Collegiate Times: “Crittenton real victim of Arenas’ gun scandal”
That headline from the Collegiate Times might not seem so outrageous if you didn’t know that Javaris Crittenton is facing murder charges. But the story actually tries to suggest that Gilbert Arenas is the bad guy, and Crittenton is a “victim.” Seriously?
Well, that’s how the Collegiate Times sees it:
“However, there was another player in that incident that has a story far more tragic: Javaris Crittenton. For the most part, the media ignored Crittenton because he wasn’t a big name. That all changed this weekend when Crittenton became wanted by the Atlanta police for the alleged murder of Jullian Jones, a 22-year-old mother of four.”
This all goes back to how Arenas and Crittenton became involved in a locker room showdown, one which did involve guns. The media tried to paint this as a “gun” thing, when in fact it is really an “overpaid athletes acting like thug” thing. But the Collegiate Times sees it otherwise:
“Gilbert Arenas ruined his (Crittenton’s) career — that’s how.”
So let’s get this straight? You lose your career over something stupid, and you end up a murderer? This sort of logic is too close to “society is to blame.” And that leads to blaming guns instead of blaming the criminals who pull the trigger.
FoxSports: NBA And Guns – Blame the Idiots
Writing this week for FoxSports.com, Jen Floyd Engel offered her opinion on the NBA’s reaction to firearms following the arrest of former Washington Wizards player Javaris Crittenton on murder charges. Instead of focusing on how Crittenton’s latest run in, which involves his alleged role in the murder of a mother of four, Floyd Engel notes that Crittenton was involved with a gun-related incident with teammate Gilbert Arenas and the NBA’s reaction.
She notes that the NBA is too quick to see this as a “gun problem,” and is blind the bigger issue:
“The Association focused on the guns. The mistake we made then was making it about the guns. Even NBA commish David Stern, whose response in hindsight saved the league an ugly embarrassment at best and a body bag in one of his locker rooms at worst, said, ‘The possession of firearms by an NBA player in an NBA arena is a matter of the utmost concern to us.’ See how we do that? The guns become the problem, allowing us to ignore the real issue. The NBA’s problem was not guns in the locker rooms; it was the idiots.”
Kudos to Floyd Engel for noting that this isn’t a problem of guns, but a problem of overpaid athletes behaving like idiots and wasting their talents.
Arenas Admits He Should Be Punished
What a difference a week makes. While many have written about the NBA’s Gilbert Arenas and noted that there is a culture of “guns” in the world of sports, few have spoken out against Lil’ Wayne (who is finally behind bars where he belongs). What makes this different is that Arenas admits he was in the wrong for pulling a gun on a teammate and agrees that he should be punished.
We’re also expecting the anti-gun crowd to go nuts when they hear he has a collection of firearms that includes as many as 500 pieces, many from World War I. Arenas had said that he bought the collection from an older collector, and has most of it in storage.
Let’s hope that Arenas is punished accordingly, but let us also hope that those guns aren’t seized and destroyed. Those, like many athletes, should be viewed as American treasures.
Even Mention of Guns Now Inappropriate?
Guns are not toys, but guns are weapons and have been since their invention. The mere “idea” of guns has been used as metaphors for decades or longer as well – such as “bringing in the big guns,” a reference that probably relates to siege artillery of the type used at Vienna during the Turkish assault in the 17th century, or even more recently in the rail artillery used in the First and Second World Wars.
But now even a mention of guns in some contexts is a problem. While we understand that in schools this could seem wrong. Yet, sports is full of “combat” metaphors, where athletes are called “gladiators” and “warriors” and of course have nicknames to go along with this thinking. But yet a recent ad for Nike basketball shoes is being called out, despite the fact that it doesn’t even use the word “guns.”
“We had no prior notice of this ad. We think it is inappropriate.”
According to Hoops World:
“The entire ad is two full-pages and can be seen in the latest issues of Sports Illustrated and ESPN the magazine. One page features LeBron James, while the photo at the heart of this debate contains Kobe Bryant. It can be seen in its entirety here. It shows a posing Kobe Bryant, with text reading ‘Prepare for Combat’ and ‘Kobe Bryant, I’ll do whatever it takes to win a game. I leave nothing in the chamber.’”
In this case what is surprising is that the media is questioning why this is so bad? Various articles in major papers and Web sites ask what is the problem. Strange, because these same outlets tend to hardly get involved in the issue when it actually involves the actual issue of guns. So is this another example of how sports stars get a free pass?
Firing Back: Multiple News Stories Miss Point on NBA Gun Incident
While it still isn’t entirely clear what transpired between NBA players Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton in the locker room, what is known is that firearms were involved. Regardless, the issue is that this is yet another example of the rich and semi-famous getting a different level of standards when it comes to firearm ownership and possession.
Firearms aren’t toys, and whether Arenas was joking when he “challenged” Crittenton to a duel is a moot point. The real issue is that Washington, D.C. is a city where gun ownership is closely controlled – yet these millionaires brandish firearms as it is just so much more “bling.” And that’s just bad news for those law-abiding citizens who actually respect the guns they hold in their hands.
NBA Players Allowed to Possess Guns!
Last month’s disturbing incident, which allegedly involved NBA player Gilbert Arenas of the Washington Wizards drawing a gun on a teammate, is something we haven’t really been following. There isn’t much to say. Guns aren’t toys and anyone brandishing a firearm in such a way should face severe punishment! There should be no exception, even for those rich and famous.
But what is now on radar is that the media has picked up on a few facets of the story. A recent story in The New York Daily News included this passage:
“An incident involving Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas in which he allegedly drew a firearm on a teammate has set off a firestorm of opinion among current NBA players, who tell of a flourishing gun culture in the NBA. If true, it could spell trouble for NBA commissioner David Stern.” Read more
