Giants’ Pierce has no regrets

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Seeing a bloody Plaxico Burress with a bullet wound in his leg in a Manhattan nightclub last November, New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce reacted instinctively.

He helped his teammate.

Pierce got Burress into a car, drove him to a hospital and then took the gun that Burress used in accidentally shooting himself back to his home in New Jersey, later arranging to get it back to the wounded wide receiver’s home.

It was what any friend would do for another, and Pierce on Tuesday defended his actions and expressed no regrets for helping Burress.

Speaking a day after a grand jury decided not to indict him on charges of carrying Burress’ unlicensed firearm in the aftermath of the shooting, Pierce said Tuesday he acted reasonably, responsibly and instinctively in aiding his now former teammate.

Pierce, who had been silent about the shooting for the past nine months, declined to discuss any details of the incident in an interview that lasted a little more than three minutes at the Giants training camp at the University at Albany.

“I am not sorry for how I acted that night. I am not sorry for how I responded,” Pierce said of the Nov. 29 shooting at the Latin Quarter nightclub, about 36 hours before the Giants had a game against the Washington Redskins. “I am sorry for putting myself in position that I had to respond the way I had to respond. There [are] a lot of lessons I learned from this. I take them to heart and I take them seriously, obviously. It has been a lot of ups and downs.”

The grand jury indicted Burress on two counts of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of reckless endangerment. He faces a minimum prison sentence of 31‚Ñ2 years if convicted. Burress pleaded not guilty to weapons charges earlier this year and is free on $100,000 bail.

Pierce said the last nine months have been trying and that he was extremely relieved when the grand jury returned no true bill against him.

While he never showed any emotion, fellow linebacker Danny Clark shed a little light on how Pierce felt. He was with his training camp roommate when Pierce learned about the grand jury’s decision, and he saw his reaction.

“Like a 10-ton brick was lifted off his back,” Clark said. “We were optimistic that he was going to come out of it clean and he did, so I am happy about that.”

The only trace of emotion Pierce seemed to have was a hint of bitterness toward Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau when he was asked whether he was surprised that Morgenthau pressed for charges against him in recent weeks.

“I leave that between me and the D.A.,” Pierce said.

Pierce was glad that the grand jury heard the facts “from his lips” when he testified last Thursday and Friday.

“I thought I acted very reasonably and responsibly and instinctively to a teammate that was in need, and that was my concern that night, to get him help,” Pierce said.