Interesting take from Slate on the Gilbert Arenas saga: "… in the accompanying show trial, I'm siding with the player who wouldn't pretend to be ashamed, not the NBA authorities feigning righteousness."
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A different take on Agent Zero
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Interesting take… does seem to be a lil-overkill …but dragging Delonte into it is apples to corn … one just was a jerk the other has an admitted health issue who is doing what it takes to tow the line ….hope this doesnt bring the townsfolk and the pitchforks out after our guy!
roadkill, there is no difference, and West's supposed depression issues are irrelevant. Stern just doesn't like being shown up. Where was that greasy opportunist Al Sharpton when West was doing his impression of Mad Max.
Who cares? Only idiots play with guns, and that's exactly what these fellows are. Arenas only proved how stupid he is with his after-the-fact jokes, and it's only a matter of time before another limo driver or someone else gets shot.
The Wizards would be lucky to get out from under Arenas' contract and I hope that's what they do.
I like what Stern is trying to do as NBA commissioner and wished the NFL would be more concerned with the image issues he's addressing than touchdown celebrations.
The one issue raised in the article, gambling and how it's not being addressed, is something all sports should somehow deal with. The problem, I guess, is that it's a private matter until it becomes public when no sport addresses private matters until they become public. That is, I agree gambling is a more important issue to the image of any sport than guns or speeding or spousal abuse (although those each have consequences of more concern to society).
I agree with roadkill: comparing Delonte's situation to Arenas' isn't even close. I agree with Alan that Stern doesn't like to be shown up, but I think that Sharpton even knew trying to advocate on the behalf of someone in Delonte's situation was out of his wheelhouse.
Yeah, the NBA likes to get high and mighty, but if you don't have an ounce of common sense to not pretend to take your teammates down with a Tommy Gun prior to a game, well, too bad. I think if Arenas hadn't done that and let the legal part take its course, he might not be suspended right now.
And: how many people would get away with taking a gun to work and not face any kind of consequence?
E …..Only if your a Law Enforcement Agent or work for the Post Office
Alan even your Shock value comment on Delonte wont change the fact the kid has had issues for years and the worst he did was drive around like a Cowboy….and did NOT menace any one ……..Your still the best Alan just off on this one
Delonte didn't "menace" anyone? roadkill, what was inside that guitar case? Was West intending to replace Eddie Van Halen on Eddie's next "I'm Trashed" tour? Why does West get a free pass for being off his rocker with issues? Every criminal now behind bars is off his rocker with issues, many with the same depression issues. Nobody makes excuses for them. West is just another gun-toting homie that just happens to be wearing a Cavaliers uniform. For the time being, at least. If he was wearing his old Sonics uniform instead, the same people now making excuses for him would be calling him a thug.
And Elizabeth, Stern didn't do a damn thing about Bring Your Arsenal to Work Day until Arenas publicly had fun with situation. That was the real problem. Besides, if I could bet on it, I would wager that there's been more than a few times that West himself has had more than just his clothes and his shoes in his locker.
Keith, unless Stern outlaws tattoos, everything he does regarding image is phony and worthless. Nowadays NBA courts look like a scene from the show "Oz." Rodman used to look like a freak. If he played today, he would look like just another one of the guys.
I was going to add the part about Arenas and Crittendon allegedly hiding the guns in a laundry basket, or the fact that this happened a month before it came to light – in the NY Times/Post, the fact that I'm pretty sure bringing a gun into arenas falls under the same Homeland Security laws for football stadiums and thus a violation of national security, oh and the part that for the most part that gun ownership in DC has been made nearly impossible by all the laws passed, and further making my argument that Delonte's situation has ZERO in common with this Wizards fiasco, but there's no reasoning with Alan and his bitterness against everyone in the world.
In the police report dealing w/Delonte, I think he said something about being afraid for his life – due to his bipolar disorder and the fact that he wasn't on his meds. Arenas was punking out of losing bets and trying to intimidate someone so he didn't have to pay up. There's a difference.
You're morphing into retarded Rick/Solomon territory, Elizabeth, saying dumb things about me instead of whatever the topic is. You still haven't said anything about the fact Stern didn't do anything until that Arenas photo of him clowning with teammates was made public. In point of fact, the NBA tried to suppress that photo, and temporarily succeeded. But the backlash was too much, so they let it run. And only then did Arenas get suspended.
And you also still haven't said anything about the obvious point that the very same folks now making excuses for West would now be calling him a thug if he went to Oklahoma City along with the rest of the Sonics. Depression is an excuse, and a lousy one at that. Did he get those neck tattoos because he was depressed?
What, you don't think West hasn't brought a gun, at least once, into the locker room? Come on.
Just to make myself clear, I'm not saying West is a bad guy. I'm not saying Arenas is a bad guy. I'm not saying Artest is a bad guy. I'm not saying Tinsley is a bad guy. I'm not saying anybody is a bad guy. I can't say they're bad guys or good guys. I don't know them and have never even met them. And neither have you. I just know what they did. Believing Delonte West is a depressed saint is like believing Tiger Woods is a bashful virgin.
Alan,
What about c. 1977 Francis Ford Coppola , was he a bad guy? I vote yes: he almost killed Martin Sheen. Although the copious amount of blow might have been to blame also. Or a Filipino lady of the night
ellen t…..you crackhead! don't drag me into this tarpit.
I thought of an example of what Arenas did to get suspended:
If a Catholic priest started making lewd pelvic gestures every time he saw a little boy and had an audience AND it was being shown on the news, the cardinal above him, or whomever would feel he had to show the church's disapproval of the bad joke — even though no little boy was raped or even probably in danger, except from bad taste. It isn't a legal issue, but an image issue.
The better example might be if the priest were also currently under investigation for flashing little boys.
Drew, Coppola is a very, very bad guy because of "The Godfather: Part III," not because of anything evil he supposedly did to Martin Sheen.