Gilbert Arenas: Suspended From Washington Wizards After Twittering?
WASHINGTON, Jan. 7, 2010— -- Did the Twitter ramblings of Washington Wizards' star point guard Gilbert Arenas cause him to be suspended indefinitely by the NBA?
It's certainly starting to look that way and now the hoop star may regret using the social networking tool to speak his mind about the recent off-court incident that has him in hot water.
Arenas is currently being investigated after he admitted Monday to bringing hand guns into the team locker room in Washington, D.C., last month, although he continues to deny reports he and another teammate brandished guns at each other during a locker room argument about gambling debts.
In a statement Wednesday announcing Arenas' suspension, NBA Commissioner David Stern said that while he was inclined to let the criminal investigation into the incident go forward before taking action, it was clear to him that Arenas' behavior made him "not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game."
Stern cited "ongoing conduct" as the reason for the punishment. A league source told ABC News that several things certainly factored into the commissioner's decision: Arenas' prolific tweeting about the incident, his statements to the media and a photo of the point guard waving his index fingers like pistols before a game in Philadelphia Tuesday night.
On Monday, Arenas tweeted an apology for the offensive photo. But the stream of Twitter messages, ramblings and rants may have shined a self-inflicted spotlight on the gifted player that was too much for Stern to ignore. Arenas has been known for his erratic behavior over the years.
After the suspension was announced, Arenas sent an apology, not via a tweet, but through an old school statement released by his lawyer. "I feel very badly that my actions have caused the NBA to suspend me, but I understand why the league took this action," Arenas said. "I put the NBA in a negative light and let down my teammates and our fans. I am very sorry for doing that."
Arenas also said he had called Stern to apologize. "While I never intended any harm or disrespect to the NBA or anyone else, my gun possession at the Verizon Center and my attempts at humor showed terrible judgment," he said. "I take full responsibility for my conduct."
Will it be too little too late? Over the last several days, Arenas repeatedly used his Twitter account to explain the incident and defend himself against what he said were false reports.
"i wake up this morning and seen i was the new JOHN WAYNE..lmao media is too funny," Arenas tweeted Jan. 1 after the story broke.
Arenas even went after the reporter who wrote the original story about the gun brandishing incident in the New York Post.
"As for the reporter who broke the story – NY post should eject Peter V FROM WRITNG EVERY AGAIN," Arenas said of sportswriter Peter Vecsey.
