Letter a Spoiled Athlete

Dear Mr. Gilbert Arenas and those like you,

Sadly, you have turned out to yet another poor Black male role model. I know Charles Barkley said he is not a role model simply because he is a professional athlete, but he was wrong. You and your athlete friends ARE role models, some of the only positive role models many young Black men have. You became their role model, idol, and their example once you put on your first authentic NBA jersey with your name on the back. They want to model their lives after yours. Young Black men want to be like you. Unfortunately, they pick the wrong idol.

One would think, even if you didn’t give a damn about being a role model to young Black men without positive figures in their lives that $111 million would be enough of a reason for you to conduct yourself in a respectable manner. Money is the biggest motivator we have these days, but I guess you got use to being rich and spoiled. All those years you dreamed and worked hard to get to the NBA must not mean anything to you either.

In a time when young Black men have few positive role models, you should eagerly take this role. Step up to the plate and show what hard work and determination can do. Teach young Black men how to be responsible Black men. Give someone something you may not have had yourself. Instead, you resorted to guns just like Black men in songs, in the streets. You acted selfishly, just like the men in their lives who cannot be a father to them because of their own “me first” mentality.

Somewhere there is a little boy, in your jersey, desperately seeking someone to look up to. A little boy that looked up to you, wanted to be the next you. You let him down.

There was hope for you. After your knee injuries, you worked hard to get back on the court. It was a great lesson in hard work and determination. The whole “I got passed over by teams that should have drafted me” motivation thing was cute too. Sadly, those positive lessons were outweighed by your selfish behavior. I admit you are a great basketball player and probably do great things for the community, but one dumb move erased all of this. No one will care of all the positive things you have done, all the lives you have impacted. Your legacy will be one of guns and stupidity.

All of your crazy antics were funny before, but were they really? I mean, sure they were amusing but they were also telling that your sense of reality isn’t quite right. You have this sense that you are more important than you really are. You aren’t alone in this; most athletes seem to think this way. You, Mr. Arenas are not above the law, or even a misguided “joke”.

As a grown man, do you really not know the laws of DC or even the rules of your employer? Do you not care, or do you think you are above the law? Say “oh I just didn’t know” doesn’t cut it once you blow out the candles on your 5th birthday cake. You know right from wrong, well maybe not.

I know you have been pampered since someone realized you could put a ball in a hoop and allowed to get away with things others might not, so maybe this really isn’t your fault. Maybe you really don’t know any better. You probably never have been held accountable for your actions. Always told how special you are and use to people excusing your crazy behavior. “That’s just Gilbert being Gilbert, but man is he a great basketball player”.

I hope you invested well, it might be awhile before someone pays you to play ball for them again. I know what you are thinking; other athletes have done stupid things and recovered. Well, that may be true in most cases, but you endangered your teammates. I don’t know if anyone will want to have you on their team, to do battle beside you night in and night out. It’s more of a survival thing than you being a selfish ball hog with a me first mentality. No one wants to be teammates with someone who brings guns into the workplace and jokes with them. You PR team has a lot of work to do with this one. I hope you pay them well.

There was a big lesson in this, not just for you but all athletes. You are not above the law. You are not the only one who matters. Money doesn’t excuse the stupid things you do. But I hope you learned a lesson, learned to take the power you have to influence seriously.

I wish you the best of luck getting out of this one…

Sincerely,

A disappointed basketball fan.