The quote above was said by Washington Wizards forward Antawn Jamison, when asked about the situation involving Gilbert Arenas. Pretty powerful stuff, if you ask me. Jamison, one of the class acts of the NBA, echoed what I would bet is the sentiment of the entire Wizards organization (players, coaches, personnel). They are all sick of Gilbert Arenas, or Agent Zero, or Hibachi, or The Most Overpaid, Overrated Player in the NBA. Whatever you want to call him.
Let's backtrack here. Why am I unloading on Gilbert Arenas? On Dec. 21, Arenas pulled a gun on teammate Javaris Crittendon, in the Verizon Center Wizards locker room, over an alleged unpaind gambling debt. Following this incident, Arenas proceeded to make several jokes about it to the media, and during games the following week, Arenas pretended to point guns at teammates, in jest. Also, apparently before a game against the Cavs, Arenas and teammate DeShawn Stevenson planned to imitate a "John Wayne" type Western shootout before tipoff. Friday, Arenas was in court over the gun incident. He pleaded guilty for carrying a pistol without a license, a felony that carries a maximum five-year jail sentence. His sentencing is March 26, and he has been suspended indefinitely from the NBA and banned from the Verizon Center, where all likenesses of him have been taken down and all merchandise having to do with him as been removed. Also, after the incident on Dec. 21, police seized four different pistols/weapons from Arenas' apartment in Virginia.
Those are the basics. There is a lot more, though, Here's a link to Friday's ESPN.com story about Arenas, if you want to read all of the background about this story:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4829508
There are so many angles to take here. I will say that I am not about to get into the debate of pro athletes and carrying guns. Dozens and dozens of these incidents happen in all of the major sports every year. It's become a way of life for pro athletes of this generation. The morals and legalities of that topic are not going to be discussed here. But as far as Arenas as concerned, there are a couple of things I wanted to mention. How about the fact that two years ago, he signed a six-year, $111 million contract with the Wizards? He missed basically all of the last two seasons with a knee injury. This season, he was averaging 22.6 points and 7.2 assists per game. He has four years and $80 million left on that mega-contract. The Wizards may try and void that remainder of the contract, under a morals clause. Which means Arenas wouldn't get any more of that money and would be free to sign with another team. Surely, that may or may not happen this season, depending on the length of his jail sentence.
Let me say that I know Arenas is loved by a lot of NBA fans, Wizards fans in particular. He brings entertainment to the game, both with his play and his demeanor. He's a jokester, someone who has a good time playing the game. I get that. I understand that. But I have never been a fan of the guy. As far as his game goes, he is one of the deadliest scorers in the league, a guy capable of scoring 30 on any given night. He's a great shooter. Again, I get that and understand it.
But aside from scoring points, he has never accomplished anything in the NBA. He's been to the playoffs three times. Two of those playoff appearances have ended with a first-round loss to the Cavaliers. The other was a loss to the Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals. He's never made it to the Eastern Conference finals. Or the NBA Finals. Yes, I know part of it may be a product of some of the talent-lacking Wizards teams. But for a guy that talks as much as Arenas (watch any game he's ever played to see evidence of that), he's accomplished nothing in terms of winning, which ultimately is how players are judged (at least how they should be judged).
He's an idiot and he deserves to be made an example of. I heard someone say this week that he's "not Latrell Sprewell, not Ron Artest, not Plaxico Burress. Give him a 10-game suspension, a zero tolerance policy and move forward." Yes, David Stern and the NBA could do something similar. Maybe a 25-game suspension. Maybe just 10. It's hard to say and they are probably waiting for the legal matters to take their course. It's my belief that Arenas should be suspended for the rest of this season and his contract should be voided. People, he pulled a gun on a teammate. In the locker room. Whether it was a joke or not, that is such a bad reflection on the NBA. The idea that athletes are role models has long since passed. It's just not the case anymore, if it even ever was true. But this situation sends a horrible message to the fans of the NBA, as well as the players. If I'm an NBA player, I can tell you that I want no part of being a teammate of a guy who pulls guns on people over gambling debts. Smartly, Wizards coach Flip Saunders banned gambling on team flights, hoping to avoid this situation in the future. I can see the NBA imposing a similar ban like this, league-wide, very soon.
The fact that Arenas joked about the situation makes it much, much worse. How stupid can you be? It's 2010. You don't joke about having guns, pulling guns on people, shooting people, burning their cars, etc...You just don't do it. Especially if you are pro athlete, a celebrity, someone in the limelight. Know your place, know that people look to you and follow what you do and say.
For a guy like Antawn Jamison to come out and say, "we are sick of it" speaks volumes. Arenas' act is over, it's not funny anymore (calling himself "Hibachi" was never funny). He won't play this season, the Wizards will break apart their current team, and Arenas will find himself playing elsewhere next season. And he'll play well and score a lot of points. But he's not a winner and he never will be. Where he belongs is in the same class as as all the other disgraced pro athletes.
(I know I'm not a professional columnist, so I apologize if some of this seemed muddled.)
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