Antonio Pierce Looks Safe: "I'm a New York Giant"

By JOSH ALPER

Updated 8:52 PM EST, Thu, Dec 4, 2008

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Antonio Pierce started a news conference at Giants headquarters today by saying that he wouldn't talk about anything having to do with what happened early Saturday morning. Surprisingly, the gathered reporters stuck around to talk to him anyway and Pierce sounded confident about his future with the team.

Lucky for them, Pierce talked about the shooting and his involvement, even if he didn't actually talk about it. You can read the headline above, relayed by Brian Thompson of NBC, which Pierce followed up by saying that "this Sunday is no different than Week One." Pierce said that he had no reason to believe that he wouldn't be on the field against the Eagles on Sunday. That goes along with everything we've heard from the team all week.

Comments from his lawyer to the Associated Press on Thursday also make it seem like Pierce will avoid any punishment for his role in the Latin Quarter fiasco. Michael Bachner, Pierce's lawyer, said that Pierce would speak to police on Friday and, if necessary, testify before a grand jury. He also said that Pierce had no knowledge that Plaxico Burress was carrying a gun until it went off and set the wheels in motion on this neverending story.

The police have the gun, which Pierce was originally accused of hiding, and Pierce doesn't seem to have reacted any differently than any of the rest of us would if our friend was shot. Taking the gun was a minor offense, rectified now that the police have it, and confirming that it was Burress' gun is all the information the authorities need to proceed with charges against the wide receiver.

Based on all of that, it's hard to see where Pierce would be disciplined by the Giants or the league for his involvement, which is good news for him and good news for the Giants: They have a few options to replace Plax at wide reciever, but considerably fewer to replace a linebacker like Pierce.