Gilbert Arenas Gun Incident
On December 24, 2009, it was revealed that Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards had admitted to storing unloaded firearms in his locker at Verizon Center and had surrendered them to team security. In doing so, Arenas not only violated NBA rules against bringing firearms into an arena, but also violated D.C. ordinances as well. On January 1, 2010, it was also reported that Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton had unloaded guns in the Wizards' locker room during a Christmas Eve argument regarding gambling debts. The D.C. Metropolitan Police and the U.S. Attorney's office began investigating, and on January 14, 2010, Arenas was charged with carrying a pistol without a license, a violation of Washington D.C.'s gun-control laws. Arenas pleaded guilty on January 15 to the felony of carrying an unlicensed pistol outside a home or business. His sentencing hearing was scheduled for March 26.
On January 6, 2010, the NBA suspended Arenas indefinitely without pay until its investigation was complete. NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a statement that "his ongoing conduct has led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game." By nearly all accounts, Stern felt compelled to act when Arenas' teammates surrounded him during pregame introductions prior to a game with the Philadelphia 76ers and he pretended to shoot them with guns made from his fingers. The Wizards issued a statement of their own condemning the players' pregame stunt as "unacceptable." On January 27, 2010, Arenas and Crittenton were suspended for the rest of the season, after meeting with Stern.
Read more about this topic: National Basketball Association Controversies
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