PITTSBURGH - Wide receiver Plaxico Burress said he had a good reason to skip the Steelers' three-day minicamp last weekend - it included Mother's Day.

Burress mother, Adelaide, died two years ago. He has two younger brothers who still live in her old house, and said he needed to be with them on Mother's Day.

The Steelers called it an unexcused absence.

A Pittsburgh newspaper reported Burress' response, which was being aired on the Sporting News Radio on Thursday.

"I felt that going to camp wasn't as important as being with my family," Burress said. "On Mother's Day, I owe it to my brothers, and especially my mother, to pay my respect to her and grieve."

"I don't always make the right decision, but I do what I feel is right. The fact that the camp was on Mother's Day was inconsiderate toward the guys on the team, especially since they stress family first," Burress said.

Burress wouldn't guarantee that he would show up for voluntary coaching sessions May 18, but said he won't be a holdout when training camp starts July 30.

Some had suggested Burress didn't report to minicamp in an effort to get the team to renegotiate or extend his contract, which has just one season left.

If the absence had been about the contract, "I never would have showed my face around here during the offseason," Burress said. "Several weeks before camp, I sat down with the coaches and watched film. I was there for two or three weeks during the offseason. I don't see how anyone could say this has anything to do with my contract."

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Information from: Tribune-Review, http://www.triblive.com

AP-ES-05-13-04 0855EDT