Plaxico Burress has never been the type to dress up a hard truth, and his latest remark landed with the kind of force only he could deliver. The Super Bowl champion drew a direct comparison between playing for the New York Jets and serving prison time, and the quote spread fast once fans heard it.
Burress made the comment during an appearance on Lil Wayne and Craig Carton’s “The Joint Venture Show.” He was speaking from personal experience, too, after spending nearly two years behind bars following a 2008 gun charge. But the line that caught everyone’s attention was how he described the feeling of showing up for the Jets after his release.
“Damn man you a f-ing loser,” Burress said of how he felt walking into prison on his first day. “And I had the same damn feeling every day I walked through the door with the Jets.
I was like, ‘Damn I hope we can win this weekend.’ Loser!”
Burress signed with the Jets in 2011, only months after getting out, hoping the move would help restart his career. Instead, he came away with a memory he clearly hasn’t softened over time.
The reaction was immediate, and plenty of fans pointed out that the football context doesn’t exactly line up with Burress’s frustration. The Jets had reached the AFC Championship Game in each of the previous two seasons under Rex Ryan, and they finished 8-8 in the year Burress was there. On top of that, Burress put together a productive season himself, catching 45 passes for 612 yards and eight touchdowns in 16 starts.
Still, the bluntness fits Burress. He’s long been open about the rougher chapters of his life, from the nightclub shooting that ended his Giants run to the financial problems that followed his playing career. He also made headlines recently by selling his Super Bowl XLII ring at auction for a record-setting price, a move that stung a lot of fans who still remember what he meant on the field.
And that’s the part that keeps Burress’s story from being reduced to one ugly quote. However he feels about the Jets, his place in NFL history is already locked in by one massive moment: the game-winning touchdown against the undefeated Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. That catch is the headline, no matter what he thought of his time in New York.
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