Arenas, Javaris and Burress All Rhyme…What a Coincidence. Hopefully that’s where the ultimate similarities will end.
Probably not.
On some occasions, Mo’Kelly’s job as an editorial columnist can be difficult. Sometimes, making a clear and concise argument to convince your strongest intellectual adversaries is no easy task.
This won’t (or shouldn’t) be one of those moments. The goal though will be to go beyond the obvious and reach into areas that other commentaries have not or will not.
Washington Wizards guards Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton are presently being investigated over alleged gun possession/brandishing at the team’s practice facility late last month.
Here’s the easy part…”Has anyone learned from the painful lesson of 
Plaxico Burress?”
NFL wide receiver Burress is currently serving a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to weapons charges and, with time off for good behavior, will likely serve 20 months and be eligible for release in spring 2011.
Back to the top…
Arenas, Javaris and Burress all rhyme…what a coincidence.
In response to the ongoing Arenas/Crittenton investigation, NBA players have weighed in, mostly in support of players carrying concealed weapons.
In an interview with the New York Daily News, Nets guard Devin Harris, estimated that 60 to 75 % of players in the NBA owned guns.
“I mean, look at the situation. A lot of guys have been robbed. A couple of guys, God rest their souls, have passed away. I guess they feel like they need some sort of protection, I don’t know. I can’t speak for everybody.”
Harris says he does not own a gun.
There’s what Harris did say and what also what is implied in what he said. Although Harris only spoke to the alleged prevalence of gun “ownership” in the NBA, what is implied is that same percentage also “carry.” These are guns which leave the home and used for some level of day-to-day protection…most often illegally.
Again, here’s the easy part…”Has anyone learned from the painful lesson of Plaxico Burress?” You know, the guy in jail for two years for accidentally shooting himself and illegally possessing a firearm? THAT Plaxico Burress?
The hard part in all of this is getting young African-American men to learn that safety begins and ends with good choices, not good firepower.
Depending on which narrative you choose to believe, a card game aboard the Wizards team plane or some form of gambling debt precipitated an “incident” in which either Arenas and/or Crittendon displayed a cache of guns. Arenas as of late has said publicly that it was merely a friendly boast as to who had the “bigger” gun.
The words stupid and idiot come to mind. Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton might have been willing to throw everything away over a game of “mine is bigger than yours.”
One may think this next question is rhetorical in nature, but not necessarily. Is the person who brings multiple guns to an NBA practice facility doing more to protect his livelihood or endanger it? Or how about this one. If one’s judgment is so horrendously bad to brandish/display the aforementioned, multiple firearms, what does that say about one’s judgment to use it in the moment of truth?
Obviously, anytime an individual such as Arenas has 3 guns on his person at the Wizards practice facility, the argument of personal safety is a specious one. We’re now well into the realm of personal stupidity.
Plaxico Burress is proof positive that poor decision-making is a greater threat to one’s safety than the general public. The reason why you’re unlikely to find Kobe Bryant riding around town with a glock is because he is acutely aware of the effect of an arrest on gun charges means for his career and endorsement deal. If Tiger Woods is being put through the proverbial meat grinder for “gunning down” Cracker Barrel waitresses and nightclub “hostesses;” what might gun possession or manslaughter charges do for his career?
Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton are not bigger “targets” than the elite of the sports world. The difference lies in not only overall talent level, but life choice level. There’s probably a correlation between the 60-75% of the NBA who own/carry guns and the 60-75% of the NBA who have zero endorsement contracts beyond the ubiquitous shoe deal. Most if not all endorsement deals worth their salt include morals clauses, allowing corporations to cut bait in the event of off-the-field/court problems. To date, Arenas has minor deals with Benihana restaurants, Adidas (Hibachi shoe) and Vitamin Water. In the endorsement world, that’s not much to protect.
Conversely, if the sexual assault charges taught Kobe Bryant anything, it’s that personal responsibility weighs more in protecting one’s “assets” than anything else.
Nobody disputes whether athletes are in fact targets of opportunists. Wealthy men are “attractive” to more than just the garden variety groupie hanging out in hotels and at the player’s entrance to the arena. At the same time, nobody should dispute whether these opportunists are found more often in questionable environments. Increasing one’s personal safety costs…not necessarily in terms of the price of guns, but in freedom to move and associate with the general public.
The reasons why the average 25-year-old African-American man can attend nightclubs at his whim, remaining out and about until 3am or later and Javaris Crittenton should not, explain the price of fame.
The best way for Javaris Crittenton, Gilbert Arenas and the other 60-75% of the NBA who own/carry concealed weapons to protect their lives and livelihoods is to read the Plaxico Burress wikipedia page and learn from his mistakes. Unarmed in safe environments is always better than being armed in dangerous ones. And Mo’Kelly is still waiting to hear the story about when a gun saved the life of a professional athlete or prevented him from being robbed.
Still waiting…
The name Vernon Forrest for some strange reason comes to mind. The late Vernon Forrest. You know, the one whose gun helped get him killed. THAT Vernon Forrest.
One response to “Arenas, Javaris and Burress All Rhyme…What a Coincidence”
Excellent commentary, as usual. Kudos Mr. Kelly.