Flat-Out Lying About Her Texas Flood Comments
-
Op-Ed: We Should All Be More Concerned That Trump Keeps Threatening To Deport US Citizens
-
Breaking Down The Stereotype: Black People And Smoke Detectors
-
Did Y'all Know There Are 2 Predominantly White HBCUs In West Virginia? Read That Again
-
Trump Administration Cuts Funding For Black Infant Health Research, Labeling It A DEI Initiative