Mr. Burress, 31, has been a crime victim and a friend of other professional athletes who were killed or accosted by armed robbers.

Three men burglarized Mr. Burress' Pittsburgh home when he played for the Steelers, taking $65,000 in cash and jewelry. An intruder murdered Mr. Burress' workout partner, Sean Taylor, of the Washington Redskins, in 2007. Then, late last month, a robber stuck a gun in the face of Mr. Burress' teammate, Giants receiver Steve Smith, outside a gated condominium complex.

None of these brazen crimes justifies Mr. Burress' failure to obtain a permit for a concealed weapon, but they show that wealthy, powerful professional athletes can be vulnerable to thugs.

"You've got to realize that we're targets and easy targets at that," said Steelers linebacker James Farrior, who declined to say whether he owns a gun.

Though fellow players may be sympathetic with Mr. Burress, the legal system probably will not be. New York's gun law is one of the most unforgiving in the country. Mr. Burress would have to serve at least 31/2 years in prison if he is convicted of carrying a firearm without a permit.

Mr. Smith, his teammate on the Giants, was robbed days before Mr. Burress accidentally shot himself in the right thigh at a Manhattan nightclub.

Pittsburgh-based agent Ralph E. Cindrich, who represents Mr. Smith, said he could not discuss the robbery case because it involves his client.

But Mr. Cindrich, of DeBartolo Sports & Entertainment, said his practice is to dissuade all his clients from carrying guns. He also represents Mr. Farrior and some three dozen other pro athletes.

"Some drunk wants to test you or maybe sue you, so he looks for a fight. Guns can only escalate those situations," Mr. Cindrich said.

Ward: Guns a bad idea

Hines Ward, a wide receiver with the Steelers, said he had reached the same conclusion.

"There's a lot of guys probably on this team and in this league who probably do have guns, maybe in their own homes for protection. But when you carry it on the street, I don think there's anything good that can come of it," Mr. Ward said.

If Mr. Cindrich's clients insist on arming themselves, he makes them aware of the laws for obtaining a permit. He said he also advises these players to undergo training in handgun use and safety.

Critics of Mr. Burress, such as former Dallas Cowboy Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson, wonder why he never obtained a concealed-carry permit for his handgun.

"I have no problem with law-abiding players exercising their Second Amendment rights," Mr. Henderson said in an interview. "But if you're going to possess a firearm, get the permit. You're grown men, most of you don't have felonies on your record, so be responsible about it."

Mr. Henderson, 55, ran afoul of the law several times after cocaine use wrecked his career. Clean for 25 years, he is remembered as one of the National Football League's most promising and cockiest linebackers of the 1970s.

During his playing days, Mr. Henderson said, he received a number of death threats. But he never armed himself, nor did he know of any other players who carried guns.

The times, of course, were different. ESPN and the Internet had not emerged as media forces that gave the public nonstop information about athletes and their personal habits. In addition, gun laws were more restrictive, so few people could legally carry handguns.

Many state legislatures in the 1980s and '90s liberalized the laws so law-abiding citizens could carry concealed handguns for protection.

Even some of the biggest athletes, such as basketball's 7-foot-1, 340-pound Shaquille O'Neal, have availed themselves of the permit system so they can carry concealed handguns.

Allegheny County Sheriff William P. Mullen, who administers 12,000 applications a year, would not discuss how many professional athletes have received firearm permits.

Mr. Henderson said only one explanation fits Mr. Burress' decision to carry a loaded firearm without going through the permit process in New York.

"For him to put a pistol in his pocket and bring it to a club, he must be scared to death. What he did represents stone-cold fear," Mr. Henderson said.

Memories of break-in

Mr. Burress has occasionally spoken publicly of what it was like to be a crime victim in Pittsburgh, a bad memory that lingers.

Three intruders broke into his townhouse on Washington's Landing while he was at a game in Buffalo in January 2005. The woman who was then Mr. Burress' fiancee and is now his wife happened to leave for the drugstore before the thieves barged in.

Later, after signing with the Giants, Mr. Burress told the New York Daily News he would make certain they were not victimized again.

"I tell my wife always to make sure the alarm is on when she is home by herself. I'm always taking care of myself. Some things you may get in trouble for, but, hey, you've got to do what you've got to do these days. If it comes down to me protecting myself and my family, I am going to do anything."

Because Mr. Burress' alleged handgun crime occurred in New York in a cycle of 24-hour media coverage, he is taking more heat than other pro athletes or coaches have in the past.

Reggie Harding, a 7-footer who played in the National Basketball Association in the 1960s, carried a gun in his gym bag. Residents of his Detroit neighborhood swore that Mr. Harding once tried to pull an armed robbery at a liquor store. The crime fizzled because his size made him instantly recognizable, even in a mask. Somebody shot Mr. Harding dead on a Detroit street corner in 1972.

Barry Switzer tried to take a .38-caliber handgun through airport security when he was head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. He survived the initial outcry, saying he had made a careless mistake, but resigned after his team finished the 1997 season with a losing record.

The behavior of former Steeler Ernie Holmes was much worse than anything Mr. Burress did, yet team executives backed him after his arrest on three charges of assault with a deadly weapon.

Mr. Holmes fired a rifle and a pistol at truckers and police officers as he drove along the Ohio Turnpike. When a police helicopter swooped in, he shot the pilot, a sergeant with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, wounding him above the right ankle.

Mr. Holmes pleaded guilty, then received the lightest possible punishment. Common Pleas Judge Sidney Rigelhaupt, of Youngstown, Ohio, placed him on probation for five years.

"Nothing can be gained by incarcerating the defendant. I am sure he has been punished more than enough by his own regret," Judge Rigelhaupt said in handing down his ruling in June 1973, just three months after Mr. Holmes' shooting rampage.

Newspapers, including the ones in Pittsburgh, buried coverage of Mr. Holmes' case on their inside pages. Today, it is difficult to imagine how a Steeler who shot a policeman was able to go on with his career.

The Steelers had a job waiting for Mr. Holmes as soon as he walked out of the courtroom a free man. Then 24, he was ready to become a starter on the defensive line. Mr. Holmes went on to play on two Super Bowl winners as a member of the famed Steel Curtain.

He was nicknamed "Fats," but in photos taken the day of the shootings, Mr. Holmes looked lean and powerful. After surrendering, he told police that he was distraught over a breakup with his wife, Geraldine.

In court, his excuse changed. He did not plead insanity, but a psychologist employed by the defense team said Mr. Holmes had been unable to distinguish what was real from what was not.

This year, after Mr. Holmes died at age 59 in car crash, Steelers Chairman Dan Rooney gave another explanation for the shootings. He said Mr. Holmes' heavy intake of caffeine had caused him to hallucinate. This last excuse was a version of "The Twinkie Defense," in which violent felons of the 1980s attributed their crimes to excessive sugar in their diets.

The fact that Mr. Burress appears to be in more trouble than Mr. Holmes was shows how much the times and the scrutiny of professional athletes have changed.

Given the climate, Mr. Farrior, the Steelers linebacker, said players have to exercise an abundance of common sense.

"If you want to go someplace where you have to carry a gun, you probably shouldn't go," he said.