FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — As Plaxico Burress grabbed a microphone and started telling his story Thursday afternoon to about 100 children, some of the kids were murmuring and chattering among themselves.

And then he said "gun."

The kids got quiet in a hurry.

This is what the former — and, he hopes, future — NFL wide receiver has been doing for the past few weeks. Released from prison last month after serving nearly two years on a gun charge, Burress has vowed to use his failings as fuel for others, using himself as the illustration that everything can change in an instant.

"I carried a loaded gun into a nightclub and I ended up shooting myself, my own self, in the leg," Burress told the kids, part of the Urban League of Broward County. "I was playing professional football at the time. I had just won a Super Bowl. I had just received a brand-new contract. I had just signed a shoe deal with Nike. The choice that I made, basically it took everything away that I worked so hard for."

Burress arrived about two hours late to the event because of scheduling conflicts, then chatted and shook hands with the kids for about 30 minutes. He refused to talk about his NFL future with reporters Thursday, though has said in recent radio interviews that he's eager for another chance in the NFL. And he smiled when one child asked him if he would consider playing for the Miami Dolphins.

"Of course," Burress said.

Burress served nearly two years in prison after pleading guilty in August 2009 to attempted criminal possession of a weapon.

"Nobody wants to go to jail. It's a terrible place," Burress told the kids.

After his release, Burress said he would devote time to programs designed toward educating people about gun control.