Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton should know better.

The Washington Wizards do know better.

When Arenas brought unloaded weapons into the locker room at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C. to apparently intimidate Crittenton following a dispute stemming from a card game, he violated the National Basketball Association policy, as well as local, and possibly even federal laws.

Crittenton also brought his weapon into the locker room for what he says was for protection because Arenas threatened him.

Both Arenas and Crittenton have now reached a plea agreement for this offense but this doesn’t mean this issue should be put to bed. Not hardly.

I need to disclose one thing up front. This is not a gun issue. Both broke the law and possessed guns illegally. This is not a pro or anti gun issue. Two men brought guns into a place where he was expressly forbidden to do so. They brought guns to work, and with the exception of law enforcement, that’s not acceptable behavior.

I grew up watching Gilbert Arenas playing high school basketball in Los Angeles. He was unbelievable. Back then, he was the best player I had ever seen at that age. I have always been an Arenas fan but right now he needs to be punished for what he has done.

The Washington Wizards, formerly the Washington Bullets behind the leadership of recently deceased owner Abe Pollin, have been sensitive to the gun issues that plague the city they occupy. The name change came in the early 1990s when the homicide rate in Washington D.C. was one of the worst in the world.

Just months after Pollin’s passing, it seems the Washington Wizards no longer have that sensitivity to issues involving guns.

The Wizards stood idly by while the Arenas situation came to a boiling point and finally David Stern, the NBA’s commissioner, indefinitely suspended Arenas. This move was supported by the team, but not taken in the first place. Crittenton still has not been punished by the league or the team for bringing his weapon to the arena.

This indefinite suspension is the first step; the second is voiding Arenas’ and Crittenton’s contracts. It’s surprising that it hasn’t been done already. A team so in tune with a major issue of the community has completely forgotten its standing on the issue just months after the passing of its leader.

While the Washington Wizards management sits on their hands and ignores the issues at hand, they are sending a message to Gilbert Arenas, other players, the fans, and the city that the team that used to be sensitive to gun issues, won’t take a tough stance on the issue with a star player. Their actions indicate that they will side with the star power over their stance on guns when given the choice.

The Wizards need to take a stance to show they still believe in what Pollin believed in. They need to show its fans and the city that guns amongst athletes is a problem and bringing them to work is not okay.

 

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