Indefinite Suspension for Arenas

[texasdave]

NBA commissioner David Stern indefinitely suspended Gilbert Arenas without pay on Wednesday, saying the Washington Wizards guard is "not currently fit to take the court."

Stern also warned that Arenas' conduct will "ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse."

Arenas is under investigation by federal and local authorities after admitting to bringing guns to the locker room. Stern originally planned to wait to take action and directed the Washington organization to do the same. But the commissioner tired of Arenas' behavior.

Before a game on Tuesday in Philadelphia, Arenas was photographed encircled by teammates, smiling and pointing his index fingers at them as if they were guns. Arenas met with law enforcement officials on Monday and said the next day he feared Stern more than the authorities because the commissioner was "mean."

"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," Stern said in a statement. "Accordingly, I am suspending Mr. Arenas indefinitely, without pay, effective immediately pending the completion of the investigation by the NBA."

Arenas is scheduled to earn $16.2 million this season. The punishment came on his 28th birthday.

The Wizards supported Stern's decision in a statement attributed to president Ernie Grunfeld and the Pollin family, which owns the team. The late Abe Pollin changed the team's name from the Bullets because of the violent connotation.

"Strictly legal issues aside, Gilbert's recent behavior and statements, including his actions and statements last night in Philadelphia, are unacceptable," the statement said. "Some of our other players appeared to find Gilbert's behavior in Philadelphia amusing. This is also unacceptable. Under Abe Pollin's leadership, our organization never tolerated such behavior, and we have no intention of ever doing so".

[westofyou]

http://www.nbabasketballfansite.com/blogdetail.asp?blogid=23904

When players act like cowboys



Pacers trainer Dave Craig: "The more those teams won, the wilder some of the guys got. In the early 1970s, [Mel] Daniels, [Roger] Brown, [George] McGinnis and some of the other guys started to think they were cowboys. Mel was from DETROIT, but when he went to college in New Mexico, he got interested in horses. ... Then they started dressing like cowboys, and I'm not just talking about hats and boots. They wore pistols and holsters like something out of 'Gunsmoke.'"

Pacer Billy Keller: "We had a valuables bag where we stored our rings, watches, wallets and that kind of stuff. When those guys got on the cowboys kick, Dave Craig would open that valuables bag and you'd see a couple of holsters and 6-shooters right in there with all the wallets and watches. A couple of times, I walked into the dressing room and there were Mel and Roger, pulling pistols on each other like it was the O.K. Corral. They never shot at each other, but they waved the guns around, sometimes even wrestled with each other on the floor."

Craig: "These guys were playing 'Cowboys' as if they were kids. They would hide behind corners, or climb on top of the locker, draw their guns and do the 'Bang, bang, you're dead' routine. Finally, I told [Pacers head coach] Slick [Leonard], 'We've got to get these guns out of the dressing room before somebody gets hurt.' Slick thought the whole thing was pretty funny and said, 'Nah, those guys are using guns that aren't loaded.' But one day, the guys were messing around and one of the guns went off. Thank God no one was hurt, but then we had to pass a rule that if you brought your gun to the game, you had to check it at the dressing room door."

Pacer Bob Netolicky: "People who didn't know us thought our locker room was a little spooky, what with all the guns hanging on the wall. I mean, you'd walk into our dressing room and run into Mel Daniels holding a .45 -- it makes you wonder."

Pacers legal counsel Dick Tinkham: "As owners of the team, we wondered if the guys were getting out of hand with all the cowboy stuff, but then we said, 'Hey, we're winning. The fans loved them. We don't care what they do as long as they play hard and don't shoot each other.'"



Neil, quite reasonably concludes "My how times have changed!" in noting the stern reactions to tales of much milder stuff from Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton.

There are a few differences. One is that the world sure feels like a more dangerous place now, doesn't it? In a world of Al Qaeda, weapns in crowded public places are less funny than ever. Also, the media is pervasive now -- these episodes are tough to hide from the public, which means even children are learning about them in more or less real time.

Maybe a bigger point is that the people who run the NBA now are far more business savvy, and factor in the dollars lost when fans grow fearful of players.

If you were in the NBA's offices in NEW YORK, and reading the passage above, you might also reasonably conclude: "The ABA, isn't that the league that went out of business?" The NBA does things differently, and in so doing have been a little heavy handed, but also wholly successful.

[RichRed]

Ha-ha-ha, that Gilbert - he's a laugh riot.

http://i47.tinypic.com/2edch7m.jpg

[Chip R]

It's all fun and games until someone gets an eye shot out.

[redsfanmia]

http://www.nbabasketballfansite.com/blogdetail.asp?blogid=23904

When players act like cowboys

The old ABA guys still around Indy had a "it happended all the time in our day" reaction to the brawl between Detroit and the Pacers 4 or 5 years ago.

Nice use of a story from Loose Balls, one of my favorite books.

[flyer85]

I think Forrest Gump's momma had an appropriate comment for this situation.

[Degenerate39]

I think Forrest Gump's momma had an appropriate comment for this situation.

Life is like a box of chocolates?

[PedroBourbon]

I think Forrest Gump's momma had an appropriate comment for this situation.

And it ain't the box of chocolates one. The other one.

[texasdave]

Rhymes with 'Cupid is as Cupid does'.

[Joseph]

Gilbert Arenas is a moron. My cat is more intelligent.

Seriously.

They both took the ACT, my cat got a 14, Gilbert a 2. It wasn't even close.

[texasdave]

By most accounts, the incident that occurred between Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton in Wasington's locker room last month involved four unloaded guns, all belonging to Arenas. As the story goes, Arenas presented the guns to Crittenton with a note that said "Pick One" as a joke following a recent argument about a card game in which Crittenton said he'd shoot Arenas in his surgically-repaired knee.

But, according to Mike Wise of the Washington Post, two unnamed eyewitnesses have confirmed there was a fifth gun involved in the incident, belonging to Crittenton, which he allegedly loaded with a clip of ammunition and cocked after being angered by Arenas' note.

Crittenton apparently never pointed the gun at anyone, but he did manage to clear the room, as the other players present in the room retreated to the locker room. Arenas turned over his guns to the team's security shortly after the incident, but Crittenton's gun was never found.

According to the Post, Arenas told Crittenton not to speak of the incident, saying he'd take full responsibility, but ultimately was forced to reveal the truth when speaking with the district attorney under oath on Monday.

Until now, Arenas has faced the brunt of scrutiny and criticism, with Crittenton portrayed as a relatively innocent bystander. If this version of events is confirmed, however, it's only a matter of time before Crittenton, who hasn't played a minute this season because of injury, joins

[Scrap Irony]

If this is the case, Arenas is being singled out by Stern for very little. Unloaded guns, a joke, and a card game are all fairly innocuous.

Crittendon, however, needs that indefinite suspension.

This is a case of the NBA (and Stern) overreating to Arenas' nature.

[BRM]

If this is the case, Arenas is being singled out by Stern for very little. Unloaded guns, a joke, and a card game are all fairly innocuous.

Crittendon, however, needs that indefinite suspension.

This is a case of the NBA (and Stern) overreating to Arenas' nature.

I don't know if I'd call it very little. I believe it is a felony to possess a firearm outside your home in D.C. Arenas could be in deep trouble legally. That said, why suspend him now before the investigation is over?

[Roy Tucker]

Sounds pretty stupid to me.

In this day and current climate, bringing in guns and trying to make humor out of it is like going through airport security and making bomb jokes. You have to be a real idiot to go there.

I imagine Stern will bring his boot down hard. Long suspension likely.

[flyer85]

thumbing his nose at Stern with the stunt in warmups was a really dumb idea. It may have seen funny to Gilbert but with a league that has image problems it seems Stern didn't see any humor at all.

[Chip R]

If this is the case, Arenas is being singled out by Stern for very little. Unloaded guns, a joke, and a card game are all fairly innocuous.

Crittendon, however, needs that indefinite suspension.

This is a case of the NBA (and Stern) overreating to Arenas' nature.

That may be but under Stern, the NBA has had a history of overreacting and it's served them well.

[Roy Tucker]

http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/2010/images/01/07/gilbert-arenas.jpg

[Eric_the_Red]

http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/2010/images/01/07/gilbert-arenas.jpg

Apparently the photo was taken through a door peephole.

[Joseph]

Apparently the photo was taken through a door peephole.

Yup by Erin Andrews.

[TC81190]

Arenas may be a moron, but that's why he's entertaining to me. I remember his posts on his blog, one of which blamed humans for being attacked by sharks for invading their turf, and another offering to send a jersey to anyone willing to teach him how to cheat at Halo.

[Kingspoint]

He should be banned for life for stupidity alone.

[improbus]

Hey, this reminds me a little of some pitcher who carries a bowie knife into the locker room...

[redsfandan]

http://www.nbabasketballfansite.com/blogdetail.asp?blogid=23904

When players act like cowboys
Thanks for posting that westofyou. I thought this part was the funniest:

Pacers legal counsel Dick Tinkham: "As owners of the team, we wondered if the guys were getting out of hand with all the cowboy stuff, but then we said, 'Hey, we're winning. The fans loved them. We don't care what they do as long as they play hard and don't shoot each other.'"


Gilbert Arenas is a moron. My cat is more intelligent.

Seriously.

They both took the ACT, my cat got a 14, Gilbert a 2. It wasn't even close.
Smart cat.


As far as the current incident it sounds like both players deserve to be suspended at least a few days. It doesn't have to be at the same time (so as to not penalize the team too much) but c'mon 'stupid is as stupid does' really does sum it up pretty well.

edit: Wait a minute, how the heck can a cat take the ACT? I'd like to see video of that.

[texasdave]

My cat is pretty smart but I hate watching television with him. He always wants to hit the "Paws" button. :rockband:

[paintmered]

My cat is pretty smart but I hate watching television with him. He always wants to hit the "Paws" button. :rockband:

http://instantrimshot.com/

[Hoosier Red]

Hey, this reminds me a little of some pitcher who carries a bowie knife into the locker room...

Or Randy Myers who had old grenades sitting in his?

[Chip R]

Hey, this reminds me a little of some pitcher who carries a bowie knife into the locker room...


Or Randy Myers who had old grenades sitting in his?

Those are a little different, though. Homer's knife isn't likely to accidentally stab someone and Myers' grenades weren't going to explode accidentally.

[RichRed]

Those are a little different, though. Homer's knife isn't likely to accidentally stab someone and Myers' grenades weren't going to explode accidentally.

Having an undetonated Dibble in the locker room was more volatile than Myers' grenades.

[improbus]

Those are a little different, though. Homer's knife isn't likely to accidentally stab someone and Myers' grenades weren't going to explode accidentally.
Gilbert shot as many players as Homer stabbed or Randy Myers splattered. Gilbert's is dumber because he broke a large number of laws and his own contract.