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01-06-2010, 05:47 PM
NEW YORK -- NBA commissioner David Stern has indefinitely suspended Gilbert Arenas, saying the Washington Wizards guard is "not currently fit to take the court" for a game.
Stern says in a statement Wednesday that Arenas' actions will "ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse."
Because Arenas violated NBA rules by bringing guns into Washington's locker room, Stern decided to punish Arenas now. He said the suspension begins immediately.
Stern says he originally planned to wait for the criminal investigation to be completed before taking action, and directed the Wizards to do the same.
Every game Arenas ends up missing during the suspension will cost him $147,208.
The suspension comes after multiple media reports over the weekend said that a dispute over a gambling debt led to a conflict between Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton.
Multiple sources told ESPN.com that an argument commenced during a card game on the team's overnight flight back to Washington from Phoenix on Dec. 19 and escalated into a heated exchange between Arenas and Crittenton. The Wizards had Dec. 20 off, but sources say hostilities between the two resumed Dec. 21 in the locker room on a practice day.
Sources say that Arenas, in response to what was said on the flight, placed the three guns on a chair near Crittenton's locker stall and invited him to pick one before practice on Dec. 21. Sources said that Crittenton subsequently let Arenas know that he had his own gun.
The Washington Post reported in Sunday's editions that Arenas, according to sources, was expecting Crittenton to see the guns on his chair as a joke based on the earlier back-and-forth on the plane, during which Crittenton allegedly said that he would shoot Arenas in his surgically repaired knee. But Crittenton, according to Post, reacted angrily and tossed one of the guns to the floor, saying he had his own.
In his statement, Arenas confirmed that the guns were brought out at the Dec. 21 practice.
"As I have said before, I had kept the four unloaded handguns in my house in Virginia but then moved them over to my locker at the Verizon Center to keep them away from my young kids," the statement read. "I brought them without any ammunition into the District of Columbia, mistakenly believing that the recent change in the D.C. gun laws allowed a person to store unloaded guns in the District. On Monday, December 21st, I took the unloaded guns out in a misguided effort to play a joke on a teammate.
"Contrary to some press accounts, I never threatened or assaulted anyone
with the guns and never pointed them at anyone. Joke or not, I now recognize that what I did was a mistake and was wrong. I should not have brought the guns to D.C. in the first place, and I now realize that there's no such thing as joking around when it comes to guns -- even if unloaded."
Arenas met with law enforcement officials on Monday to explain why he had guns at the Verizon Center last month.
Arenas' lawyer issued a statement saying that the player met with federal prosecutors at the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department for more than two hours.
At the NBA's request, the firearms language was bolstered during collective bargaining in 2005. Players are subject to discipline if they bring guns to the arena or practice facility, or even an offsite promotional appearance.
[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4802267"]Washington Wizards' Gilbert Arenas suspended indefinitely - ESPN[/ame]
Stern says in a statement Wednesday that Arenas' actions will "ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse."
Because Arenas violated NBA rules by bringing guns into Washington's locker room, Stern decided to punish Arenas now. He said the suspension begins immediately.
Stern says he originally planned to wait for the criminal investigation to be completed before taking action, and directed the Wizards to do the same.
Every game Arenas ends up missing during the suspension will cost him $147,208.
The suspension comes after multiple media reports over the weekend said that a dispute over a gambling debt led to a conflict between Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton.
Multiple sources told ESPN.com that an argument commenced during a card game on the team's overnight flight back to Washington from Phoenix on Dec. 19 and escalated into a heated exchange between Arenas and Crittenton. The Wizards had Dec. 20 off, but sources say hostilities between the two resumed Dec. 21 in the locker room on a practice day.
Sources say that Arenas, in response to what was said on the flight, placed the three guns on a chair near Crittenton's locker stall and invited him to pick one before practice on Dec. 21. Sources said that Crittenton subsequently let Arenas know that he had his own gun.
The Washington Post reported in Sunday's editions that Arenas, according to sources, was expecting Crittenton to see the guns on his chair as a joke based on the earlier back-and-forth on the plane, during which Crittenton allegedly said that he would shoot Arenas in his surgically repaired knee. But Crittenton, according to Post, reacted angrily and tossed one of the guns to the floor, saying he had his own.
In his statement, Arenas confirmed that the guns were brought out at the Dec. 21 practice.
"As I have said before, I had kept the four unloaded handguns in my house in Virginia but then moved them over to my locker at the Verizon Center to keep them away from my young kids," the statement read. "I brought them without any ammunition into the District of Columbia, mistakenly believing that the recent change in the D.C. gun laws allowed a person to store unloaded guns in the District. On Monday, December 21st, I took the unloaded guns out in a misguided effort to play a joke on a teammate.
"Contrary to some press accounts, I never threatened or assaulted anyone
with the guns and never pointed them at anyone. Joke or not, I now recognize that what I did was a mistake and was wrong. I should not have brought the guns to D.C. in the first place, and I now realize that there's no such thing as joking around when it comes to guns -- even if unloaded."
Arenas met with law enforcement officials on Monday to explain why he had guns at the Verizon Center last month.
Arenas' lawyer issued a statement saying that the player met with federal prosecutors at the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia and detectives of the Metropolitan Police Department for more than two hours.
At the NBA's request, the firearms language was bolstered during collective bargaining in 2005. Players are subject to discipline if they bring guns to the arena or practice facility, or even an offsite promotional appearance.
[ame="http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4802267"]Washington Wizards' Gilbert Arenas suspended indefinitely - ESPN[/ame]
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01-06-2010, 06:08 PM
See ya, Gilbert. Jailtime awaits you
01-06-2010, 07:49 PM
Stardust Wrote:See ya, Gilbert. Jailtime awaits you
This dude is flat out stupid. I keep hearing the talking heads out of DC they are tearing this guy apart. He's in a town full of liberals where they changed the name of thier team from the Bullets to the Wizards and this idiot pulls a gun on his teammate. It's scary to know that he's a millionaire.
01-07-2010, 11:53 AM
Im surprised Stern gave him a suspension like this..I mean, Gilbert was just tryin to give the NBA some more "street cred"...
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
01-07-2010, 01:34 PM
^ Amen brother
01-07-2010, 03:01 PM
Arenas needs to be suspended and recieve jail time for just being that stupid. First of all you are a 100 million dollar man, buy a gun safe you dolt!!!!! Don't break the law by taking gun, unloaded or not, to D.C. where they are illegal and then pull them out in your locker room. Second never is it a joke to pull guns out on someone. I know he didn't point it at the guy but still you got to use some friggin common sense.
I feel absolutley no pitty for this guy. I hope his career is over. People that have it made like this and then **** it away drives me up the wall.
I feel absolutley no pitty for this guy. I hope his career is over. People that have it made like this and then **** it away drives me up the wall.
01-08-2010, 08:18 AM
Yeah its his fault.
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