Gilbert Arenas admitted he used “bad judgement” in bringing guns into the Wizards locker room at Verizon Center, but while he tried to balance contrition with keeping the mood from getting too dark, statements by both a teammate and the Pollin family demonstrate just how grave things could be.
The crux of Arenas’ conversation with reporters can be found here, which I’m linking to for expediency’s sake since my laptop went on the fritz in the middle of my original work on this blog posting and it’s nearly 2 a.m.
Arenas said he was only concerned about basketball because things were out of his hands legally, but this statement by the Pollins didn’t have to come out. Yet, it did, and it seems to pretty clearly indicate that when the authorities are done with this situation, it may be just the beginning for Agent Zero.
Speaking of which, I grabbed prospective future Wizards owner Ted Leonsis just as he was getting up from his courtside seat after the Spurs game and asked if he had any comment. His reply was that he was just back from vacation and didn’t know anything about it.
One player who does know something about Arenas is Antawn Jamison, who has been teammates with him not only in Washington but also at the beginning of their respective careers in Golden State. The tone Jamison took tonight was markedly serious, reflecting a real grasp of what might be at stake for Arenas, and by extension, the Wizards, should he be suspended, should the Wizards decide to after his contract.
“The most important thing is that you hope he’s still able to continue play the game of basketball and do the things that he wants to do,” said Jamison. “… You hate to see somebody punished for not making a smart decision but me, as his friend, you learn from it, and the most important thing is, it seems like it’s going to take forever to get passed it, and really concentrate on the things we need to concentrate on, which is playing the game basketball and trying to do everything positive to help this organization win some games.”
Jamison also put the whole thing in perspective, clearly separating the latest controversy from any of Arenas’ zaniness, antics, goofiness, joking, what have you…
“I think to be honest, things in the past are totally different,” said Jamison. “This is nothing that you joke about at all. I wouldn’t use this as a ‘Gilbert being Gilbert’ situation. You know, coming in and throwing water on a guy while he’s using the bathroom is Gilbert being Gilbert, and joking around about situations, blogging, and acting silly at times, that’s Gilbert being Gilbert. This situation right here, man, I take it very seriously. I don’t think that’s something that you joke about and just say that’s somebody being somebody.”
The question lingers, will words like these will eventually come from Arenas himself?
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