Burress gets out of prison early in June (AP)

Burress

NEW YORK (AP)—Former New York Giants Super Bowl star Plaxico Burress(notes) is to
get out of prison in June, after officials agreed Friday to shave about three
months off his time behind bars in a gun case.

A committee of prison-system staffers decided Burress was eligible for time
off for good behavior, so he can be freed after serving about 21 months of his
two-year sentence, system spokeswoman Linda Foglia said.

With Burress’ release date now set for June 6, his agent and lawyer said
he’s looking to return to football—and a number of teams are looking at him.

“He’s counting the hours,” lawyer Peter M. Frankel said. “He’s extremely
positive.”

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has ruled that Burress would be reinstated
and eligible to sign with a team upon completing his sentence. While the league
and players are locked in negotiations that have cast a shadow of uncertainty
over the sport’s next season, Frankel and Burress agent Drew Rosenhaus said
several teams had expressed interest in the receiver.

“The future is very bright for Plaxico,” Rosenhaus said in an e-mail.

Burress, 33, caught the winning touchdown for the Giants over the New
England Patriots in the final minute of the 2008 Super Bowl. But his fortunes
turned in November of that year, when he went to a Manhattan nightclub with a
gun tucked in the waistband of his track pants; he later said he had been
concerned for his safety because a teammate had been held up at gunpoint days
before.

Burress’ weapon slipped down his leg and fired, injuring him in the thigh.
The bullet narrowly missed a security guard, prosecutors said.

The gun wasn’t licensed in New York or New Jersey, where Burress lived, and
his Florida concealed-weapons permit had expired. He also failed to report the
incident to authorities.

He pleaded guilty in August 2009 to attempted criminal possession of a
weapon.

Held in protective custody at an upstate prison because of his notoriety,
Burress was turned down twice in bids for work release. The Manhattan District
Attorney’s Office, which opposed work release for Burress, declined to comment
on Friday’s decision.

Burress had a work assignment in prison and completed an anger management
program while incarcerated, his lawyer said.

He’s been tagged with three minor disciplinary problems, including an
episode in which corrections officers said Burress lied about having permission
to use the phone to call his lawyer at a time when calls weren’t permitted,
Foglia said. The November 2009 misstep cost him a week of phone privileges and
30 days of recreation privileges.

Details on the other two incidents weren’t immediately available, but none
was seen as serious enough to trim his time off for good behavior. His June
release date is the earliest allowed under a state law that required him to
serve at least six-sevenths of his sentence.

“He’s done his best to abide by” prison rules, Frankel said.

Giants general manager Jerry Reese has said the team will keep its options
open with Burress.

For now, “we are grateful that Plaxico and his wife, Tiffany, and their
children now know when they will be reunited and able to get on with their lives
together,” team spokesman Pat Hanlon said. “As we have stated many times in
the past, we feel that day is long overdue.”

Giants placekicker Lawrence Tynes(notes) said in an e-mail to The Associated Press
that he thinks of Burress often because his sons attend the same school as
Burress’ son.

“He deserves to be back in the NFL and if that opportunity comes from the
New York Giants then he will be welcomed back with open arms from us in the
locker room,” said Tynes, who was on the Super Bowl championship team with
Burress. “I’ve always personally wondered why the Giants never issued his No.
17 jersey to anyone over the past two seasons. If it happens to be with another
franchise then I hope he has nothing but good health and success.”

AP Sports Writer Tom Canavan in Newark, N.J., contributed to this report.