For years and years pro athletes, celebrities and famous individuals have constantly gotten slaps on the wrist for doing things that would wind up getting your average Joe locked up. The examples are too countless to even bother going through.

And while Michael Vick recently paid the price for being involved with dogfighting, his situation was way more severe than normal. It wasn't a DUI or beating up a camera man or toting around an unlicensed firearm, it was federal and state charges he was facing and he had co-conspirators who were deeply involved in the dogfighting ring flipping on him.

In Plaxico Burress's case, we seem to be set up yet again for an individual of privilege to get off easy. After all, pretty much the entire case centers around how Burress was afforded luxuries that no one else would get. According to reports, the club Burress went into knew he had a loaded gun on him but still let him in. Then at the hospital, Burress gave a fake name and lied about where he'd been shot, which the hospital didn't question. On top of that, the hospital didn't report the gunshot wound to police, which is a violation of New York State law.

You can also blame the Giants as well, who didn't alert anyone to the fact that Burress had been shot or that Antonio Pierce was involved as well. Remember, the shooting happened at about 1:50am on Saturday morning. Burress was released from the hospital at 1pm. Meanwhile, police had no clue about what had had happened to Plax until it was reported on TV at 2pm, which was after Plax had left the hospital. If you think the Giants weren't aware of what had happened by then, you're kidding yourself.

And despite the fact that Burress shot himself in the leg in front of a ton of people with an unlicensed firearm and lied at the hospital about everything, he's of course hired a high-priced defense attorney who's called Burress a "responsible professional" and had him plead not guilty to a crime that most people would have been convicted of by yesterday.

Is any of this fair? Not in the least. And at least one person recognizes that. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants Plaxico's head on a plate.


While it's being reported that prosecutors are loath to cut a deal and want to see Plax get jail time, that doesn't mean it'll happen.

Perhaps Plax will become the example of the pampered athlete who finally has the law catch up to him. After all, at first glance it appears damn near impossible for Plax to get himself out of this incredibly sticky situation. 

But as we're likely to be reminded by Plax's attorney, no one was killed here. The only person harmed was Plax himself, both literally and in reputation. And isn't that punishment enough?

In the end, it doesn't really matter what Bloomberg or any of the prosecutors want. It matters what deal they work out with Plaxico and his defense attorney, which is bound to happen. One of the great privileges of being a wealthy athlete is that when the chips are down, you don't have to fend for yourself. You pay someone to do it for you.

So while the state of New York may do everything in their power to throw the book at Plax, realistically, it'll never all stick, despite how obvious Plax's crime is. The fact is that while Plax may still get some penalty that appears relatively harsh, it'll certainly be considerably less than what you or I would get for doing the exact same thing. 

And as awful as it is to say, that's just the way it is. We live in a society where celebrities and athletes and famous individuals almost always get the benefit of the doubt, and despite what you may be hoping for, that isn't about to change any time soon.