Hey dude u are over reacting. The weapon wasn't loaded and he didn't use it. Stick to the facts. But I do believe he needs at least a 1 year suspension for this. A message has to be sent.

Who says it wasn't loaded? Arenas! And, you believe him? I've got some beach front property I want to sell you.

I am a Wizards fan. Let me say that first.

I have to admit that when I saw the choices for suspension in the survey, I picked 30 to 40 and I thought maybe I was being too harsh on him. Then I saw the survey result where over 1000 oeioke (80%) had responded with 1 year to life. I'm starting to feel sorry for him because he doesn't realize how stupid his behavior is sometimes. For example, most people who bring a gun to their job would lose their job. If this is what happens to him, he can literally be shut out from his "career" and will have to play in Europe knowing he may not have too many chances left. This could really ruin his life.

I've been a strong advocate for the Wizards to get rid of him for a while now because I felt he doesn't take winning seriously enough for the Wizards to ever be champions. He gets off from playing the chip on his shoulder to prove the naysayers about his play, rather then a desire to win for the sake of winning. That's not what you want from a star player.

Still, today I feel sorry for him. He hasn't matured as a man as you can see from all of his tweets and now it's going to hurt him where it really hurts. Professional pride. Something money can't buy. I hope it's not too late for him and this incident doesn't damage him permanently.

David Stern should hand down the ultimate penalty, a Lifetime Suspension, Nothing less is appropriate. He brought a life ending weapon into the Washington locker room. What would've happened if he used this weapon? How many people would've died? How many lives would be effected? I'm sorry, but, David Stern has to make a statement, and Arenas should be gone for good, period!

As harsh as it may sound I have to agree. Think about it....if you brought a gun loaded or unloaded into your workplace when (in most cases) your company has a specific policy against weapons, would you not lose your job? Not to mention a possible federal weapons charge and the penalties that go with it?

It's that simple.

This is a worse PR nightmare than the Indy/Detroit brawl and should be dealt with more strongly. At least a year off for both participants, maybe forever......

He deserves a lifetime ban. If you went to work with a gun and waved it around or threatened someone as a joke you would lose your job and get arrested.

Not to turn this into a gun control debate, but the only reason I don't own a gun is because of what MAY happen. I don't care about one proponent's or one opponent's opinion about the statistics on gun incidents in the home. I just know it's not ZERO percent unless I don't have one and that none of the "what ifs" have ever happened to me or anyone close enough to me for me to seriously rethink it...yet.

That being said, there's no excuse or reason to give these guys any leniency. They can't be trusted in a job where trust shouldn't even be a factor of consideration...just be where you're supposed to be when you are supposed to be there and play this game. But they've made trust a factor, just as any athlete or celebrity under contract does when they invite the law to knock on the boss' office door requesting permission to have a look around. There should be noone who will raise a stink about banning these guys for life...athletes have been so banned for much less in my opinion. The existence of the lifetime ban means that there's already a precedent and what they're deliberating at this point is a rank order of severity of this incident. Seems like a no-brainer to me...the situation and the offenders.

I wonder if there's some kind of insurance that the sports leagues have to carry that increases when risk increases...?

I don't bother with basketball because so many of the players are thugs. This is only the proof of it. Same goes for football players who shoot themselves in the leg. There is absolutely no excuse for brandishing a weapon in a locker room, loaded or unloaded. This crap has to stop. This is just gangsta nonsense.

Both guys should be barred from basketball forever. It's a business. If I brough a gun to work I would be fired, put in jail on weapons charges, and probably never get a job even close to comparable. Treat this as a business...PERIOD!

People should stop trying to justify bad behavior.

Let the courts decide the legal side. The NBA should not tolerate ANY weapons, drugs, fights, or other non-exemplary behavior. They should include a non-payment during suspensions clause in every contract.

The NBA's tolerance has allowed the league to be populated by scummy players I no longer enjoy watching. Oversized guys who live in the gym or in sleazy bars, have bodies covered in disgusting tatoos, are constantly being arrested and have little concept of team loyalty or their role as mentors to youth. Of course some do, but the percentage has dropped -

The selfish, greedy, sloppy lifestyles and the league's focus on point-scoring has made American basketball less than number one now in international competition. Embarassing don't you think?

I quit watching when Michael Jordaan stopped.

Not long ago Plaxico Burress did something similar. Nightclub or Locker Room, it doesn't matter. A lifetime suspension sends the correct message to everyone. Like Plaxico, he should be facing jail time. I get a pat down when I go to many sports arenas. All players should be held to the same standard.

What are the rules of the NBA and DC on gun possession? If the rules say no guns then a lifetime ban is appropriate.

Oh, don't be so harsh. I'd say no longer than 50 years. (And no less.)

Life time suspension and JAIL. If I had done something like this at my job, jail, and a felony to carry to my next job interview...

Even if the gun was not loaded, even a toy gun will get you prison time if used in a bank robbery. His ignorance of the rules of the NBA and the Laws governing his actions can NOT be used as a defense. From what I have seen he has no remorse for his actions except for the fact that now he may need to go flip burgers for a while. He still thinks pointing a gun at someone is funny which is why the punishment NEEDS to be severe. They not want to be role models, but athletes and other celebs need to accept the fact that they are looked up to and others will follow their example.

In short, suspend him for the year and void his contract...then let him try to get his priorities straight and come back alike Vick has done. Earn the respect and privilege to play in the NBA again

King Solomon is a classic example of how society is becoming more accepting of unacceptible behavior. Both of those clowns should be barred for life. If not, every kid fan of these players, and the NBA, will now have it in the back of their minds that there is a pretty high ceiling when it comes to punishment for poor behavior.

kpokeefe

Who says it wasn't loaded? Arenas! And, you believe him? I've got some beach front property I want to sell you.

It's from the article stating results of the investigation. You trying to unload some beach front property someone sold you on one of your other assumptions? ;)

Now, from the article, it clearly states that the story of "pick one" and waving it around is only the story of the accusor. Other witnesses had a different story but they were not included in the story. Take that + the response from Stern:

"The possession of firearms by an NBA player in an NBA arena is a matter of the utmost concern to us,"

Notice he only said "posession of firearms", not making threats, not waving it around, just posessing one. That to me tell me the investigation only found that he had an unloaded weapon and the story is being twisted.

All you bleeding hearts need to get a life. He broke the law, throw his butt in jail and the NBA should suspend him for life. If you or I did something like that on our jobs we wopuld be fired and behind bars. This just goes to show there are rules for the rich and famous and there are a totally different set of rules fro everyone else.rules

The gun wasn't loaded...There was no intent to really shoot somebody. Guns in the locker room? Of course it should be punished but be reasonable. A ten game suspension is over a million dollar fine!

I have to agree with a lifetime ban. Basketball is Arena's job. And he obviously stepped way passed the line with this. He needs to be fired, and asked to go find another line of work.

I would lose my job, and never find anyone to hire me after something like this. He should be banned for life, let him go be a janitor someplace. He ws to dumb to know what he was doing? That speaks well for athletic scholarships.

Where are all the gun advocates now? I need to know what the NBA rules are before making a judgement.

There is a BIG difference between what Arenas did and what Buress did. Buress bought a loaded weapon into a night club and shot himself. It could just as easily been an innocent bystander.

I do not condone what Arenas did, but you can't compare apples and oranges. Stern suspended him for his behavior after the incident not for the incident. Let the legal system do it's job and then the NBA can decide what to do.

**coughTHUNDERcough**

;-)

We need to get rid of these Indians in this country and we need to do it now! They have been polluting our rivers, lakes and streams with chemicals for hundreds of years and it's time we stand up for our country. Plus they smell like gasoline and alcohol, which is just terrible.

Save our country - get rid of the Indians now!

WTF are your talking about?? Dude, I think you are on the wrong post. Regardless, I think you need to cut back on the gasoline fumes yourself much less the alcohol!

I want these indians to realize what they have done to destroy our great nation. We could be living off the land, lakes and rivers if they hadn't polluted them. I also think they are addicted to oil, and ALCOHOL!

I am for a lifetime suspension but for ALL players regardless of race. Same treatment should go to any player.

Random search & seizure without suspicion or a warrant? There are countries already like that if you want to live that way. I'll keep my freedoms, thanks.

If you ever find yourself on a military base, there's a big sign at the gate that says something to the effect of: Entrance onto this installation constitutes consent to search at any time. Basically, you don't like, stay outside the gate. Even still, there are rules (shrinking but...), so it's not a free-for-all.

No, you can't, but the story eludes to the fact that only the accusor made that claim and there are multiple witnesses with a different story. The only consistancy is that he had an unloaded weapon in the locker room.

From the article:

"The possession of firearms by an NBA player in an NBA arena is a matter of the utmost concern to us," Stern said.

Just posession. If he actually did lay the weapons down with a "pick one" note, yeah he needs to be suspended indefinitely. I just hate it when a news story takes one side of a story and runs with it when it has gaping holes in the quotes.

"What if the guns had been loaded and used?" But the thing is, they weren't and they weren't. So, you might as well ask, what if they were atomic bombs?

I initially voted for a very short suspension, but various comments here have made me rethink that. Maybe the rest of the season. But I think a lifetime ban is excessive. Sure, Arenas and Crittenton both acted like idiots, apparently. But the NBA, NFL, etc are not really like any other workplace, are they? Different rules apply, whether all you overwrought people like it or not.

I totally disagree. Arenas' actions are a part of a growing trend and he, along with others, needs to be used as an example that the league will no longer tolerate this kind of irresponsible behavior. Based on his current and prior actions Arenas appears to see himself as above the law and accountable to no one other than himself. This is not acceptable in any society and an indefinite suspension is quite appropriate.

Mchris...I am not one of the people here saying he should be suspended for life, but the problem with your comment about Kermit Washington and the 26 game ban he got was that he punched Rudy Tomjanovich. To put this in perspective, even though no one got hurt, I think pulling a gun is even worse. Look at what happened when Jayson Williams from the New Jersey Nets killed his driver when playing with a gun. Gun and "games" or "pranks" don't go together, and if Arenas is foolish enough and immature enough and doesn't get that, then he definitely needs to get more then a 26 game suspension.

I'm not saying lifetime...but your argument would actually support that 26 games would be FAR too little and too lenient by that logic. My vote was for 30 to 40 games, but I'm starting to see the logical point of at least a year. I'm afraid to say though that considering how angry Stern is...he may get lifetime.

Mchris1947 Two quick comments to your post: 1) a gun is ALWAYS loaded, and any responsible gun owner/handler knows this; 2) I believe the message you attempted to convey is "no one was in IMMINENT danger."

Whether a gun is "loaded" or not is completely irrelevant. The offending party demonstrated egregiously irresponsible behavior - violating both NBA rules and crimes against society.

I voted for at least suspension for the rest of the season & playoffs. I was wondering about the other player that was involved along with Arenas. Reports were that another player had a gun and him and Arenas had drawn guns on each other. Also being reported is that one of the two players involved pulling a gun on the other over a gambling debt. Any more information on this part??

The 26 game suspension of Kermit Washington was a MAJOR, MAJOR mistake. It should have been for life. Same for Arenas.

But, hey, who in their right mind would buy a ticket to an NBA game? If you are saying Arenas is simply "stupid", look in the mirror.

Great point, Ron108! He was caught with a gun in his car in 2003. He obviously learned nothing from that. You give the same idiot more and more chances and yes, tragedy is imminent. His attitude the whole time has been one of a "victim". He is too immature to be representing our nation's capital.

But, nowhere have I seen any description of the events that says Arenas's guns were pulled on or pointed at anyone. It sounds to me like, after Crittenton said something about shooting Arenas, Gilbert tried to put an end to it with a little levity. "You want to shoot me? Okay, use one of my guns, there they are." It might have been ill-considered, but it was still kind of funny.

I think a lot of people voicing their views here sound like a bunch of scandalized old women. All we're missing is "How DARE they?"