We Jets fans have had enough.
We’ve endured every indignity and misfortune imaginable, from Mark Sanchez’ butt fumble to Aaron Rodgers’ ruptured Achilles.
We have been the laughing stock of the National Football League and the literal butt of jokes from every corner of the competitive sports universe.
But this one crossed the line.
And I’m not talking the goal line.
It has been a long time since Plaxico Burress has seen one of those, yet the one-time Jets wide receiver still felt empowered enough to unleash some unnecessary roughness on his former franchise.
Plaxico Burress #17 of the New York Jets looks on during a game against the Miami Dolphins at Sun Life Stadium on January 1, 2012 in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
Burress, who once suited up for the New York state prison system, was asked which was worse, being locked up or lining up for the Jets.
He took the ball and ran with it.
“So, they’re both kind of similar,” Burress said last week on Lil Wayne and Craig Carton’s The Joint Venture Show.
“Because when I walked into prison my first day, I was like, ‘Damn man, you a f—ing loser. And I had the same damn feeling every day I walked through the door with the Jets. I was like, ‘Damn, I hope we can win this weekend.’ Loser.”
C’mon Plax.
This is the same team that gave you a second chance when you went from a hero to a zero.
In New York.
The Jets threw you a lifeline when you were drowning.
And you just spit in their faces.
“When something’s taken away from you that you love, you know you love it more,” Burress said at the time. “You learn that playing in this business is definitely a privilege.”
For those with short memories, like Burress, the sure-handed receiver fell from grace after he fumbled a firearm that was tucked in his pants and accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a Manhattan nightclub in 2008.
Months earlier, Burress was getting the Jalen Brunson treatment for catching the winning touchdown in the Giants’ upset win over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIV — a victory that ended the Patriots’ bid for an undefeated season.
Not only did he do more damage to himself than any cornerback could, Burress also let down his teammates and the entire city, and foolishly squandered a new contract paying him $35 million over five years.
Instead of cashing in, Burress pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge and missed the birth of his own daughter while serving 20 months in prison.
After serving his time, Burress went from being locked up to locked out, uncertain about his future. When he was released from prison, the NFL was in the midst of a labor standoff, and teams had to wait before they could sign him.
When the Jets finally came calling, the team didn’t just give Burress a second chance. They also gave him $3 million to play for one year. He was 35. It wasn’t what Burress was making before he broke the law, but it was a lot more than most ex-cons would have gotten.
“I’m just grateful,” Burress said at the time. “I’m excited about the opportunity and I’m going to give them everything I’ve got because they put their trust in me to be able to come in and contribute and have an impact.”
Now Burress acts like he did the Jets a favor.
With his crass prison comparison, the ungrateful Burress also managed to rewrite Jets history.
The Jets team he signed with had come within a game of advancing to the Super Bowl two years in a row. Burress caught 45 passes for 612 yards and eight touchdowns for the 2011 Jets, who went 8-8 and missed the playoffs.
That wasn’t a great season
But it was hardly a prison sentence.