These are dangerous times for NFL players.

Giants receiver Plaxico Burress has been vilified in the media and by fans for the past week because he accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a New York nightclub last Friday. No, it surely wasn't the smartest thing Burress has ever done in his life, and it was just the latest in a long list of bad decisions made by the guy who scored the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII.

Hardly anyone knows why Burress was packing a gun, and it was troubling that he went all "A Christmas Story" on himself. He's certainly in deep trouble as he could be facing lengthy jail time for illegal weapons possession. The trouble will likely end Burress' relationship with the Giants, and cost him millions of dollars of a contract he signed with the team during the offseason. He's suspended for the rest of the year because of conduct detrimental to the team, and will miss out on what will likely be another deep playoff run for the Giants.

But I'm not here to continue to rip Burress. Enough of that has been done in the last week. The bigger issue to come out of last Friday's incident, and one that needs to be addressed, is the safety of NFL players and other pro athletes. With the high-profile violence directed toward NFL players in the last two years, can anyone really blame Burress for carrying a gun?

Former Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams was murdered when a limo he was riding in was sprayed with bullets early New Year's morning in 2007. Former Redskins safety Sean Taylor was murdered in his home by would-be burglars a little more than a year ago. Former Jaguars lineman Richard Collier, by all accounts one of the NFL's good guys, was shot 14 times just days before the 2008 season started and had his leg amputated.

To paraphrase something once said by Vince Lombardi, "What the (heck) is going on around here?"

It's unfortunate to see that NFL players, and other pro athletes, have to fear for their lives and safety in this day and age.

Some people won't have any sympathy for them. They'll say they're rich and spoiled, put themselves in bad positions, and that they shouldn't be out late anyway. Some of that may be true, but let me remind you that Taylor, who ironically was inducted into the Redskins' Ring of Fame prior to the Redskins-Giants game last Sunday that Burress had to miss, was simply sleeping in his bed when he heard intruders break into his house. He attempted to defend himself before being fatally shot.

Collier, paralyzed from the waist down in addition to losing his leg, was sitting in his car when he was shot 14 times.

It was just after 2 a.m. on New Year's morning when Williams was murdered. That isn't an unreasonable time for a person to still be out while ringing in a new year.