ROME, N.Y. — Clad nearly all in black — hooded sweat shirt, athletic shorts, sneakers — and a white T-shirt, the tall, lanky man walked alone through a gate in a chain-link fence topped by swirls of barbed wire.
Plaxico Burress looked around for something familiar, and his agent Drew Rosenhaus ran up and jumped into his arms as both men smiled broadly.
Freedom at last for Burress, the former New York Giants receiver. He was released from prison Monday morning after spending nearly two years behind bars on a gun charge.
“I just want to thank God for bringing me through one of the most trying times in my life,” Burress said in a brief exchange with reporters outside Oneida Correctional Facility in central New York. “It’s a beautiful day. It’s a beautiful day to be reunited with my family. I want to go home and spend some quality time with them.”
Burress pleaded guilty in August 2009 to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and was sentenced to two years in prison. He was released about three months early for good behavior.
Burress will be on parole for two years. He has to keep a job, undergo substance abuse testing and undergo any anger counseling or other conditions required by his parole officer.
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, who served a 23-month federal sentence for running a dogfighting ring, has shown it’s possible to successfully return to the NFL. Vick said in a recent radio interview with WIP in Philadelphia that Burress would be a great fit with the Eagles. Maybe that’s why Burress also was wearing a Philadelphia Phillies hat when he was freed.
Rosenhaus said he has spoken to several teams about Burress and expects him to play again in the NFL. He said Burress matured in prison and there are things he would do differently.
“He’s learned an awful lot,” Rosenhaus said outside the prison moments before his client emerged. “To miss two NFL seasons in the prime of your career. To not be with your family, most importantly. To lose out on millions and millions of dollars. These are things that have forced him to certainly evaluate his life.”
NFL owners move to dismiss players’ lawsuit.
NFL owners asked a federal court in Minnesota to dismiss the players’ antitrust lawsuit against the league.
The filing was largely a procedural matter, coming on the same day the league’s response to the players’ amended complaint was due.
U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson has scheduled a hearing on the motion for Sept. 12, which is four days after the scheduled start of the NFL regular season, a factor that could put more pressure on the owners and players to get a deal done outside of the courtroom.
