subject: Wizard's Gilbert Arenas Draws Gun Over Gambling Debt? [print this page] Author: Lyka Adams Author: Lyka Adams
He was just recently been busted for having handguns in his locker. And now, reports say that Washington Wizards star shooting guard, blogger and WCP favorite Gilbert Arenas and his teammate Javaris Crittenton pointed guns at each other in the locker room on the day of Christmas Eve because of a gambling debt worth $25,000 that Arenas owes to Crittenton.
If you guys remember, CNN reported back in 2006 (if you heard the news) that during halftime breaks of the game, Gilbert Arenas was playing online poker in the teams locker room which he admitted. His reputation as a high-stakes gambler sours high for betting thousands of dollars while onboard the team jet.
The story behind the fiasco (according to different sources) is that Gilbert Arenas believed to have owed Javaris Crittenton $25,000. On December 19, 2009 last year, Crittenton became angry because Arenas seemed to be in no hurry in settling his debt. Crittenton told him, "I'm not your punk!" On Christmas Eve, Arenas tried to intimidate his teammate (Crittenton) by placing three guns near Crittenton's locker and telling him to choose one. Both players drew guns and pointed on each other, but no shots were fired.
"I cant speak on that. But if you know me, youve been here, Ive never did anything (involving) violence. Anything I do is funny well, its funny to me." said Gilbert Arenas, commenting about this incident.
"Thats bad judgment on my part to store them in here, and I take responsibility for that," he said. "I have to deal with the police investigation..I have to put it in their hands and see what they say." Also admitted that he brought and stored guns into the locker room at the Verizon Center in order to keep away from his three children.
"We were friends before, were friends now," Arenas added trying to diffuse the recent gun-pointing incident.
The NBA allows players to possess a firearm but the rules on carrying guns at league facilities or while travelling on league business are strict.
"These guys have a tremendous image to try to improve on all the time, because, you know, these buildings we play in are not all full and any time you have situations like that (in Washington) that makes people a little bit more skeptical about coming and watching you play," Utah Jazz team, Jerry Sloan said.
"Whats their priority? When those things draw more attention to whats going on than the game itself, then were probably going in the wrong direction and I dont think thats good for basketball," he added.
However, his six-year $111 million dollar contract with the Washington Wizards might be voided.
The Washington Wizards officials remained silent over the incident involving two of their players but announced that, "We are continuing to co-operate fully with the proper authorities and the NBA and will have no further comment at this time."
The Washington Wizards officials also stated that they will wait for the results of the investigation before determining proper punishment to be imposed on both players involved.About the Author:
