One of the more bizarre stories to come out over the holidays involved Washington Wizards’ guard Gilbert Arenas.  Arenas is an unquestionably talented, often injured and downright insane player who somehow convinced the team to give him a 6 year, $111 million contract extenstion last summer.  He’s making somewhere in the neighborhood of $15 million this year and somehow is actually paid more than LeBron James.  Even if Greg Oden hadn’t been injured, you could pretty much pay the entire Portland Trailblazers starting lineup with Arenas’ salary.

Full disclosure:  I’m a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment right to bear arms.  Unfortunately, any time pro athletes start messing around with firearms it doesn’t end well, even if no one gets hurt.  The NFL had the Plaxico Burress fiasco, which began when the NY Giants wide receiver forgot that he was an NFL football player and not one of Tony Soprano’s lieutenants.  His dalliance with ‘gangsta’ make believe got himself shot in the leg and earned him a 20 month stretch in the ‘grey bar motel’.   You can make a good case that Plax was ‘made an example of’ by prosecutors, but that doesn’t change the fact that what he did wasn’t especially bright.

Despite the fact that Arenas hasn’t lost his job (yet) or run afoul of the law (yet), his recent behavior makes Burress look like a Mensa member by comparison.  According to a number of sources, gun ownership is very common in the NBA.  New Jersey Nets guard Devin Harris suggested that upwards of 75% of players in the league own guns.  Were these guns all legally owned and the players mindful of the responsibility of gun ownership, safety, etc.  this wouldn’t be a big deal.  Unfortunately, that’s not the case more often than not.   It appears to not be the case with Arenas, who first gained notoriety for his enthusiasm for firearms when it was reported that he had three guns in his locker room at the Verizon Center.  His explanation was at least marginally plausible, saying that he was now a family man and didn’t want them in his house any more.

Over the past few days, the story has gotten even better.  On New Year’s Day reports surfaced that Arenas and teammate Jarvis Crittenton pulled guns on each other in a dispute over a gambling debt.  While I, more than anyone, appreciate the importance of collecting gambling debts were I making $15 million a year I might not worry that much about the alleged $25,000 poker debt he owed Crittenton (who, admittedly, has to slide by on a mere $1.5 million per annum).  And I certainly would take a less confrontational approach toward resolving that debt than gunplay with a co-worker.

A friend of Crittenton,  a gentleman named Kendrick “Bookie Ball” Long confirmed the standoff over a gambling debt during which Crittenton reportedly told Arenas “I’m not your punk”.  Everyone else involved has been trying to downplay the situation because it has serious ramifications both professionally and legally.  Arenas, in particular, has the most to lose–111 million things to be specific.  The last collective bargaining agreement between the players and owners dealt extensively with guns and, among other things, prohibited players from bringing them into arenas and practice facilities.  There’s speculation that the Wizards could void his contract which, in hindsight, they were unwise to sign in the first place.  This could be the least of Arenas’ worries if its determined that he broke any laws.  The District of Columbia has some of the most restrictive gun ownership laws in the country, and there’s plenty of laws that Arenas could have potentially broken.  He’ll meet with law enforcement on Monday.

Arenas hasn’t said much to the media, but he’s said plenty on Twitter.  Arenas has been Tweeting endlessly about not only this situation, but rumors that his finance has been running around on him with none other than Shaquille O’Neal.   Though Arenas has been trying to spin the incident as a ‘practical joke’ between friends, the moral of the story is that waving firearms around carelessly just isn’t a very good idea.

Related posts:

1. Gilbert Arenas Feels Stern Wrath
2. Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton Suspended for the Rest of the Season
3. Gilbert Arenas Pleads Guilty
4. Agent Six instead of Agent Zero?
5. MLB: Leave Your Guns At Home