The NBA and commissioner David Stern have suspended Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas indefinitely without pay. Arenas who is currently under investigation by law enforcement for gun related issues has been nothing but nonchalant over these past few days and will now be off the court for quiet sometime and who knows when his return will be.
This whole situation started just a couple of days ago when the New York Post reported that Arenas and his teammate Javaris Crittenton drew guns on each other in the locker room before practice over a gambling debt. Arenas quickly denied pulling a gun on his teammate and from there the stories continued to surface. Other reports were that Arenas placed three unloaded guns on a teammates chair by their locker to play a joke on them, and that Arenas was just storing the unloaded guns in his locker because he did not want them in his home with his daughter. No matter what the real story is having a firearm inside an NBA arena is a very serious matter and one that everybody knew Stern would not take lightly.
To make matters worse Arenas continued to joke around about the matter not only by making jokes to the media but also in pregame introductions “Agent Zero” decided to use his fingers as guns and point them at his teammates as a joke. Arenas talked to the media after the Wizards game Tuesday and here is what he had to say. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said. “All I want from the media is an apology for slandering.” Arenas also went on to say that he was more scared of David Stern then the authorities because Stern is “mean.” Well you can better believe that Stern was already not too happy with the whole situation and with Arena’s attitude it was not going to be a pretty ending to this whole entire thing. And with that said Stern wasted no time suspending Arenas and had this to say about the suspension. “The possession of firearms by an NBA player in an NBA arena is a matter of the utmost concern to us,” Stern said. “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.”
The suspension is without pay but it turns out that might be the least of his problems. Along with Arenas facing legal action, it is now starting to like the Washington Wizards are ready to be done with Arenas for good. The Wizards strongly backed the decision to suspend their all-star guard and made it sound like it was a relief that they could finally put this situation behind them. It also would not be a surprise if Washington looked into voiding his contract. It is a rare thing that happens in the NBA but with a matter as serious as this it is definitely something that could happen. Just two years ago the Wizards signed Arenas to a six year 111 million dollar contract and since that time he has failed to live up to his end of the deal. Whether it is because of injuries or off the court issues Arenas has went from being one of the faces of the league to a guy who is now on the outside looking in. One thing is for sure it looks like it will be a while before we see “Agent Zero” inside an NBA arena again.
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