It wasn’t supposed to end this way. No, Plaxico Burress wasn’t supposed to end up in jail.He was the king of New York. He caught the game winning pass in the Super Bowl. He had a new contract. He had a newborn baby. He had it all. Now? He’s spending up to two years in jail. It’s a tragedy.

The tragedy is not that he’s in jail. Sure, that’s rough. The tragedy is the way that it happened. The tragedy is that he felt compelled to carry a gun with him, as if he was some target. The tragedy is that he felt he needed protection. The tragedy is that he didn’t register it.

I could go on. It should not have ended this way. His life took a turn for the worse, in a split second, with the sound of gun shot. That one gun shot didn’t hurt anyone else. That one gun shot didn’t cause physical or mental pain on anyone around him. That one gun shot caused more pain that anyone could imagine. And it happened to the guy holding the gun. That’s the tragedy. He never meant to shoot himself. That’s the tragedy. He never meant to ruin his season. That’s the tragedy. He never meant to ruin his career. That’s the tragedy. He never meant to end up in jail. That’s the tragedy.

I don’t know what’s next for Burress. He’ll spend two years in jail. After that, he’ll be a 34 year old receiver who has spent the last two years in jail. There’s not much of a market for that. I feel bad for Burress. I do. Not because he ruined his football career. But because he ruined his life. He has a young kid at home. All for what? That’s the biggest tragedy of it all.