Arenas could be in big trouble...

[Marc]

Wizards' Gilbert Arenas takes responsibility for 'bad judgment' - ESPN

Gilbert Arenas allegedly pulled a gun on teammate Javaris Crittenton in the locker room over a gambling dispute. Arenas reportedly keeps three guns in his locker (breaking all kinds of rules). If this is true, he could be suspended, fined, even breach his $100+m contract. Dang, that would suck, but he did a stupid thing. I think the problem is proving any of this. Do you think this will materialize into anything?

[doublee]

I think he has already admitted to keeping the guns in a lock box in his locker though. I don't think it will matter whether they can prove he pulled a gun on Crittenton or not. It is a violation of the league's personal conduct code to bring a concealed weapon into the locker room. Whats worse is the rumor that the Wizards knew about Arenas keeping the guns in his locker long before this all happened.

I think the Wizards will cut him loose here pretty soon because they now realize the deal they gave him two years ago was a huge mistake.

[Marc]

What about Crittenton in all this? I think Stern will make an example out of Arenas, who Stern feels is mocking him (with the pistol gesture prior to his last game). I see a lengthy suspension and possibility of losing his big contract. Arenas, what a moron to blow a $100m contract that was already highway robbery.

[Anthony]

If you know where to look in the blogosphere, you will find some observers wondering aloud about how much of an outcry there would have been had it been Jeff Kent bringing his hunting rifle into the Dodgers' clubhouse.

But I suppose some people are always looking for trouble - in this instance, the flip side of televangelists saying the Haitians deserved the earthquake, or radio commentators implying that President Obama was trying to "shore up his base" by making a quicker public response to the aforementioned tragedy than he did to the Christmas Day plane-bombing attempt.

[doublee]

Originally Posted by Anthony

If you know where to look in the blogosphere, you will find some observers wondering aloud about how much of an outcry there would have been had it been Jeff Kent bringing his hunting rifle into the Dodgers' clubhouse.

Ah, but is Kent simply bringing it in the clubhouse or is he bringing it in with the intent on storing it there on a long-term basis? Also, does MLB have a set in stone policy on bringing firearms into the clubhouse/locker room the way the NBA does?

[Anthony]

The very idea of a black man in possession of a firearm is one of the ugliest racial engrams in American folklore; it frequently precipitated lynchings - sometimes even when it turned out to be unfounded.

It's a lot worse than this almost laughable "Negro dialect" brouhaha that's going on with Harry Reid.

And have you ever stopped to think that baseball doesn't have this same rule because less than 10 per cent of its players are African-American?

Does Gilbert Arenas deserve to lose his entire NBA career because of one admittedly irresponsible act from which no tangible harm came to anyone?

People are so damned judgmental in our society these days - especially people who don't exactly have spotless moral resumes themselves.

This has been a personal sore point for me for like 25 years now.

[doublee]

Nobody is saying he is going to lose his entire NBA career over this. The reason he was suspended indefinitely has to do with the fact that he is probably going to jail now that he has been charged with felony gun possession, this is the second time he has had a run-in with the law over guns, and he clearly did not take the situation seriously by mimicking guns with his hands the last time he was introduced before a game.

Much like Plaxico Burress he is being punished for being a moron.

[Anthony]

But where was the National Rifle Association rushing to the defense of Burress? And where are they now, playing Emile Zola to Arenas' Alfred Dreyfus?

Silly me, I forgot: These hypocrites believe that the Second Amendment only applies to white people - and the older and the richer, the better.

Of course the other side is every bit as myopic, in that the NAACP, and the far left generally, has never met a gun-control law they didn't wholeheartedly support. These types complain that our drug laws are "racist" because about 1 in 3 incarcerated thereunder are black, when only 1 American in 8 is black. Well for gun laws it's more like 2 in 3 behind bars on those who are black. Where's the intellectual honesty and consistency in that?

As for Arenas' "gun gestures" etc.: Recall the advice Bernie Mac gave to his young nephew in the movie House Party 3. It would work every bit as well in this instance.

[Marc]

Arenas and Crittenton suspended for the year. Not sure where this leaves his mega contract with ~$80m remaining. At 28 and averaging 20 ppg, there is no doubt he'll be back ... with another team. This isn't quite a Vick situation, but he could face a few months in jail. Moron...

[doublee]

From what I have heard in the media the Wizards are waiting to see what happens in terms of jail time. The league's CBA has a double jeopardy clause meaning if the league punishes a player the team cannot punish him as well. There is a sentiment that if the Wiz try to void the contract it will not stand up in arbitration. The prevailing opinion seems to be that if Arenas gets jail time the Wizards could then void the contract based on the league punishing him for bringing a gun to the locker room and not for getting jail time which could be classified as a violation of his morals clause.

[Anthony]

But if he gets jail time, he's obviously not going to play in the NBA while he's incarcerated.

Which is why criminal justice is a matter best left to the courts, and not the commissioner's office.

[doublee]

Originally Posted by Anthony

Which is why criminal justice is a matter best left to the courts, and not the commissioner's office.

Normally I would agree with that sentiment except that the incident happened at a league facility. One would assume that the league and/or team would be liable if someone had gotten hurt or killed as a result.

[Anthony]

Well if someone had gotten seriously hurt or killed, the offending party would have been sent to prison until they were way too old to resume their playing career when they did get out, if not got sent away for life, or, depending on what state was involved, perhaps even received the death penalty.

There should be an ironclad double-jeopardy provision that states if the criminal justice system punishes a player, the league may not "pile on" - except either if gambling/fixing games was involved, or one player seriously and maliciously injured another on the field, court etc., as Kermit Washington did with Rudy Tomjanovich way back when.

[doublee]

Originally Posted by Anthony

There should be an ironclad double-jeopardy provision that states if the criminal justice system punishes a player, the league may not "pile on" - except either if gambling/fixing games was involved, or one player seriously and maliciously injured another on the field, court etc., as Kermit Washington did with Rudy Tomjanovich way back when.

But you or I would not afforded the same luxury though. If Arenas worked at a regular 9 to 5 job and pulled the same stunt he would lose his job prior to ever being prosecuted. It is the same concept so why should he be treated any differently. Arenas is still going to get to play in the league again. The regular joe working a desk job will be lucky to get a job of any substance if he did the same thing in a public work place.

Pulling a gun on someone in the locker room is vastly different than something that happens in the heat of the game on the court/field.

If someone got hurt or killed in an incident like that you can be rest assured the player(s) involved, the team, and the league would all face enormous lawsuits.

[Anthony]

Originally Posted by doublee

But you or I would not afforded the same luxury though. If Arenas worked at a regular 9 to 5 job and pulled the same stunt he would lose his job prior to ever being prosecuted. It is the same concept so why should he be treated any differently. Arenas is still going to get to play in the league again. The regular joe working a desk job will be lucky to get a job of any substance if he did the same thing in a public work place.

One huge difference:

Is/was the "regular joe" employed by a monopoly?

And the last time I checked, the NBA did not have an antitrust exemption.

Pulling a gun on someone in the locker room is vastly different than something that happens in the heat of the game on the court/field.

What's wrong with letting the criminal justice system punish criminals? Try Gilbert Arenas by a jury of his peers, and if he's found guilty, he goes to prison, and while confined therein he rather obviously wouldn't be playing in the NBA.

If someone got hurt or killed in an incident like that you can be rest assured the player(s) involved, the team, and the league would all face enormous lawsuits.

Maybe the Republicans are right about the need for tort reform - and not just in the health-care industry!