Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- You can imagine the questions racing through the mind of Plaxico Burress, who took a concealed handgun into a Manhattan nightclub and proceeded to blow a hole in his leg.

From a career perspective, the veteran wide receiver is probably wondering if he’ll be suspended under the National Football League’s personal conduct policy.

From Pacman to Plaxico, when will athletes learn that nothing good comes from carrying guns?

There’s a good chance Burress is pondering whether he’ll be disciplined, if not by the league, then by his team, the Super Bowl champion New York Giants. He might even be wondering if the Giants, whose authority figures loathe distraction, selfishness and stupidity, might even take the extraordinary step of saying goodbye altogether. After all, it’s not as if they NEED Burress to contend for another Super Bowl.

Burress, though, at this point is probably singularly concerned with crime and punishment. He’s probably wondering whether the charge of criminal possession of a weapon can result in a fine, jail, or both?

Burress has an attorney, Ben Brafman, who in a statement asked that his client be given the benefit of the doubt. The Giants aren’t talking doubt, but disappointment.

“I’m disappointed this happened and that any of our guys would put themselves in this kind of situation,” Giants Chief Executive Officer John Mara said before yesterday’s 23-7 win over Washington on a day the Redskins honored former player Sean Taylor, who last year was shot and killed during a robbery at his home. “Our first concern is for Plaxico’s health. We were very relieved to find out he’s OK. But yeah, I’m disappointed.”

What If?

You can bet that Burress and teammate Antonio Pierce, who also was at the Latin Quarter nightclub when the incident occurred on Friday night, will have plenty of questions to answer.

And yet, there’s only one question that Burress should be asking. One.

What if?

As in, what if the wayward bullet had found not Burress’s right thigh, which is bad enough, but the head or heart of an innocent bystander?

What if someone had died? Burress should be thinking long and hard about that possibility, about lives lost and shattered. He should be examining what his life would be like this morning had that worst outcome become a reality instead of another cautionary tale.

He should be thinking about former basketball player Jayson Williams, whose life changed forever when the shotgun he was holding went off, putting a hole in the chest of his limousine driver, Costas “Gus” Christofi.

Getting Lucky

Burress got lucky. This time. He only hurt himself.

Enough, already, with the widespread notion of athletes being targets as justification for their packing heat.

More athletes should listen to retired basketball star Karl Malone, who makes a simple point: If an athlete is going to a locale where he needs a gun to feel safe, then he probably shouldn’t be going at all. Simple as that.

And, no, Malone isn’t a member of the anti-gun lobby. He’s an avid sportsman who lends his name and fame to the National Rifle Association.

Just last week Burress was at Madison Square Garden to watch Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James face the Knicks. Too bad Burress didn’t seek out the unassuming man in the blue suit. His name is Marvin Cross, and he’s Cleveland’s director of security.

Brains Not Brawn

Cross isn’t the stereotypical bodyguard. That’s because security, Cross once told me, is about brains, not brawn. An athlete’s safety hinges on guile, not guns.

Cross spent 22 years with the Cleveland Police Department. He implores athletes to leave security matters to those who’ve been trained to 1) keep clients from dangerous situations and 2) defuse any situation before anyone feels the need to brandish a gun.

If any athlete could rationalize the need to carry a weapon it’s Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce, who in 2000 sustained life-threatening injuries when he was stabbed 11 times while at a nightclub. Nowadays, Pierce hires a professional security detail when needed.

Fox Sports, which televised yesterday’s Giants-Redskins game, showed a clip of a months-old interview in which Burress acknowledged that he’s his own worst enemy. He was referring to kid’s stuff, of missing practice. That was before the gun went off.

Surrender

According to his lawyer, Burress will surrender to police this morning, at which time he’ll be charged with criminal possession of a weapon. He’ll plead not guilty.

Meantime, after yesterday’s game, Pierce was asked about the incident, about distractions, about the franchise’s reputation and, ultimately, about his teammate’s troubles.

“It’s life,” he said.

It all too easily could’ve been death.

Let’s hope Burress -- all athletes, really -- pause long enough to ask themselves one simple question.

What if.

(Scott Soshnick is a Bloomberg News columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.)

To contact the writer of this column: Scott Soshnick in Beijing through the New York sports desk at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 1, 2008 00:00 EST