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Jacksonville Jaguars Offensive Tackle Richard Collier was critically shot Sept. 2 while waiting outside of an apartment building with fellow teammate Kenneth Pettway.

The teammates were waiting for a friend early in the morning at a Riverside apartment complex.

Collier is in critical but stable condition in the intensive care unit of Shands Jacksonville Medical Center.

His mishap adds him to a list of athletes getting into trouble for incidents stemming from nightclubs – a list that seems to grow and grow.

Former Tennessee Titans Corner Back Adam “Pacman” Jones got into trouble in February 2007 and was consequently suspended by the NFL Commissioner.

Jones was involved in a strip club incident in Las Vegas that left a man paralyzed from the waist down.

In court, he pleaded no contest for conspiracy to commit disorderly conduct.

But instead of serving jail time, he agreed to tell police everything he knew, according to an ESPN report.

Jones is now with the Dallas Cowboys, joining the Cowboys Defensive Tackle Terry “Tank” Johnson, who was suspended for violating NFL policy with numerous legal incidents, including a 2005 arrest for possession of unregistered firearms in a Chicago nightclub parking lot.

Both players have been reinstated to the NFL.

Each incident shows that better judgment needs to be shown by athletes when going out at night, especially to nightclubs.

Professional athletes shouldn’t be staying at the clubs past closing.

Nothing good happens after closing.

Athletes should also show more modesty when going out to clubs. They shouldn’t wear expensive jewelry and advertise they are wealthy.

Not everyone appreciates them showing off.

When Jones was involved in his strip club incident, he was “making it rain” by showing off his money and advertising himself to potential criminals, according to an ESPN report.

You can’t advertise yourself like that and not attract unwanted attention.

He is lucky he wasn’t killed, but this should be a message to all athletes – professional and collegiate – that nightclubs are not a place for carelessness and recklessness.

Former NFL players Darrent Williams and Sean Taylor were two athletes who were shot in similar situations and killed.

Williams was shot in a limousine at a New Year’s party in 2007.

Taylor was shot during a failed robbery attempt in his Miami home in November 2007.

For Collier, police have no suspects yet, and it is unknown whether Collier might need more surgery.

But we do know he is still in critical condition, and we should all take this as a grim reminder to not take our lives for granted.

E-mail Justin Sacharoff at discourse@unfspinnaker.com.