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Either Plaxico Buress has very bad luck or he's just plain ignorant. He either shot himself in the leg or someone else shot him at a club in Manhatten and he spent the night in the hospital. He's a great player on the field but off the field he is a certified trainwreck.

The pro sports and /Hollywood types who are train wrecks are too numerous to count. It irritates me to hear some refer to them as sports heroes. Heroes to me are our military, policemen, firemen, volunteer EMT personnel and other certifiable types, but, not the referenced sports wrecks.

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He is a Sh**head

I hope he is gone we can win without the drama

NYG

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Damm that water is cold!!!
And deep too!!!

I think the Steelers saw this coming. I always wondered why they didnt spend more for him.

How would you like to go thru life being named Plaxico. How could a parent do this to their Ch*ld ? Ignorant or just plain cruel I guess. With that name he has been made into a cartoon character. Excellent talent on the field however. I think I would rather be named Sue than Plaxico.

The worship of athletes is certainly misplaced. Based on an accident of birth which allows someone to play a sport exceptionally well our social order bestows hero status to individuals who are Ch*ldren in adult bodies.

But there are a few athletes who are super stars who are also decent human beings and have earned hero status. It takes real courage and maturity to overcome the tendency to be arrogant when everyone around you is kissing your ass just because you do a sport really well.

I have always admired Shaquille O’Neal. He is very a respectful man in spite of the fact that he is a super star. I saw him at a trade show once. People were crowding around him trying to get his attention. They looked like ants next to him. Had he moved quickly he would have knocked a few of them over pr squished them. He was gracious and polite even though he did not have to be.

He values education to the extent that he went back and resumed his university training and graduated from LSU. Importantly he encourages young people to get educated. Sure his words speak loudly but his actions, going back and earning his degree, speaks loudest of all. He leads by example.

He quietly gives to individuals and organizations; he is not grandiose about it. He has consistently given of his time as a reserve police officer both in the field and as a spokes person. He earned his certification as a California police officer, it was not a gift. He completed the entire police academy; no short cuts, no non-sense, he earned it.

To me he is a hero. Someone who has taken in stride all of the attention thrown his way and still remained a decent human being and used his talents to help make society better - that's is the stuff of heroes.

He is the same thing when he was with the Miami Heat. He was a Miami Beach reserve police officer.

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Alex Levine

Shaq as a hero? Yeah, hes right up there with Charles Barkley IMO. I saw Shaq at Rachaels Gentleman's club In Orlando he was a total asshole he left a Huge 5 dollar tip after sitting there 2 hours. Horace Grant on the other hand was a class act, A very nice person.

Maybe it was because it was a trade show shaq was being a spokeperson for. I bet he was just acting.

Look....it is hard to judge the "niceness" of a celebrity absed on your lone experience with them. You have no idea how their day was before you encountered them.

Does anyone TRULY care if they are nice or not. If Shaq is on my team, I want him dominating ON the court. I could care less if he helped pull over some teen moron out for a joyride.

I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Dan Marino on several occasions. I have seen him be the guy that signs autographs until noone is left. I have also seen him say "Get away from me" as surly as you can imagine. They are what they are, people like the rest of us. No smarter, no dumber (mostly ). They have exceptionally gifted talents that force people to go "ga-ga" over them. Can anyone truly say they would not be affected?

I'm not defending anyone's actions here, just stating it is difficult to draw a conclusion based on a limited encounter

You could be right but IMO hes an asshole. Someone with a 100 million dollar contract leaving a 5 dollar tip when 3 bouncers have to section his area off to keep people away from him is an asshole in my book.
I met Stallone too, My opinion of him is the same or worse oth Jean Claude van dam was cool as hell
Pauly Shore = Complete idiot
Barry Switzer= cool as hell, nice man
Jeff Blake= cool

Im sure everyone has their moments

You have a good point Tstef527, what most people want from a pro athlete is for them to put on a good show and to win the game.

But I actually do care what kind of a person the celebrity is because they have a significant impact on young people. Celebs have been given an opportunity that few of us will ever have, the notoriety and finances to make a difference, and to watch them waste their gifts is pathetic and tragic.

It is also true that part of becoming a public figure, one of the trade offs, is the loss of anonymity.

People also comport themselves differently depending on thier surroundings and who is watching.

Stick a fork in him--he's done. The Manhattan District Attorney and the Mayor are bound and determined to make an example of him. 3-1/2 years mandatory on each of 2 counts and no judicial exceptions allowed. His trial is next March. You could make up a pretty good NFL team from the alleged and real felons of the last 5 years (haven't the Bengals provided a few?). These guys have been coddled their whole playing lives and acceded to few if any social controls--of course you could say the same about Dennis Kozlowski, the whole Enron gang and a bunch of bankers and financiers, many of whom were lauded to the skies as charismatic CEO's. Talk about role models letting us down!! I see the CEO of GM being chauffeured back to DC in a mid-range Chevvy--What, they didn't have one of the best American cars ever built and a certified BMW M5/ Audi S6 beater, a Cadillac CTS-V ,available? Whatthehell, Ben Stein would have lent him his.

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"A man accustomed to hear only the echo of his own sentiments, soon bars all the common avenues of delight, and has no part in the general gratification of mankind"--Dr. Johnson
"Amen, brother"-ED

Diego, I agree 100% with you that I want them to be "model citizens". I just prefer to be surprised when they are anymore, and have learned to not expect it.

The NFL needs to be very careful with this in the near future. They certainly do not want to be labeled like the NBA was just a couple of years ago. The NBA has had to work long and hard to gain back their corporate sponsors after all the problems. IMHO

Shaq was asked to turn in his badge in AZ after his rapper song in NY. The one in which he asked Kobe "howz my azz".

That sheriff in AZ don't put up with no crap and could care less about the big man and his shaq attaq.

Also, did you see the AMA report on initial findings that playing in the NBA causes Turretts? True That.

Seems like Hershel Walker was a pretty stand up guy too.

I agree that professional athletes can fall from some pretty lofty heights. They are young, fairly inexperienced K*ds who are being treated like royalty so longs as they perform. It must be a significantly deep fall when they can no longer perform based on injuries or age. One day everyone is kissing thier ass, the next day, no one cares if they are alive or not.

It is true that Shaq has more badges than a police museum, but his efforts have been admirable. When the Lakers fans went nuts back in 2000, and burned a few police cars, Shaq quietly paid for the replacements.