When I exchanged greetings with Gilbert Arenas after practice earlier today — nothing more than each of us saying, “What’s up,” — I didn’t think it was too big of a deal, despite the brouhaha last week with Arenas and the Wizards each getting fined $25,000 because he wasn’t speaking with the media. I just thought I’d say hello, as I missed last week for the birth of my second child (cigars all around!). I don’t have a strong relationship with Arenas, yet, given this is my first season covering the Wiz.
But as it was pointed out to me after Arenas had come and gone, it was as casually cordial as he had been since the opening of training camp. It stunned me, and led to this idea: Man, it’s got to be hard to say no day after day. That’s the burden Arenas placed on himself at media day when he promised to not talk again to the press until media day next season. It’s got to be difficult to turn away reporter after reporter in every new city — not to mention, night after night in Washington — and it would seem that developing some angst toward said reporters as a means to keep that wall up is bound to happen.
