Getting shot gave Giants' McDougle perspective

Jerome McDougle has appeared in only three games for the Giants this season, with one tackle to show for it. Not exactly a banner year. But he won't complain. And he definitely won't sulk.

Because three years ago, McDougle learned just how silly it is to get disappointed over stuff like playing time.

How about being at the wrong place at the wrong time, running into the wrong people and the next thing you know your life is changed in an instant?

That's what apparently happened to McDougle at 11:37 p.m. on July 28, 2005, the night before he was to fly north for Eagles training camp. According to police accounts in newspapers, McDougle was sitting in his silver Mercedes at a street corner in Miami awaiting a friend when four youths aged 15 to 17 approached.

"They gave me an ultimatum," the defensive lineman said yesterday as he sat in front of his locker after practice.

They demanded his watch and his cash, according to the newspaper accounts.

With a gun pointed at him, McDougle handed over his watch. As he rose to get his wallet, one of the robbers apparently panicked and shot McDougle in the stomach.

"I did what he told me to do," he said, "and he still shot me."

McDougle stood and lifted his shirt to show a vertical scar above his navel. Next to the scar is a tattoo that says, "True Story." And if that isn't enough proof, he still has a piece of the bullet somewhere in his stomach. Every time he goes for an MRI, McDougle said it's right there on the screen.

For the Giants this week, guns have been an unwanted theme. Steve Smith had one pointed at his head in a robbery attempt outside his home last week, and days later Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a New York City nightclub and now faces criminal weapon possession charges.

You might think this sequence of gun-related events would bring back unwanted memories to McDougle, but he made it clear that is not the case. Once he recovered from his injuries, he said he decided to turn this experience into a positive.

McDougle always has enjoyed speaking to youths, but after he was shot he said he turned his focus to troubled teenagers - the exact demographic of people who changed his life forever. He wants to have a positive impact on them.

"Don't worry about adversity," McDougle said he tells the kids. "Stay focused on the goal, the prize."

If Smith wanted to speak to someone about the trauma of having a gun pointed at his head, McDougle is right across the locker room.

"The biggest thing with me was the trust issue," he said. "I was never spooked, or anything like that. It was just learning again how to trust people, trust situations."

Florida records show that McDougle has a concealed- weapons license that expires next April, but McDougle refused to discuss that, citing the sensitivity of the issue in the wake of Burress' incident.

"It will make you a prisoner if you let that get to you," McDougle said of the experience. "If you let it dictate how you're going to live your life, you're going to be in your house all day."

(news-day.com)