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.

The players aren't the ones to blame for the troubling violence. The problem is that they've become targets of people who want things the easy way. They are targeted by people who want their money, jewelry or fame and haven't been as fortunate to be in their position. They are targeted by people who have weapons and lack a conscience, and feel entitled to carry out their bad intentions.

And people wonder why Burress was carrying a loaded gun inside a club. It would have been nice to get answers from him this week, but you can't really blame him for feeling unsafe. There have been numerous other dangerous incidents in recent months that haven't had as tragic results as the Williams, Taylor and Collier incidents. Giants receiver Steve Smith was robbed at gunpoint three days prior to Burress' incident, and he fortunately wasn't a violent-crime victim.

"We get paid a good amount of money for the sport, but we're still kids," Titans safety Chris Hope told The Associated Press last week. "Most of us are 25, 26 years old and in the prime of our lives. We can't enjoy the spoils God has blessed us with by going out and having a good time or going and traveling, buying nice clothes or jewelry, because you have to worry about looking over your shoulder."

That statement alone almost makes you feel fortunate you're not a pro athlete.

I'm not advocating that every pro athlete go out and buy a gun, have it loaded and be ready to pull it out at the first sign of trouble and turn their private lives into the wild, wild west. But to criticize them for it or to say it's wrong is off base.

Obviously, carrying a gun isn't the only way to stay safe. Pro athletes can simply stay at home, which is easy for me to say because I'm a homebody, but also not a cure-all when you consider how Taylor was killed. They can use their wealth to pay for security when they go out. The tougher it is to get to them, the less likely it is someone will take the risk to hurt or rob them.

No one deserves to suffer the same fate as Williams, Taylor and Collier. Let's hope others won't be as unlucky, and that they'll take the necessary precautions to keep themselves safe.

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E-mail: aaragon@desnews.com