If anyone was wondering if Plaxico Burress's lazy football attitude extended to his off the field endeavors, wonder no more. Yep, the man who's been fined by the Giants 40-50 times for missing team meetings, etc., etc., was also a complete lazy jackass during his suspension as well. Although at least it wasn't to the Giants.
Apparently Burress spent his suspension dodging phone calls from Khoury Alternative Claims Management, a San Antonio-based third-party administrator trying to catch up with Plaxico about some damage he did to a rental car back in June.
Burress returned a Suburban with scratches and dents in the bumper. He paid $996.95 for the rental but owed another $1,759 in damages. Burress dropped the car off after hours and never informed anyone of the damages.
But here's the stupid thing Plax did.
"He put down Allstate as his insurance and when we contacted them they said they don't have a policy for him," said Randy Harris, president of Khoury Alternative Claims Management.
Seriously, what is this guy's problem? Even worse, the claims agency has contacted the Giants who have tried to get Plax to pay for the damages but they've had no success.
The problem the Giants face is that Plax is an incredibly valuable receiver, as evidenced by his performance during the Super Bowl, but he's also becoming a serious pain in the butt. What's also troubling is that Plax doesn't seem to be learning from any of this at all. He was completely unrepentent about his suspension and seems to not care in the least about how pissed people were at him about it - which isn't exactly a good sign.
In a lot of ways, this situation is starting resemble the Shockey one from last year. You've got a player who begins to separate himself from the overall team construct, then is forced to sit for a while, be it by injury or suspension, then the team plays well without him, and suddenly everyone wonders do we really need this clown anymore?
The tough thing for the Giants though is that Plax is clearly more valuable than Shockey. And don't let the beating they put on Seattle last weekend fool you. Seattle sucks. Plax will be needed to beat teams like Dallas and the Redskins. Without him, they have no chance of winning the NFC East.
So for right now, as annoying as it is, the Giants have to keep Plax. He's simply too valuable. But I will say this. As soon as the Giants start slipping at all, be it next year, or in two years, or later this season, expect Plax to be the first to get the heave-ho.
Rental car trouble for Burress [NY Post]
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