Former Spartan Plaxico's NFLPA Symposium Talk Impactful On Rookies
We mentioned earlier in the week that Plaxico Burress was going to speak at the NFLPA rookie symposium. Burress was there -- along with many other impressive guests like Roger Goodell -- to give life advice to the NFL's youngsters.
He did just that, and according to Broncos' rookie Von Miller, speaking to Sports Illustrated's Jim Trotter, and the advice proved profound.
"I've been a big fan of Plaxico Burress' since I was a kid," Miller said. "It's a nightmare story, but I think all of us rookies can learn from that."
Burress' nightmare story is impactful: The wideout lost more than $12 million and two years of his life after being sentenced to prison for shooting himself in the leg in a nightclub.
Also present was former Lions DT Luther Ellis, who eventually filed for bankruptcy despite making $12 million over his career.
And, of course, a slew of rookies -- 150 rooks made the trip, including eight of 10 first-rounders. (Only absent were Jake Locker, who's getting married, and Julio Jones, who didn't have an excuse, though he didn't need one.)
"Going into this event I thought I knew a lot, and then you go through these couple of days and you realize there's a lot you have to learn," said Texans defensive end J.J. Watt. "If I hadn't have had this event, I think I would have missed out on a great deal."
Fortunately, though the usually-sponsored-by-the-NFL event took place under the (optimistically!) dark cloud of the labor talks, it appears to have had an effect on the NFL's youngest group of players.
And that's always good news, regardless of whether the games are technically scheduled to begin on time right now.
