Suspended Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas's biggest regret about the locker room gun showdown and its aftermath is how he let down children.
In an op-ed piece posted on the Washington Post's Web site Monday afternoon, Arenas wrote:
I am trying hard to right my wrongs. The one that will be hardest to make right is the effect my actions have had on kids who see NBA players as role models.
In the op-ed, a step toward reshaping his public image, Arenas expressed remorse and wrote about the importance of gun responsibility.
I understand the importance of teaching nonviolence to kids in today's world. Guns and violence are serious problems, not joking matters -- a lesson that's been brought home to me over the past few weeks.
Arenas said he acknowledged his mistakes in a letter to D.C. Public Schools students last week.
He pledged to help spread the word about the importance of nonviolence.
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NBA commissioner David Stern suspended Arenas and Wizards guard Javaris Crittenton for the remainder of the season for bringing guns to the arena.
Arenas pleaded guilty Jan. 15 to a felony gun charge after an alleged confrontation with Crittenton in the Wizards' locker room at Verizon Center.
Arenas and Crittenton argued about gambling losses during a card game on the Wizards' plane as the team returned from a West Coast road trip on Dec. 19. According to court documents, Arenas threatened to shoot Crittenton in the face, and Crittenton said he'd shoot Arenas in his bad knee. Their dispute became heated when the team reconvened for practice two days later, when Arenas took the guns from his locker and Crittenton produced his gun as well.
Arenas has said he stored four unloaded guns in his locker to keep them away from his children. He also said he didn't know he was violating D.C.'s gun laws. He defended his actions on Dec. 21 by calling it a bad attempt at a joke and referring to himself as a goofball who doesn't take anything seriously.
Stern was particularly upset that Arenas repeatedly joked about the matter with reporters, on Twitter and on the court before a game in Philadelphia. The day after that game, before which Arenas made pistols out of his hands and mimicked shooting his teammates, the commissioner suspended Arenas indefinitely without pay.
