Shoot yourself, go to jail

That’s exactly what happened to Plaxico Buress, the former superstar wide receiver of the New York Giants. In the 2008 Super Bowl, Buress caught the game winning touchdown from quarterback Eli Manning to beat the heavily favored New England Patriots. He became an instant hero.

The following season, Buress got injured and didn’t play. While supposedly rehabbing, he went to a New York bar with a teammate, Antonio Pierce. He was carrying a firearm with an expired license, for protection, he said. But then, for whatever reason, the gun went off, hitting his thigh. As the bullet exited through his body, it almost hit the bar bouncer.

Because the people knew the status of Buress and maybe because they knew that the incident was illegal, people around Buress tried to keep the incident under wraps. But I guess it would be easier for Gloria Arroyo and her posse to keep their million peso New York dinner a secret than Buress shooting himself.

Last week, he stood in front of the judge, pled guilty and was given a 2-year jail time. If he had pled not guilty, and was convicted, he would have spent 3 ½ years in jail. What makes this incident interesting is that if this had happened here in our country, Buress would simply go to the hospital and resume his athletic career. But because it happened in the US, where the law is blinder than here, this superstar athlete gets locked up.

Sorry, I can’t help it

I think that Carl Lewis was the last great champion who wasn’t linked to performance enhancing drugs. Then Ben Johnson happened. Then there were the Eastern Europeans, and then pro cycling and baseball and tennis and golf and everything was never the same again.

These days, Usain Bolt is the fastest man in the planet. He is the current record holder of the 100 and 200-meter sprint after breaking the previous records during the World Championships in Berlin last week. Remember that Bolt never tested positive for drugs nor are there innuendoes that he is.

But because of the times we live in, it’s hard to say unequivocally that Bolt is 100% clean. That’s what Marion Jones said amid the tears. That’s what Tyler Hamilton and Floyd Landis said. That’s what David “Big Papi” Ortiz said. To tell you honestly, I’m scared that Lance Armstrong will one day test positive for doping and I’ll end up a mental wreck.

These days, breaking a record or doing a superhuman feat not only bring accolades but the suspicion that you were juiced. And it is hard to separate both. So what are we going to do?

A few years ago, I was talking to a friend about the flick, “Die Hard 2: Die Harder”. It was about a cop (Bruce Willis) against a group of terrorist who took control over an airport. This friend, who was working at the Mactan Airport, said that if you knew about airport operations, taking control over an airport by remote was impossible. His advice was simply to enjoy the movie and not get technical about it”. 

That’s how I look at sports right now. I just enjoy the spectacle and not think much about who is doped and who isn’t. Otherwise, I’d go crazy.