Steve Johnson Fined for Mocking Plaxico Burress

Buffalo Bills receiver Steve Johnson thought it was a good idea Sunday to mock New York Jets receiver Plaxico Burress mistakenly shooting himself in the leg. But $10,000 later, thanks to a fine from the NFL, Johnson is likely reconsidering his little dance.

But it was obvious to most that the re-enactment of the unfortunate incident that took place three years was in poor taste during the Bills 28-24 loss to the Jets. Johnson has been blasted by just about everyone. That is everyone except the man he mocked.

Burress, who served time in prison as a result of having a handgun in a club the night he accidently shot himself, took the high road. He even said he accepted Johnson’s apology when the 25-year-old called and texted to express regret for his actions.

“He’s young, and he made a mistake,” Burress told the New York Post. “I don’t look at him as any less than he was before. And I don’t want everybody just to say he’s a bad guy because he made a mistake. I’ve made a few in my life.”

But Burress's teammates aren’t nearly as forgiving.

“It had nothing to do with the situation,’’ said Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis, who was covering Johnson on the touchdown that prompted the distasteful celebration. “If anything, he scored on me, so come at me if anything. That’s just wrong. It wasn’t smart on his part, doing the gun thing and shooting himself. That was just disrespectful to Plaxico.’’

The interesting thing is Burress not only forgave Johnson, he tried to make sense of why the youngster ever thought that was a good idea.

“I don’t think he took into consideration everything that happened to me when he did it,” Burress said. “And I think a day later he’s realized what he did and how he made himself look, and he embarrassed his team, his organization, his players, his coaches and different things like that. But those are things you learn — it’s being young and being immature at times.”

Contact Terrance Harris at terrancefharris@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @Terranceharris

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(Photo: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)