In the matter of Gilbert Arenas and his gun play in the Wizards’ locker room, at least one part of our society has shown some backbone, standards and old-fashioned gumption.
Was it the lawmen? The politicians? The clergy?
Nope. It took David Stern, commissioner of the National Basketball Association, to punish Arenas for his foolishness in the very unfunny matter of handguns.
Arenas has admitted to bringing four hand guns into the locker room in downtown D.C. He also is said to have told investigators that he playfully used the guns to make a point in a beef with teammate Javaris Crittenton.
But I think it was Arenas’ making a gun with his hand and pointing it at teammates before a game with the Philadelphia 76ers Tuesday night that put Stern over the edge. He suspended Arenas indefinitely, without pay.
Finally — consequences happen!
“The possession of firearms by an NBA player in an NBA arena is a matter of the utmost concern to us,” Stern said in a statement. “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 question is whether Arenas is fit to be walking the streets, after his second gun violation.
This time the 28-year-old star said he brought four handguns from his home in Virginia to the Verizon Center to keep them away from his young children. Sounds fine, until you ask a few obvious questions: Assuming he had legal ownership of the weapons, why not store them in a locker in his house or keep them in Virginia, where it is legal to own handguns? Why not consider the laws in D.C., which specifically outlaw the transportation of guns without a license? Maybe sell them?
By transporting the four guns across state lines and driving through the District with them, Arenas could be charged with felony gun possession. It would be his second gun charge, too. In 2003, he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor weapons charges after police found a .40-caliber firearm in the back seat of his car and ammunition in the glove box.
In the accounts surfacing in the press, Arenas was fussing with Crittenton over a card game. The beef spilled into the locker room, where Crittenton is said to have brandished a loaded weapon, and Arenas threw one of his across the room.
Everyone is lawyered up. Arenas has hired Kenneth Wainstein, a superb lawyer who worked for years as a federal prosecutor in D.C. He has the best chances of making a deal for Arenas, should the grand jury decide to press charges.
The latest news is that video cameras in the locker room caught most of the gun play — in which case both players could be in serious trouble.
As the legal system grinds along, at least Stern has taken a stand.
E-mail Harry Jaffe at [email protected].
