NBA Suspends Gilbert Arenas Indefinitely

The NBA posted a press release about Gilbert Arenas’ future… an awfully cloudy future at that:

NEW YORK, January 6, 2010 – National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern issued the following statement today:

“The possession of firearms by an NBA player in an NBA arena is a matter of the utmost concern to us. I initially thought it prudent to refrain from taking immediate action because of the pendency of a criminal investigation involving the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and the Metropolitan Police Department, and the consideration of this matter by a grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia. For the same reason, I directed the Wizards to refrain from taking any action. Wizards personnel continue to be interviewed by law enforcement authorities, some are scheduled for appearance before the grand jury and the investigation is proceeding with the intensity that one would expect for such a serious incident.

“Although it is clear that the actions of Mr. Arenas will ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse, his ongoing conduct has led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game. Accordingly, I am suspending Mr. Arenas indefinitely, without pay, effective immediately pending the completion of the investigation by the NBA.”

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Tags: Gilbert Arenas, Suspensions, Washington Wizards

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http://www.luketynan.blogspot.com litetitan

Individual crimes/scenario’s and motives must all be assessed within the frame work of their coming about. The law/agreement the NBA have in place clearly defines the framework for which must be adhered to, but the extent to which each infraction (ie, the telfair-gate and bassy and now Gilbertology) is resolved may differ.

Alot of ones “trying” to make this same argument are just not presenting their thoughts properly or accurately, so you are of course right to point that out.
Jose

Guns don’t kill ppl,Davis Stern just takes your paycheck so the ppl w/ the guns can’t buy the bullets for it…
http://slamonline.com Bryan Crawford

@litetitan: I just ask for Stern to be fair, that’s all. How do you slap a guy on the wrist for having a loaded gun on a team plane where somebody really could’ve gotten hurt and then throw the book at a guy who had four unloaded guns in a locker that posed a threat to no one? So if, “Individual crimes/scenario’s and motives must all be assessed within the frame work of their coming about”, then Sebastian Telfair should’ve been subject to stiffer or at the very least the same punishment as Gil. The difference being that Portland vouched for Bassy so to speak and the Wizards did no such thing for Gil. Had the team backed him, Stern would’ve continued to sit on his hands.
http://www.luketynan.blogspot.com litetitan

Bryan – I see the stark contracts. But it’s not JUST 4 unloaded guns in a locker. Add the attitude of the player that created the prank, after the situation was being made clear and the truth was coming to light. Gilbert was in NO WAY taking this serious after the fact. My only point is, that I can see why things have gone the way they have with Gilbert.
MikeC.

@Bryan Crawford – I think we all know that Stern and the league office have a track record of not handing down penalties that we all think of as fair. 2007 Suns fans raise your hands. 1997 Knicks fans, raise em up as well. The point I was trying to make, admittedly poorly, was that the language in the CBA allows for the team and the league office to hand down whatever penalty they feel like at the time. My other point was that the players have a union, so they had a few degrees of protection. The league can throw a huge fine or suspension at a player, the union can fight it. If neither side blinks, they go to an independent arbitrator (see Sprewell incident), who will make a decision that both sides must abide by. The current rules allow for Stern to hand down whatever punishment he sees fit at the time because the league owners chose him to be their collective voice. I agree that if Gil was a benchwarming scrub like Bassy was at the time, this wouldn’t have been a big story. It’s a big story because Gil was/is a superstar. It’s a huuuuge story because it happened in DC which has some of the most strict gun laws in the world. People are arguing and complaining about a suspension. Gil’s guns weren’t registered in DC. He could be going to jail too. That’s the big picture.
http://www.luketynan.blogspot.com litetitan

Yeah your exactly right there Bryan.
Portland vouched for Bassy much the same way that the Cleveland organisation rallied behind West.
Where alot of the anger may stem from (that is anger from Gilbert himself, the casual fan or management alike) in Gilberts situation is that he won’t have any if many people in his corner.
Washington was THE worst place to be involved in an altercation involving firearms… But Gilberts tricks and eccentric ways have always taken first place over his responsabilities (ie, 40,000 shots in the offseason, time spent on social networking and blogs…now prank turned crime scene).
MikeC.

The Delonte West situation is similar but different. Delonte didn’t have the guns on league property, so it didn’t warrant an immediate suspension. Players get into ish all the time, and teams and the league have to sit on their hands until the criminal justice system sorts it out. Delonte’s gun arrest hasn’t gone through the system yet as far as I know. He also has some mental stability issues that he has medication for. I’m not saying Delonte gets a pass, but due to mental health issues, he has a civil rights card he can play should he need to. Not saying it’s right, but it’s a fact.
http://coco-vents.blogspot.com Co Co

I think you all are taking the word indefinitely as an interpretation for forever. Indefinitely could mean until next week for all we know. Relax on the outrage over the indefinite suspension. Anyway, he deserves to be suspended for the act and the sheer stupidity of it. We are only a handful of months removed from an athlete being sent to prison for shooting himself and Gil goes and puts himself in position to be made an example of. They made an example of Plax and now they have the opportunity to make an example of Gil. If he has to sit out the rest of the year I’m cool with it because he should have been smarter about it. Sometimes there are consequences for stupidity. This is one of those times.
http://www.luketynan.blogspot.com litetitan

@MikeC. Whether you loved the player or enjoyed the clown – the realistic notion that he could be seeing jail time is a sad state of affairs.
@Bryan. I hope David Stern is fair too…By that I mean I hope Gilbert shows DEEP and FULL SIGNS of remorse and humility and Sternis moved to abide by it in some fashion. Maybe the commish’ and Gil’s party can come to a middle ground somewhere (although I expect Crittendon wants to see his 25,000?) but I wonder what the police/federal fallout will entail?
.
Add to that, the concept that washington management had a way out handed to them on a silver platter to the extent of 111 MILLION… I want to be a fly on the wall when THAT is brought up during a backdoor meeting.
http://www.luketynan.blogspot.com litetitan

Coco – we (mikeC, Bryan and myself) know what the word indefinite means.
http://coco-vents.blogspot.com Co Co

And, as it’s been said countless times here already, if I bring a gun to my job I’m going to get fired, no questions asked. The NBA is a business and somewhere in the language of the contract he signed they have the right to fire him I assume. No matter how you feel about the suspension, Gilbert Arenas is the reason Gilbert Arenas is even in this position. Let’s not lose sight of that.
http://www.luketynan.blogspot.com litetitan

Co Co – Technically, Agent Zero is the reason Gilbert Arenas is in this position. Gilbert just wanted to keep his kids safe. Agent Zero took it too far.
http://www.luketynan.blogspot.com litetitan

Here’s hoping that not just Gil learns from this but every NBA player watching understands the bigger issue of accountability and responsability.
The D Train

a couple of things we should all keep in mind with the “if i brought a gun to work” argument: first of all, Gil is backed by a union. coming from an industrial town that is 75% union workers, i’ll say that the way union workers are treated is far different from those of us who don’t have unions covering our collective arses. second, i doubt many, if any of us on this site have somewhere between 3-10 thousand people that will pay to watch us perform at least 41 nights out of the year. granted these are not excuses for Gil and Crit’s lunacy, but rest assured they are held to a different standard than we are, just like they are compensated differently than we are.
MikeC.

@ The D Train – speak for yourself. I have plenty of people pay to watch me mow my lawn, shovel my driveway and do all the stuff regular people do…wait a minute. No I don’t. I’m a regularass guy with a regularass job with a regularass life. I agree that jeopardizing their livelihoods with guns is sheer lunacy. Unions are powerful, which is why Gil will be fine provided he isn’t convicted of any felonies. Javaris too. If they’re convicted, they’re federally fVcked and we might see them on MSNBC Lockup.
http://www.slamonline.com barnabusb

Good for Stern. He says what he means and means what he says when he drops the boom on someone.
cballer

wow this is serious,man. Stern doesn’t fuck around.
http://www.realcavsfans.com Anton

Fitty saw this comin…
Everywhere I go I gotta tag along
Cause my buzz gettin’ strong And they mad I’m on
They ride with me when I’m past the mall
Don’t wait for me on the bench when I’m running a game of basketball
One sqeeze will make a bastard fall
Gasp and crall
You need a bulletproof vest mask and all
Bring your buddy when it’s time to roam
DallasJ

lol at anyone claiming bias and “image” things…comparing guns IN THE LOCKER ROOM (in DC no less) to gun incidents off property..no no
\ this Gil thing is a whole new ballgame.. and I hope the Crittenton part of the story is exaggerated.. this is sad if its true and sadder there are people out there thinking this is no big deal.. brainwashed muthas these days
http://seriously.anything.works.here Dave

I can say I wholeheartedly agree with the Greek Guy, knowing that nobody will read this far down on the comments to notice. I don’t actually know if he even commented, because I sure didn’t read this far.
Ooh, pineapple rings? Yes please.
http://www.http://courtsidebasketball.blogspot.com/ stu

this pic would have been the nail, for sure..

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/photos?photoId=366389&gameId=300105020
http://Www.facebook.com Joe_king

I actually agree with giving arenas a suspension and all but stern is a f_____g idiot, he has no rules to his suspensions or fines.remember in the playoffs when dwight ‘threw’ an elbow and got suspended, but rondo throws kirk hinrich into a tAble and almost takes down brad miller but gets no punishment because it was an azing series and losing rondo might of ruined that
Yassi

some years from now the NBA hopefully remains the only dictatorship on the face of good ol earth.
Yes, he can …….. this is madness….
http://www.realcavsfans.com Anton

Madness?! THIS IS WASHINGTON!
http://alimartin07@yahoo.com Ali

Question to all of you out there! What would happen to you if you brought a gun to your work place, and played around with it, with another co-worker in front of other co-workers? I think your a** would be looking for another job, and may have some charges to go along with that. What’s the difference! White or Black. You don’t f*** around with/play with guns at work.
http://www.luketynan.blogspot.com litetitan

Ali – Gil should have just paid the young fellow his 25,000 and left the table.
tavoris

if you need the money that bad, then you shouldn’t be gambling.
James aka…

There is a lot of omission of facts in the arguments seen on here. Arenas was not suspended based on what he has admitted too (bringing the guns to work), nor was he suspended for the alleged and as yet unclear situation with Critendon (and it should be noted that Critendon has not been discplined for his alleged role). Arenas was suspended because he was making light of a situation where he is being investigated by police for something. Sterns statement is clear, it wasn’t the incident, it was the way he was handling it. Some have compared it to the Kobe situation. If Kobe brought out a blow-up doll to the arena, dry humped it and slapped it around during the warm-ups, then there would be an analogous situation. It could be shown that he was making light of a serious criminal complaint. Kobe however treated the allegations of criminal wrong doing seriously. He appeared very contrite when he appologized for messing around on his wife, he didn’t make alter ego comments after his appology on a blog demonstrating that maybe he didn’t take it that seriously. Ultimately he was found not guilty, but again thats immaterial to the analogy. Gilbert wasn’t suspended based on the allegation, he was suspended for subsequent behaviour. Turning to the cases of Jackson and West, again we have some false analogies. The Jackson case is closer, as we have both an alleged criminal complaint, and immature behaviour with the patdown routine as a pre-game ritual. However, it appears there was some lag between the complaint and the subsequent incident, so that it was not as egregious in the minds of both Stern and the public. I’m also assuming Jackson wasn’t charged in the end, meaning the situation may have been cooled off before his obliquely making light of it. In the case of West, the analogy isn’t even close. Yes both incidents (arenas and wests) involve guns, but thats the end of the similarities. West may be lucky that he got off with a slap on the wrist for having the weapons on him, but he didn’t point them at anyone. thats the difference between a criminal complaint of assault with a weapon (which would be what Arenas could be charged with if he did point the gun at critendon) and the criminal concealment of a weapon. Two different alleged crimes with different sentences if convicted. We don’t know what Arenas did yet, so we can’t speculate too much on it, but if it went down in a fashion similar to what the post reported, Arenas should have the book thrown at him because his “joke” could have led to real violence. Critendon allegedly didn’t see it as a joke at the time, and reacted in a manner that could be reasonably determined to be self defence. I have a feeling judging Arenas on his public persona that he meant no harm, but not all crimes are motivated by the same feelings. Somes are crimes of anger, some of passion, and as in this case, some by sheer stupidity.

Lastly on the telfair situation, since i noticed it mentioned as well. From the reports on here, it looks like he had the gun in his lugage, not in the arena and not pointed at anyone so another false analogy.

Anyone who, like Allenp, says this is a racially motivated suspension, that somehow Arenas is being unfairly targeted has to demonstrated where a similar situation has happened to a white player and he got off. I don’t know Donald Sterlings situation, but I do know that hes a team owner, not a player, and is not bound by the collective agreement that Arenas is. Furthermore, as with Kobe, there is no record of sterling making an ass out of himself while the complaint was being heard. False analogies abound. The commend about massa too is digusting and ridiculous. It cheapens the real racial injustice that many people face on a day to day basis by comparing the plight of an immature millionaire who is the subject of a criminal probe to a slave forced to suck up to a slave master. Shameful, stupid comment. As Al sharpton pointed out if say Spencer Hawes pointed a gun at say kevin martin as a joke, there would be howels of indignaion about it because of the history of racial tension in the US.
Zach Smart

when the commish was weighing his options about how
to sanction Arenas, did Gil hand him a slip
that said “pick one?”
cool j

Co-sign that Ali,!
I can’t believe what I am reading from most of you …trying make excuses ,its a harsh punishment and deserved on the basis of what we already know …pulling a gun on a co-worker?
There has to be zero tolerance for guns and gun play between players period.
http://slamonline.com Allenp

1. Arenas has never admitted to pulling a gun on a co-worker. Firsthand accounts from teammates and players, as reported by Michael Lee of the Washingtong Post, noted that Arenas never pulled a gun on anyone. Yet people are still running with the account promulgated by ESPN and Peter Vecsey, as if those two entities are paragons of accuracy and evenhandedness.
2. Arenas bringing a gun to work is no more dangerous than the millions of Americans with concealed handgun permits that carry them around in their daily lives. In fact, it’s less dangerous since his gun was unloaded. I don’t get the argument that what Arenas did was so dangerous a lifetime ban is justified.
3. David Sern is well within his rights to suspend Arenas. He violated league rules. The question is why was the suspension tied to Arenas demeanor and attitude after the news broke, instead of to the rule violation. Why did Stern deem Arenas “unfit” to play in the NBA. Word usage is important, particularly when those words are used by a lawyer. Stern has made this a moral issue, instead of a rules violation, which is dangerous for all NBA players.
4. Those of you who don’t see race in how this issue was covered by the media, and how fans have reacted are welcome to your world. I never called David Stern a racist, I said he was kowtowing to racial biases and sentiment. The outrage ginned up by a players decision to bring guns to an NBA arena, completely dwarfs the outrage over a Senator’s aide bringing a gun to the Senate floor. And nobody thinks there is anything strange about that. I don’t blindly search for ways to interject race into discussions, but neither do I turn a blind eye to the obvious.
I’m through with this subject.
cool j

Could you please explain why he has 3 guns in his locker? when they are forbidden on NBA buildings? people like you are the ones who have undermine the word racist.Because in this case ,he is being punish for his actions not for who he looks like.
They are many people suffering out there from “real racism ” to find jobs,housing and so on… but to use it on a spoilt athlete gangster wannabe dimunishes the pain of the real victims of racism in our society.
http://slamonline.com Allenp

Cool J
People like you lack reading comprehension.
Where did I justify the guns?
The fact that you only think “real” racism exists within the small parameters you outlined is proof of your own lack of insight. In fact, media images and reports are some of the key factors that determine public opinion and therefore contribute to discrimination and other forms of injustice.
Without “Birth of a Nation” there is no Klan.
Without “The Bell Curve” the term reverse racism fades into the ether.
The way the media presents actions, such as fights in the NBA, contributes to public opinion, which in turn justifies racist mindsets and actions. Why do you think people say they don’t want to watch the NBA because its filled with “thugs”? Do NBA players have more criminal incidents than the NFL? Than the general population?
You have failed to comprehend my points about racism and its involvement in this issue. Since I’ve explained it as simply as I possibly could, then I guess I have no other recourse but to leave you in your ignorance.
http://www.another48minutes.com Gerard Himself

I’m really happy Myles Brown is here. I read his comments, and agree on everything he has said. Not to be kissing a.., but I just agree.
cool j

Allen p
What’s more ignorant trying to pretend that a pampered millionaire star who has willfully broken his employment rules is a victim of racism? give me a break!
We know there is racism in society but its laughable to apply it to this case.
There is such a thing as taking responsability for your idiotic actions and not hiding behind ones ethnicity when you get caught!
Racism is too important an issue to be trivialised in this context!
http://www.sixers.com 360vue

i’m literally stunned at the idiots who can’t grasp the concept of nba property being influential in the distinction of treatment between this case and previous. it’s quite clearly written down what that defines and what is incurred if such an event occurs. that’s really something so complex to comprehend isn’t it…. Add to the fact that Gil is profile enough to be made a prime example of and all this ish was set in stone the day the story broke, whether there were discrepancies in the story or not.
http://slamonline.com Allen

Cool J
So, you believe that being a millionaire is protection against racism?
What exactly do you THINK I’m saying?
I have not called Stern a racist. I have not said Gilbert being suspended for the guns would be racism.
So, what concept are you having trouble grasping? The idea that media reports and reaction have been tinged with racial bias? If you’re having trouble with that, ask me to explain and I’ll be glad to.
Don’t consistently claim that I’ve blamed Arenas’ punishment on racism because that’s a lie. From the beginning, I’ve said that Arenas broke the rules and should be punished for THAT, not for his attitude, or in an attempt to placate the media or fans.
So yes, I think you have a problem with comprehension.
http://slamonline.com Allenp

Cool J
So, you believe that being a millionaire is protection against racism?
What exactly do you THINK I’m saying?
I have not called Stern a racist. I have not said Gilbert being suspended for the guns would be racism.
So, what concept are you having trouble grasping? The idea that media reports and reaction have been tinged with racial bias? If you’re having trouble with that, ask me to explain and I’ll be glad to.
Don’t consistently claim that I’ve blamed Arenas’ punishment on racism because that’s a lie. From the beginning, I’ve said that Arenas broke the rules and should be punished for THAT, not for his attitude, or in an attempt to placate the media or fans.
So yes, I think you have a problem with comprehension
cool j

AllenP
I have a problem with people bringing racism in a case where they’ve screwed up and trying to hide behind it.
You can try explaining it Allen if you want ,there are no justification for Gil bringing guns to his workplace in light of the gun laws in DC and the NBA gun rules.
THAT IS THE ISSUE!
Trying to make David Stern the issue ,why don’t blame Santa clause while you are it…
http://slamonline.com Allenp

Who brought racism up in an attempt to justify Arenas’ actions?
Right now, find a place where I wrote that.
You won’t find it because I never wrote it.
Like I said, if you can’t understand what I write then admit that’s the problem. Don’t attribute comments to me, and then argue against that. That’s called constructing a strawman argument and it’s intellectually dishonest.
I said Arenas should be suspended for bringing guns to work. I have never wavered from that position. Apparently, when you saw the word “RACE” you lost the ability to comprehend my writing and thus cannot understand what I’ve written.
http://shawn-kemps-offspring.blogspot.com/ Tariqُُ

By the way, what does “SMH” mean? I’ve always wanted to know. Ever since Ryne typed it 290 comments ago.
http://alimartin07@yahoo.com Ali

Tariq’ It means “Scratch my Head” or “Shaking my Head”. I love how we all have great things to debate about Gil’s situation, but race really has nothing to do with this. PERIOD! If there was a debt, Gil should have manned up and settled the debt, end of story! Gil is from my hometown L.A., not to bring the streets into this but that’s how things are handled in the streets (gun play), which normally ends with someone dead. $6 or $600K! He left L.A. for Zona as a teen, I don’t think he knows much about gun play and seriousness of anything associated with guns. Which makes him one of the true idiots in the world today. (Too many entertainers and sports stars dead or in trouble with guns to list!) Does he live under a rock! He did have a rough childhood, ok, fine, I’ll give you that but Cmon’ Son! You DO NOT play with guns! Gil got 100,000,000.00+ on a contract he signed! To all my fellaz out there, this madness needs to stop with the guns, hoes, jewels, cars, egos, flaunting etc. We need a little humility in this day and age! Do your job, enjoy life, family and friends. Enjoy your weekend fellaz….

NBA Suspends Gilbert Arenas Indefinitely

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