NBA Suspends Wizards' Arenas Indefinitely

Gilbert Arenas has been suspended without pay by NBA commissioner David Stern, who determined the player's behavior made him "not currently fit to take the court."

A day after the Washington Wizards guard was photographed before a game in Philadelphia pointing his index fingers, as if they were guns, at his teammates, Stern warned the former All-Star that his conduct will "ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse."

CBS Sports.com's Ken Berger:
Arenas' Behavior in Philly was Last Straw

Arenas is under investigation by federal and local authorities after admittedly bringing guns to the locker room. Stern originally planned to wait to take action, but he tired of Arenas' behavior.

Arenas met with law enforcement officials Monday and said the next day that he feared Stern more than the authorities because the commissioner was "mean."

"Although it is clear that the actions of Mr. Arenas will ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse, his ongoing conduct has led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game," Stern said in a statement. "Accordingly, I am suspending Mr. Arenas indefinitely, without pay, effective immediately pending the completion of the investigation by the NBA."

CBS Sports.com's Mike Freeman:
Gilbert Arenas Got What He Deserved

With each game he misses, Arenas will lose about $147,200 of the $16.2 million he will earn this season in the second of a six-year, $111 million contract. The punishment came on his 28th birthday.

A Wizards spokesman said Arenas left the team, which is playing in Cleveland, earlier Wednesday but didn't know where he was going.

"It's sad," Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson said. "You don't want to see a player go down like that. We're a family, and it hurts."

The Wizards supported Stern's decision in a statement attributed to president Ernie Grunfeld and the Pollin family, which owns the team. The late Abe Pollin changed the team's name from the Bullets because of the violent connotation.

"Strictly legal issues aside, Gilbert's recent behavior and statements, including his actions and statements last night in Philadelphia, are unacceptable," the statement said. "Some of our other players appeared to find Gilbert's behavior in Philadelphia amusing. This is also unacceptable. Under Abe Pollin's leadership, our organization never tolerated such behavior, and we have no intention of ever doing so."

Fellow Washington Wizards player DeShawn Stevenson told CBS News, "I know he didn't mean for it to come off like that. Sometimes people don't think other jokes are funny and you gotta deal with it."

In a statement released by his attorney Ken Wainstein, Arenas expressed remorse.

"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."

"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."

Arenas said he called Stern to apologize and says he hopes he can return to the game.

"In the meantime," he said, "I will focus on dealing responsibly with this serious situation and I will continue to cooperate fully with the investigations by law enforcement and NBA authorities."

Since the firearms language was strengthened in the 2005 Collective Bargaining Agreement, NBA players are subject to discipline if they bring guns to the arena or practice facility, or even an offsite promotional appearance.

Arenas originally said he brought four guns to the Verizon Center because he wanted them out of his house after his daughter was born. But two officials within the league who have been briefed on the investigation have told The Associated Press that the incident stemmed from a dispute over card-playing gambling debts and a heated discussion in the locker room with teammate Javaris Crittenton. The New York Post, however, reported that the two teammates drew weapons on each other.

In a statement he released after meeting with authorities Monday, Arenas said he took unloaded guns from his locker in a "misguided effort to play a joke" on a teammate.

"Joke or not, I now recognize that what I did was a mistake and was wrong," Arenas 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."

Stern said members of the Wizards organization are still being interviewed by law enforcement authorities.

"Some are scheduled for appearance before the grand jury and the investigation is proceeding with the intensity that one would expect for such a serious incident," Stern said.

Kenny Smith, a former NBA player and now an NBA analyst for TNT Sports, said on "The Early Show" Monday, "I think it's bad discretion, and it shows just probably a lack of maturity on Gilbert's part, more than anything else. I think he has an idea of about how he said it. The reason he had it there was to take it away from the home, but it's bad judgment and being very immature."

Another concern some have addressed is that certain players might want to carry a gun. Is this an issue about image or is it about safety?

Smith said it's an issue of both.

"You look at a lot of NBA players, if you look at them first, I think they're wealthy young men who are really one degree of separation from their friends, their family members who aren't wealthy," Smith said. "So they still will be in areas around the country that aren't your safest neighborhoods. So their mindset is, 'OK, I'll protect myself or I'll hire security to protect myself,' but I think this is just a case of being immature and not realizing the consequences of what could happen with a gun in the arena."

Smith added,"I don't think Gilbert Arenas is a menacing person at all. I know him, I've met him. But this is just a sign of immaturity."

George Dorhmann, of Sports Ilustrated, told CBS News, "I think the discussion starts potentially with a year and beyond that you have to look at the Wizards and what they are going to do with his contract. Could they void his contract? This is a serious deal. I don't even know that even Gilbert understands how serious an offense this is."