NBA star regrets locker-room firearms

By MATTHEW NESTEL, Post Correspondent

Last Updated: 5:17 AM, January 6, 2010

Posted: 3:19 AM, January 5, 2010

Comments: 31

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WASHINGTON -- Cops and prosecutors yesterday grilled pistol-packing NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, who later publicly apologized for playing a dangerous "joke" on a teammate.

The embattled Washington Wizard sharpshooter was questioned by authorities after a morning team practice -- and then issued a statement copping to bringing guns into his team's locker room Dec. 21 and whipping them out. But he insisted the weapons weren't loaded or intended to be a threat.

Sources have told The Post that teammate Javaris Crittenton was in the locker room at the time and had been hassling Arena to make good on a poker debt.

NBAE/Getty Images

"I took the unloaded guns out in a misguided effort to play a joke on a teammate," Arenas said. "I never threatened or . . . assaulted anyone with the guns and never pointed them at anyone."

Arenas, now the target of league and DC law-enforcement probes, conceded that his oddball humor doesn't justify his bone-headed, and potentially illegal, action.

"Joke or not, I now recognize that what I did was a mistake and was wrong," he said. "I should not have brought the guns to DC in the first place, and I now realize that there's no such thing as joking around when it comes to guns -- even if unloaded."

The seriousness of Arenas' statement belied his flip attitude hours earlier.

As he ducked into the locker room after practice, Arenas joked that he knew exactly what to tell prosecutors.

"Not guilty!" Arenas told The Post, his hands and arms spread out and head cocked back.

Despite Arenas' clownish behavior, teammate Mike James insisted the sharpshooter was taking this case very seriously.

"It's not fun. He knows it's serious," said James, a native of Amityville, LI.

"Everybody deals with situations differently . . . and the way he's dealing with it is how he's dealing with it. That doesn't mean he's making a joke of it."

The Post first reported that Arenas and Crittenton got into the locker-room spat and that Arenas at one point took out the guns.

A grand jury reportedly has been impaneled over the incident, but a law-enforcement source yesterday told The Post that wasn't the case.

Wizard coach Flip Saunders said no players or coaches have been subpoenaed.

But he admitted the ongoing police probe has been a distraction for his cellar-dwelling squad. The Wizards play tonight in Philadelphia against the Sixers.

"There's no question you'd like to be focused on Philadelphia, not other things," he said.

Arenas' actions also have grabbed the attention of the Rev. Al Sharpton, who said he had a 12-minute phone conversation with NBA commissioner David Stern yesterday and got Stern to agree to a future meeting about the proliferation of guns in pro sports.

Additional reporting by Geoff Earle in Washington and David K. Li in New York

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Comments (27)

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madcowcardsdotcom

01/05/2010 9:23 PM

Lori, you should have actually watched the trial. I agree with you OJ is and arrogant b*stard and most likely committed the crime. However the cops screwed up SOOOOOO bad they let him get off and that really sucks. I would love to be reading about his anal surgery after continuous rapes.
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Mike Hammer

01/05/2010 8:47 PM

Chris Brown's career is in the dumps because the black mafia hates him JAY Z
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Mike Hammer

01/05/2010 8:44 PM

They never go after the White guys. Larry Bird always packed heat.
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rum and coke

01/05/2010 5:40 PM

Claiming Racism is self hateing and weak minded.
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Lori

01/05/2010 5:29 PM

Mr. Reality,

I don't want to make this a history lesson get off the subject of idiot G. Arenas but you brought race into this, as most people do. O.J. Simpson is a murderous animal who should rot in hell for the rest of his life. It seemed to me most black people weren't celebrating him getting off per se as that trial was about something deeper. Much too deep for me to get into and it has nothing to do with G.A.. But let's just say whites used to hold hanging parties back in the day, celebrating black blood that was spilled all the time. It's all wrong man...all of it. Let's just try and see people as individuals...can you do that? Peace man, Peace
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rum and coke

01/05/2010 2:25 PM

Al(Freddys Fashion Mart)Sharpton Minister of race and hate propaganda.
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Mr. Reality

01/05/2010 1:10 PM

Lori,

Ok let's go on....Who cried race first when OJ murdered 2 people??
People actually celebrated upon the verdict. CELEBRATED! It became obvious, many celebrate when caucasian blood is spilled. Please sparme me your self richeous BS and let's call a spade for what it is.
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buzz

01/05/2010 12:43 PM

BUNK! What this repeat-offender REALLY regrets is getting caught and the prospect of falling off the gravy-train and into JAIL! .... And of course the PARASITES are latching on:
"Arenas' actions also have grabbed the attention of the Rev. Al Sharpton."