Descriptions of the armed confrontation between Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittendon in the Verizon Center locker room range from “practical joke gone bad” to something out of the movie Tombstone.
Here’s a reconstruction, cobbled together from a host of Internet reports and sources:
The conflict began on the Wizards’ flight back from Phoenix on the evening of December 19. While in transit, Arenas, Crittendon and teammates were playing cards, and both lost a large sum of money to JaVale McGee. According to one report, Arenas took issue with the game for reasons that are unclear, and Crittendon offered to cover Arenas’ debt — something in the neighborhood of $25,000.
There was some disagreement as to whether or not the payment was a gift or a loan. (For the record, Arenas will make over $16 million this year, Crittendon $1.4 million.) At some point Crittendon playfully threatened to shoot Arenas in his oft-injured knee if the debt was not paid.
At the Wizards’ next practice, the story goes, Arenas produced three firearms and offered Crittendon his choice. According to one account, this was Arenas’ way of attempting to de-fuse the situation — but it had the opposite effect. Crittendon reportedly tossed one of the guns to the floor, making it clear that he has firearms of his own, and the situation escalated. This is likely where the descriptions of Crittendon and Arenas drawing guns on each other originated — at this point it is unclear whether or not Crittendon had one of his own guns in his possession at any time during this incident.
Arenas and Crittendon are reportedly being interviewed by Washington D.C.’s finest now, and TMZ.com is reporting that a grand jury will be convened to determine whether or not one or both will be charged. The District has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation — handguns were totally banned in D.C. until a Supreme Court decision declared that law unconstitutional. And at this point, it’s not clear whether or not Arenas’ guns were registered in D.C., as the current law requires.
Also worth noting – the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement (CBA) contains a strict ban on firearms at any league venue or event. So even if Arenas’ guns are properly registered and he’s cleared of any crime, he’ll face a suspension for having weapons at the Verizon Center. And he shouldn’t expect any leniency from the league, as this would be his second gun-related suspension. (He was forced to sit out the first game of the 2004-05 season for failing to maintain proper registration of a handgun back in 2003.)
In many ways, Arenas’ situation parallels that of NFL wide receiver Plaxico Burress. Burress, then a member of the New York Giants, accidentally shot himself with his own unlicensed gun while at a Manhattan nightclub on November 29, 2008. He eventually plead guilty to a violation of New York City’s tough firearm laws, and is currently serving a two-year prison sentence.
- Official NBA Policy on Firearms
- Yahoo! Sports: NBA Finds Nothing Funny in Arenas Probe
- NBA.com: Arenas Faces Serious Consequences
- Jason Whitlock: It’s time to end the charade of athletes as role models
- Stephen A. Smith: Black community suffers most from Arenas’ stupidity
- TrueHoop: Gun Mania
Gun Totin’ Gilbert – The Story So Far originally appeared on About.com Basketball on Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 14:31:59.
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