Washington Wizards basketball players Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton had a difference of opinion over a card game on December 19th, and it is said that Mr. Crittenton offered to shoot Mr. Arenas in his surgically reconstructed left knee. After team practice on December 21st, Mr. Arenas placed a pair of handguns near Mr. Crittenton’s locker with a note reading “pick one.”
The story broke in the New York Post, and Mr. Arenas first denied the incident, then claimed the act was a joke. Unfortunately for the NBA star, the scene of his pistol pantomime, the Verizon Center, is located in the District of Columbia, and he does not have a permit to possess firearms in that jurisdiction. The case is now before a grand jury.
We don’t see what the big deal is. It’s not like these NBA stars were involved in anything dangerous, like a snowball fight. Besides, three-quarters of NBA players are said to go around armed. These giant millionaire athletes carry expensive pistols like LA starlets carry tiny little dogs. It’s part of their sophisticated charm.
Gilbert Arenas doesn’t seem to have learned anything from his 2003 California conviction for possession of an unregistered gun. At least he remembered the lesson taught by former NFL star Plaxico Burress.
Sweatpants and pistols don’t mix.
More on pro atheletes and handguns from Marcellus Wiley.
Image by Mike Licht. Download a copy here. Creative Commons license; credit Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
Comments are welcome if they are on-topic, substantive, concise, and not boring or obscene. Comments may be edited for clarity and length.
Tags: Arenas, Basketball, Gilbert Arenas, Guns, handguns, NBA, sports, Wizards
NotionsCapital 
January 6, 2010 at 11:39 am
Could the fact that the Wizards were once known as the Bullets be made into a courtroom defense?
January 6, 2010 at 11:49 am
HL wrote: “…the Wizards were once known as the Bullets ….”
It’s been open season on that joke in the NY Daily News and elsewhere.
You need a DC gun permit to possess ammo, too.
January 7, 2010 at 12:15 am
Arenas is just a punk. I hope he gets the maximum. He has gone all apologetic tonight after joking and tweeting about it earlier. He needs to work for a living for awhile.
January 7, 2010 at 12:40 am
[…] NotionsCapital Ideas on Events and Culture from Washington, DC « Foul Shooters […]
January 8, 2010 at 10:30 am
[…] Arenas jokingly threaten Wizard teammate Javaris Crittenton with guns due to a disagreement over a game of Bourré (Bouré, Boo-Ray), we are told. The press found out […]