The New York Giants were 11-1 and on their way to a possible Super Bowl repeat in November 2008. Then, Plaxico Burress shot himself.
Burress caught the game-winning touchdown of Super Bowl XLII to complete an upset over the 18-0 New England Patriots.
Roughly 10 months later, he was hospitalized with a self-inflicted gunshot wound and suspended by the team.
The Giants followed up their Super Bowl championship season by losing their first playoff game after the 2008 regular season.
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Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies against the Golden State Warriors in the second half of Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals at Chase Center May 7, 2022, in San Francisco. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Things got worse for Burress. He eventually served two years in prison for criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.
Burress made a return to the NFL after his prison sentence and has learned from his mistakes. Now, he’s offering advice to Ja Morant before the NBA star’s situation turns worse.
Morant recently filmed himself on Instagram live while appearing to brandish a weapon at a club. The video emerged just days after reports of Morant getting into a physical altercation with a teenager and showing the teen a gun.
Wide receiver Plaxico Burress of the New York Giants catches a 13-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter against the New England Patriots during Super Bowl XLII Feb. 3, 2008, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. The Giants defeated the Patriots 17-14. (Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
“It’ll all just be taken away. … If I was speaking to him, it would just be, ‘If you can’t learn anything, just learn from me,” Burress told “The Carton Show.” “Just make better decisions because you really don’t want for him to have that label being that he’s so young. He has the opportunity to be the face of the NBA. He’s that great of a player.
“You want to continue to see him mature as a person as his game is getting better, and I think that all just comes with time and being around the right people.”
The Memphis Grizzlies have said Morant will be away from the team for “at least” two games, and Morant insinuated it could be longer.
“I take full responsibility for my actions last night. I’m sorry to my family, teammates, coaches, fans, partners, the city of Memphis and the entire Grizzlies organization for letting you down,” Morant said in a statement on Saturday. “I’m going to take some time away to get help and work on learning better methods of dealing with stress and my overall well-being.”
Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies celebrates a 3-point basket against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first quarter of a game at Target Center Nov. 30, 2022, in Minneapolis. (David Berding/Getty Images)
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The Grizzlies are in second place in the Western Conference at 38-25, and Morant leads the team with 27.1 points and 8.2 assists per game.
Memphis in 4-6 without Morant this season and lost Tuesday night without him to the Los Angeles Clippers, 135-129.
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