Plaxico Burress

In New York, possessing an unauthorized firearm carries among of the worst penalties in the nation. Plaxico Burress, an NFL receiver, discovered this the hard way and made matters worse when he unintentionally shot himself in the leg at a Manhattan nightclub.

Although the self-inflicted injury would heal, Burress spent 20 months behind bars at Rikers Island for his criminal blunder. He eventually made a comeback to the field in 2011 (this time donning a Jets uniform), winning Comeback Player of the Year.

Burress had this to say about the now-famous nightclub shooting: "The stairwell was narrow and dark and everything was black... I believe I missed a step and let my foot slip because I could hardly see. My right pant leg was exposed when my gun detachment from my belt began to slide. I immediately reached down with my right hand to grab it before it hit the ground in an effort to prevent it from falling. My finger must have landed directly on the trigger because it fired.