Following Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas’ legal troubles over bringing a gun from home into the locker room, David Stern suspended the former all star for the rest of the 2009-2010 NBA season.
His teammate also involved with the gun charges, Javaris Crittenton, was also suspended for the rest of this season. Without the services of Arenas, the Wizards are going nowhere, fast. After acquiring Mike Miller and Randy Foye in the offseason, and having their star players helathy, the Wizards appeared to be near the top of quality eastern conference teams.
NBA commisioner David Stern’s decision to suspend Arenas and Crittenton for the season sends a positive message from the league. Especially in an area like Washington D.C., which has some of the highest crime rates in the entire country.
Stern reitirated the policy that NBA arenas are to be a safe place for fans, players, coaches, and management. Guns in the locker room not only creates tension between players and causes panic over safety, but assists in making an awful decision and actually using the gun.
Thankfully that never happened.