Burress Appears in Court, Has Bail Set at $100,000

"Today has been a headache and that's about all I can say," he told WFAN.

New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress arrives at a police station, Monday, Dec.1, 2008, in...

New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress arrives at a police station, Monday, Dec.1, 2008, in New York. Burress was expected to be charged after accidentally shooting himself in the right thigh. Burress shot himself at a Manhattan nightclub Friday night and was released from a hospital early Saturday, the Giants said. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)

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The Giants released a statement disputing the police version of their involvement. "We are working closely with the police and NFL Security," it said. "In the early hours of Saturday morning, as we started to get a sense of what we were dealing with, we did, in fact, notify NFL Security, which then contacted the police."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello also said in a statement the league was cooperating. "In addition, it will be reviewed under our league policies," he said.

The case drew the wrath of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has waged a long fight against illegal guns. He called for a full prosecution of state law that requires mandatory prison for carrying a loaded handgun.

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"I don't think anybody should be exempt from that, and I think it would be an outrage if we didn't prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, particularly people who live in the public domain, make their living because of their visibility — they're the role models for our kids," Bloomberg said. Brafman urged the mayor to reserve judgment.

Bloomberg also lashed out at the hospital, based on the allegation that officials may not have properly reported the shooting. "It's just an outrage that the hospital didn't do what they were legally required to do," he said.

The hospital responded with a statement saying that officials "take this very seriously, and are conducting a thorough investigation into why this gunshot wound was not reported to the police department in a timely fashion."

Burress caught a last-minute touchdown pass in the Giants' Super Bowl victory against the New England Patriots in February, following a regular season in which he scored a career-high 12 TDs. He was rewarded with a $35 million, five-year contract.

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Associated Press Writers Samuel Maull and Tom Hays in New York, and Football Writer Dave Goldberg contributed to this report.

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