The world of sports has been rocked by a scandal of greater proportions that would make Tiger Woods pale in comparison. The object of discussion has been Gilbert Arena the NBA Star for the Washington Wizards.
The incident started over a gambling dispute between Arenas and a fellow player Javaris Criitendon. Mr. Arenas brought four guns to the locker room in Philadelphia where the Wizards was playing during their regular NBA Season.
The story was that Mr. Arenas threatened Mr.Crittendon with the guns. There was another version in which Mr. Arenas used his fingers as a gun towards Crittendon and that he wanted to remove the guns from his home.
Regardless, Mr. Arenas passed off his behaviour as a practical joke. The NBA Commissioner David Stern thought otherwise and suspended Mr. Arenas. It is of the opinion of the underwriter that the NBA did the right thing.
The idea of guns in a locker room or other areas in today’s world is not a practical joke. It is a threat and would have left people dead or permanently scarred [physically and psychologally] if the incident between Arenas and Crittendon were to escalate.
The freedom of one to defend oneself ends when abusive and threatening language is used. It appears that Mr. Arenas does not get the message since he lives [or lived] in a world where he felt no one could touch him.
What Mr. Arenas did was a lack of judgement and deserved punishment. It appears that the NBA will not be the only one punishing him since local and Federal Authorities are looking into the matter.
If there is a lesson to be learned, it should be the following. The idea of guns and practical jokes are incompatible and should be punished. The second lesson is that violence or threats of violence do not resolve anything and should be separated from all spheres of life including sports.
El Noticiero de Alvarez Galloso 