Gilbert Arenas is possibly the densest athlete I have seen, well since Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg with an unregistered gun while on gun related probation. This is supposed to be the man to bring the Washington Wizards glory, a savior of sorts…well now that he is finally back on the court. Instead, Arenas acts immaturely in his selfish actions on the court, his words to the media regarding the play of his team, and now bringing 3 guns (unloaded) into the Wizards facility and placing them in a locked box in his locker. Besides being incredibly stupid…bringing weapons into team facilities are against league rules and he decided to do so in DC where guns laws are very strict.
So, let’s recap and see if I understand this right.
- On or around Dec. 9 Arenas brought 3 guns into the Wizards facility because of the birth of his third child. As if it was ok to have the guns in his home with his other children (I don’t know if all his children live with him).
- December 19th, on a team flight back from Phoenix, Arenas and teammate Jarvis Crittenton get into an argument over a game of cards. Words and some type of gun references are exchanged. Come on men…it’s a game of cards. Get over it.
- December 20th, when the Wizards reconvened for practice, Arenas sets his 3 guns in a chair beside Crittenton’s locker with a note saying to choose one. Crittenton tosses a gun on the floor stating he had his own. Did Crittenton also have a gun in the Wizards Facility? Is this common?
Arenas claims this was all a joke, another immature act from the man the Wizards had signed to a $111 million contract to save the hypothetical day. Arenas also claims he never gambles and if anyone knew him they would know that. OK, I don’t personally know Agent 0, but I seem to remember something about him and online poker during halftime of games. Maybe I’m wrong and getting my overpaid, immature, superstars confused. Maybe.
So, it was a joke. Not even a slightly amusing one at that.
I understand many, many NBA players own and even carry weapons for their own safety, but there is a clause in the standard player contract, a morality clause against doing stupid things. Arenas could lose his contract because of this joke. He has jeopardized not only the safety of lots of people, but the financial well-being of his family. What team is going to sign a player who hasn’t played decent basketball in over 2 years with a surgically repaired knee, has an enormous contract, an attitude problem, and a history or gun related issues?
Will another NBA team want a player who has spent more time in street clothes than his uniform lately and likes to joke about guns?
Oh yeah, this is his second gun related incident for Arenas. In 2003, while playing with Golden State, Arenas failed to maintain proper registration of a handgun. Resulting in missing the season opener the next season with the Wizards.
So now he is a huge risk for any team, because it is pretty much a given that the Wizards will find some way to release him.
And all the while…remember…this was meant as a joke.
Who gets the last laugh?
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