A recent conflict that made national headlines is the Gilbert Arenas gun incident. The incident was caused by a card debt that Mr. Arenas owed Javaris Crittenton. Mr. Arenas owed Mr. Crittenton 25,000 dollars from the card game. The argument between Mr. Arenas and Mr. Crittenton started 2 days before the gun incident, where they were arguing about the debt on the team plane (Perez 2010). Mr. Arenas was found with 3 guns in the Washington Wizards lockeroom. This was not Mr. Arenas first incident in breaking the law. In 2003, Mr. Arenas plead no contest to a misdemeanor for possessing a concealed weapon and driving without a license (Aldridge 2010). The Gilbert Arenas conflict has to be the biggest conflict in the last five years. Other major sports conflicts in the NBA were the Pacers- Pistons brawl and the Kobe Bryant’s sexual assault case. Those two incidents were huge but happened over five years ago.
The gun incident has all the drama to be considered a major sports conflict. It involved NBA superstar Gilbert Arenas along with the illegal activity of bringing a weapon into the lockeroom. The incident is so serious that the Washington Wizards have the right to void the rest of Arenas contract. Normally NBA contracts are guaranteed unless a player commits a felony or is an embarrassment to the team. Arenas also carried the firearms in Washington D.C., where the president of the United States resides.
No one was physically hurt during the clash between Mr. Arenas and Mr. Crittenton. Therefore, how should Mr. Arenas be punished for bringing guns into the lockeroom? The NBA responded by kicking Mr. Arenas out the NBA for a year. The main question is; should Mr. Arenas be banned from the NBA for life? Kevin Balistreri, a High School teacher from Miami wants Mr. Arenas banned for life. Mr. Balistreri wrote that guns have no place in a sports lockeroom (2010). Teammates of Mr. Arenas agreed with Mr. Balistreri comments in saying that the lockeroom is sacred and you are suppose to feel safe in there (Aldridge 2010). Mr. Balistreri builds up a legit case against Mr. Arenas explaining that he is role model and it is inexcusable for him to bring guns into the lockeroom. He understands the scope of gun violence and the devastating effect it has on countless lives. The NBA needs to send a message to kids that gun violence is no laughing matter. Mr. Arenas is a millionaire who acted like a thug, while there is children grow up playing basketball on the streets of their neighborhoods that are in constant fear of gun violence.
I was personally associated with a gun violence incident took the life of one of my friends. His name was Ty Wallace and he was a teammate of mine at Arcadia University. Mr. Wallace was the cousin of NBA superstar Rasheed Wallace. Mr. Wallace was a good friend of mine who died in a drug-busting incident with undercover cops who shot Mr. Wallace to death after he had pulled out a gun. Mr. Wallace was a great teammate and friend and this incident was the precedence of gun violence. I agree with Mr. Balistreri’s comments that this incident should be taken very seriously. The aftermath of Gilbert Arenas bringing guns into the lockeroom left no one hurt, just a story that made national headlines.
Mr. Arenas punishment is serving a 30-day sentence in a halfway house and two years of supervised probation. Other punishment for Mr. Arenas includes 400 hours of community service and donating 5 thousand dollars to victims of violent crimes along with being suspended for the entire NBA season by commissioner David Stern. The punishment for Mr. Arenas is debatable by many different points of views and that is what makes Mr. Arenas infamous gun incident the biggest sports conflict in the last five years.
References
Aldridge, D. (2010). Arenas Faces Serious Consequences in alleged gun incident retrieved from: http://www.nba.com/2010/news/01/01/wizards.arenas/index.html
Balistreri, K. (2010) Kick Gilbert Arenas out the NBA: Retrieved from EBSCO on April22, 2010.
Perez, A. (2010). Gilbert Arenas sentenced to 30 days in halfway house: Retrieved from:
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/03/26/gilbert-arenas-sentenced-to-30-days-in-halfway-house/
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