Trust me, I’m even more displeased having to research and comment on the Wild Gilbert Arenas-Javaris Crittenton conflict than you feel being subjected to it for five straight days.
I’d much prefer to be trying to get the draw on Chris Bosh’s impending destination . . . or trying to figure out which teams Nate Robinson is being showcased for . . . or wishing Lou Carnesecca a happy 85th birthday . . . or focusing on Zach Randolph’s 20 double-doubles, including eight straight . . . Kevin Garnett and Pau Gasol re-injuring themselves . . . the budding brilliance of the Thunder, Grizzlies and Kings . . . or composing a sonnet about Kobe Bryant’s unquenchable thirst to excel.
“What a shame there aren’t people like Kobe doing more important things in this world,” The Mysterious J. lamented.
For now, I’m obliged to critique yesterday’s act of contrition by Arenas, a first-ditch effort to keep his carcass out of the slammer, from being suspended indefinitely by the NBA and forfeiting the roughly $95M remaining on his contract that extends through the 2013-14 season.
If Arenas were 12, it might’ve fooled a few people. True, Wild Gil took full responsibly for bringing four guns into the Wizards’ locker room and provoking an incident with Crittenton.
Yes, thanks to Arenas’ well-paid attorney/speech writer, his statement said all the right things, apologized to all those Nate Robinson failed to mention when interviewed following his 41-point, Academy Award-winning performance, and kissed all the right (and left) cheeks.
Big deal!
This is what guilty people do; they throw themselves on the mercy of the court and pray for freedom, if not forgiveness.
Everyone within the Wizards organization knew Arenas was guilty. He knew there was no one to blame but himself.
What else could he have done? Conclude by promising to enroll immediately in Stupidity Anonymous? How about articulating his confession in front of the media rather than hide behind a release?
Then again, that wouldn’t have been a very good idea. By now, Arenas’ hastily assembled team of advisors clearly realizes the impossibly of him faking sincerity in person. I’m sure they figured he would subvert the objective by saying something appallingly unscripted or revert to his regular offensively goofy routine.
In the next-to-last paragraph of Arenas’ prepared announcement, he declared being “very sorry for the effect that my serious lapse in judgment had on my team, my teammates, the National Basketball Association and its fans.”
“Lapse in judgment!?” Taking the tag off a mattress is a lapse in judgment. Jaywalking is a lapse of judgment. Hoisting a 3-pointer with 19 seconds left on the shot clock is a lapse of judgment.
This is why people like Wild Gil should never be licensed to own as much as an automatic pea shooter.
It’s frightening to think Wild Gil did not understand until now how insane it was to bring an arsenal — loaded or supposedly unloaded — to the Verizon Center.
How could it not have dawned on even an unregistered adult such as Arenas that unsuccessfully trying to goad Crittenton into picking up one of the three guns he placed in front of his locker might escalate out of control? If these kinds of things were beyond Arenas’ reality, let’s not try to imagine what other stuff he’s doing that he has yet to distinguish as dangerous and/or idiotic.
Meanwhile, David Stern continues to employ the time-tested tactic of “Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There” in regards to the production of Le Cage aux Firearms? Which is kinda weird considering fines and sentences are quickly meted out on regular basis for “crimes” a tad less acute.
Later for the investigation/plea bargain — that’s D.C. police/ prosecutor business. Let the authorities sort the facts from funny.
Any time now, commissioner.
Waiting for the judicial system to do its work in no way changes the fact Arenas is, at the very least, guilty of committing the league’s most flagrant faux pas: “Keep Your Luger Out of the Locker.” Had Arenas brought guns to school, hid them in his locker and showed them to other students while intimidating, er, fooling around with another student with whom he had a beef, he would’ve been expelled immediately, or at least suspended for the rest of the semester.
If the Wizards were a school, Arenas would’ve been carted off the quad and sent to a psycho ward for observation.
Had Arenas brought guns to any other work place and pulled the same stupid stunts, he would’ve been fired immediately and cops would’ve put him in cuffs.
Yet here we are 15 days after the fact, and Arenas continues to wear a Wizards uniform and represent the franchise, its city and the NBA.
Wizards president Ernie Grunfeld should have suspended Arenas the moment he was told what went down by security, players, coaches, trainer and equipment men, whoever the witnesses were.
When that didn’t happen it was up to Stern to suspend Arenas. Especially if everything Arenas owned up to yesterday had been disclosed by Grunfeld from the git-go, something league sources maintained from the instant The Post reported the contrary.
Fact is, Arenas straight away admitted bringing guns into the arena. For breaking such a rigid rule, Stern should’ve sent him (un)packing without pay until authorities got to the bottom of a bottom that undeniably existed.
Marion Barry is embarrassed.