Pro Sports: The way of the gun

Friday, June 18, 2010

It's hard to imagine the Colts just a few years ago without seeing No. 88 hauling in a Peyton Manning touchdown pass, but Marvin Harrison is making headlines again for all the wrong reasons.

Earlier this week, Harrison was stopped going the wrong way on a one-way street and attempting to hide a handgun in the process. What's interesting is the gun in question was a 9mm, the same type of firearm the police have been on the lookout for since 2008.

In '08, when Dwight Dixon was shot at a garage owned by Harrison, the police found three 9mm shell casing in Dixon's car, but were never able to locate the gun. Witnesses said Harrison fired the shots and now that the police have a 9mm gun to test, it will be interesting to see where this goes.

Harrison was always the silent leader of the Colts. How many times had you seen Harrison haul in a big scoring pass, trot off the field and sit silently on the bench? I would venture to guess it's almost every time you watched the guy play. So, when the news of the shooting came out in 2008 it was a shocker, but the fact that it's ongoing and another element yet again seems to link Harrison back to it is astonishing.

It's not earth shattering that Harrison has denied any involvement in the shooting, but it's a trend that seems to have no bounds.

After the Washington Wizards debacle involving Javaris Crittenton and Gilbert Arenas, New Jersey Nets guard Devin Harris said he believed that as many as 75 percent of players own guns. Their loudest defense they have is for protections, but lets look at some things.

Crittenton and Arenas pulled pistolas on each other in their locker room reportedly over a gambling debt. Are you serious? Do these jokers think this is the Wild West and you have to draw down on a man to get your way? If so, they're not half the men they think themselves to be.

Not only are they a hazard to themselves, but also a potential hazard to those around them and nobody personifies that better than Plaxico Burress.

Burress, a high-profile receiver for the Giants at the time, shot himself in the leg at a nightclub in the wee hours of the morning in November of 2008. He wasn't involved in a dispute, he wasn't trying to be a big, big man -- he simply shot himself in the leg.

It was said the gun was in his waistband; it slipped down his leg and went off, injuring Burress. Luckily, he could be treated and is currently serving time for violating New York gun law.

What's it going to take to get this under control?

I understand a person wanting to protect their families and the lengths to which a person will go to achieve that, but something needs to be done. I'm not suggesting take their guns away, but I want them to use some discretion when they're on their person.

What would happen if Plaxico's gun accidentally went off and shot a patron at the nightclub? What if Arenas or Crittenton twitched and one of their guns had gone off in an NBA locker room?

If you want fame, you need to understand the trappings that go along with it. Take some of your money and hire a security team or just a person. I'm sure they would have a holster for the firearm and know how to use it.