By PAUL SCHWARTZ
ALBANY — Breaking his silence, Antonio Pierce said he is not remorseful for his actions last November 29 in the moments after his former teammate, Plaxico Burress, accidentally shot himself in the thigh with an illegal handgun.
Pierce on Monday learned he was not indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, ending his involvement in a situation that figures to land Burress in jail for an extend period of time. Pierce accompanied Burress to a Manhattan nightclub that night and reportedly drove Burress to the hospital and transported the gun in his car to New Jersey.
“I am not sorry for how I acted that night, I am not sorry for how I responded,” Pierce said after a morning practice and lunch in the team cafeteria at the University at Albany. “I am sorry for putting myself in position that I had to respond the way I had to respond. There’s a lot of lessons I learned from this. I take them to heart, I take them seriously. There’s been a lot of ups and downs but ever since the New York Giants got to Albany the sun’s been out, it’s been bright and Antonio Pierce and the New York Giants are looking forward. I’m tired of seeing myself on the TV and hearing my name on the TV; start talking about the New York Giants and the 2009 season. Anything that happened in 2008 is really irrelevant at this point.”
Pierce took a few questions during a brief media gathering.
“I’m glad I had the opportunity to speak to the grand jury and let them hear the facts from my lips, not from nobody else’s,” Pierce said. “I thought I acted very reasonably and responsibly, instinctively to a teammate that was in need. That was my concern that night, to give him help.
“There’s a lot of people I want to thank and need to thank. First and foremost I’d like to thank my family for doing what they’ve always done, sticking behind Antonio Pierce and knowing who he really is. Second, my friends and thirdly and not lastly the New York Giants, the whole organization. Probably one of the main reasons I came to New York, because of the organization, the front office and people around here.
Pierce said he felt “obviously very relieved” that the grand jury voted not to indict him and was heartened by the support he felt. “My hat’s off to my teammates,” he said. “My phone ran out of text messages I could receive, calls, everything. My teammates have been very supportive, they’ve been there for me. It’s a lot easier when you’re on that green field with the boys. Coming back up to Albany, getting ready for this 2009 season, that’s all I’ve been looking forward to. The people of New York Obviously heard what I had to say, heard all the witnesses and everybody that was involved in that night and they made a decision.”
Linebacker Danny Clark rooms with Pierce at the dorms during training camp and was with Pierce Monday afternoon when word came down that the grand jury voted not to indict. Asked how Pierce reacted, Clark said “Like a ten-ton brick was lifted off his back. He didn’t show a whole lot of emotion about it. He just said he’s good. I congratulated him and said ‘Now let’s get down to business.’ We still have a great task at hand, a championship to win and I think we couldn’t have done it without him. My heart went out to him. I knew it bothered him but he didn’t show it. At the end of the day this is a very tough, macho business where you don’t let a lot of outside influences affect your demeanor. He was excited. He just got some unwanted pressure off his back.”
