Agent Zeroisms
The relevant Gilbert Arenas legal language thread
by Mike Prada on Jan 29, 2010 12:37 PM EST
in Agent Zeroisms
36 comments
It occurs to me that many of us (myself included) are speculating on the possibility of the Wizards voiding Gilbert Arenas' contract without taking as much time as needed to study the actual language of the Uniform Player Contract, the NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement and several other key legal documents that might help us get a better idea. If this isn't your cup of tea, feel free to skip this thread, but I wanted to use it as a dumping point for people to post relevant legal language to help guide our discussion.
Below the jump, the relevant language from the Uniform Player Contract and the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement. Feel free to add more key links so we can update this, and also feel free to speculate on what the language means. Also, if you have any documents and articles from cases you believe are good precedents for this one, please put those in the comments.
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Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton suspended for rest of NBA season (UPDATED)
by Mike Prada on Jan 27, 2010 2:55 PM EST
in Agent Zeroisms
48 comments
According to Michael Lee, the NBA will announce later today that Gilbert Arenas has been suspended for the rest of the NBA season.
Lee reports that Arenas was actually the one to suggest his punishment, and Stern agreed with Arenas' judgement. The NBA Players Association doesn't plan on fighting the decision.
At the end of the day, this is pretty much what was expected. I don't really have a problem with it and I'm personally happy that Arenas wasn't suspended for any longer. It speaks volumes that Arenas went ahead and suggested this punishment. Perhaps Stern told Arenas to do this as a way to see how remorseful he was. Perhaps Arenas legitimately worried he'd be suspended for longer. Either way, it gives you an idea how seriously everyone now takes this.
We'll have much more as it happens here.
UPDATE: More from Lee:
The same source said that during the meeting, Arenas asked Stern about the possibility of having the remaining four years of his six-year $111 million contract voided, to which Stern replied, "That would be left up to the team." He also informed Arenas that members of the Wizards organization had yet made an inquiry about voiding his contract to the NBA's legal department.
UPDATE: Via Adrian Wojnarowski:
Stern had been considering two suspension scenarios for the former All-Star: the remainder of this season or a full 82-game ban that would extend into next season. League sources said Stern gave Arenas the chance to take the shorter suspension if he pledged not to appeal it.
Wojnarowski reports that Javaris Crittenton is expected to receive "a similar punishment."
UPDATE: Via Wojnarowski's Twitter:
Union negotiated rest of season vs full 82 game ban with Stern over past week, well before Arenas walked into NBA office today, sources say.
Arenas understood that if he didn't agree to rest of season suspension, Stern could've well gone for 82 game banishment into next year.
UPDATE: Ken Berger on the void possibility.
Arenas, whose relationship with most members of the Wizards' hierarchy is fractured, has been concerned that the team would seek to void the remaining four years and $81 million on his contract. The team has, to this point, shown no inclination to take such a drastic step, which would face a formidable legal challenge. In his initial suspension letter to Arenas when he suspended him indefinitely on Jan. 7, Stern said his punishment was irrespective of any discipline the team chose to impose. But the collective bargaining agreement contains strong language protecting players from being sanctioned by the league and their team for the same offense.
UPDATE: Poll added.
UPDATE: According to Howard Beck, Javaris Crittenton has also been suspended for the season. Full statement coming.
UPDATE: Stern's statement, via Beck.
The issue here is not about the legal ownership and possession of guns, either in one's home or elsewhere. It is about possession of guns in the NBA workplace, which will not be tolerated. Both have expressed remorse for their actions and an understanding of the seriousness of their transgressions. Both have volunteered to engage in community service to turn the lessons they have learned into an educational message for others. I accept fully the sincerity of their expressions of regret and intent to create something positive from this incident.
Also, to track this story from start to finish, check out SBNation.com's massive story stream.
UPDATE: Here's the Wizards' statement, via my inbox:
The NBA announced today that they have suspended Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton for the remainder of the season. We understand and fully support their decision.
Both players violated D.C. laws and NBA rules by bringing guns into the locker room. Their poor judgment has also violated the trust of our fans and stands in contrast to everything Abe Pollin stood for throughout his life. It is widely known that Mr. Pollin took the extraordinary step of changing the team name from "Bullets" to "Wizards" in 1997 precisely to express his abhorrence of gun violence in our community. We hope that this negative situation can produce something positive by serving as a reminder that gun violence is a serious issue.
We look forward to putting this unfortunate incident behind us and once again focusing our full attention on playing exciting basketball in front of our great fans at Verizon Center.
Ernie Grunfeld, President, Washington Wizards
Irene Pollin, Principal Owner, Washington Sports and Entertainment (WSE)
Robert Pollin, Chief Executive Officer, WSE
James Pollin, President, WSE
Ernie's going to speak to the media today at 6 before the Caps game. I can't attend, but it'll be streaming live on WashingtonWizards.com.
UPDATE: Stern's full statement is here.
UPDATE: Stern's speaking on the matter here.
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We know Gilbert Arenas' post-incident behavior was wrong, but so was the Wizards'
by Mike Prada on Jan 17, 2010 12:42 PM EST
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38 comments
My opinion about the Gilbert Arenas saga remains pretty much unchanged from what it was a couple weeks ago. Gilbert Arenas is not a menace to society and he shouldn't lose his entire livelihood over what basically amounts to a terrible practical joke and a lack of visible remorse, but there's no reason to believe a return to the Wizards on the court was ever going to work. Call it bad timing, call it whatever you want, but the Wizards already had enough problems to deal with before this, so they're under no obligation to bring another potential problem back on the court.
(In other words, the whole "if they were 26-12 instead of 12-26 argument" doesn't hold water. That's just how it is. You're far less likely to get fired from your job for breaking a rule if you're one of the keys to your company's success).
Here's what has changed: I'm annoyed with how the Wizards have distanced themselves from Gilbert Arenas. To be quite honest, it appears like they didn't think this through. Fair or unfair, the whole incident reflects on the organization as much as it reflects on Gilbert Arenas. Kyle made a good analogy yesterday -- Gilbert Arenas is the spoiled child and the organization is the bad parent. Kyle talked all about the spoiled child (and he's right), so let's talk about the bad parent.
Throughout this whole process, the Wizards have done everything they could to say to the world "This isn't our fault!" If TMZ is to be believed (which is debatable), the very first thing Ernie Grunfeld told Arenas wasn't "what were you thinking?" or "we need to talk and get to the bottom of this," but rather, it was "you know we can void your contract, right?" When Arenas got suspended, the Wizards didn't slowly distance themselves from him in a way to display some tact, they literally got rid of everything and pretended Arenas never existed. Finally, when Arenas plead guilty yesterday, the Wizards felt the need to spell out for everyone that Arenas "is responsible for his own actions," a line that is so obvious that it doesn't need to be said ... unless you're trying to put this image in people's heads that you shouldn't carry any responsibility for something that happened within your own organization.
The Wizards are trying to run away from what still remains their problem. When you try to do that, the problem doesn't just go away. It gets worse. Because of all of this, the Wizards now have an even bigger public relations and public opinion nightmare on their hands. The Wizards couldn't afford to make themselves seem worse, yet that's exactly what they've done.
Let's explore how this reaction makes things worse and what ways this could have been approached differently below the jump.
38 comments | 4 recs |
Gilbert Arenas pleads guilty to felony gun possession charge, scheduled to be sentence March 26
by Mike Prada on Jan 15, 2010 3:23 PM EST
in Agent Zeroisms
164 comments
Gilbert Arenas just pled guilty to one felony charge for gun possession, and prosecutors are recommending no more than six months in jail, according to the Washington Post.
The sentencing will occur on March 26. There's several more interesting stuff in that article, and there's more on Dan Steinberg's Twitter account. Also, check out SB Nation's storystream.
Here's Arenas' lawyer's statement:
"Earlier this afternoon, Gilbert Arenas appeared before the Honorable Robert E. Morin of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia and pled guilty to a charge of carrying a pistol in the District of Columbia without a license. He accepted full responsibility for his actions, acknowledged that those actions were wrong and against the law, and has apologized to all who have been affected by his conduct. Mr. Arenas appreciates the professionalism of the authorities handling this matter."
My first thought is that this pretty much eliminates any chance at Arenas coming back this season. Otherwise, I'm still gathering my thoughts. This will keep updating throughout the day.
UPDATE: Every little detail you need to know at this point is in this SB Nation stream update. Check it out for everything you need.
UPDATE: Here's a picture of the type of gun Gilbert Arenas brought to the Verizon Center.
Kavanaugh said the disagreement developed during a team flight back from Phoenix. The other player offered to settle matters with a fist fight, but Arenas, 28, said he was too old for that and suggested he would instead burn the other player's car or shoot him in the face. The argument on the plane ended with the other player saying he would shoot Arenas in his surgically repaired knee.
Two days later, Kavanaugh said, Arenas brought at least one gun to the Verizon Center in a black backpack. He laid out four guns on a chair in front of the other player's locker with a sign saying, "Pick one."
When the other player asked, "What is this?," Arenas responded: "You said you were going to shoot me. Pick one."
The other player said he had his own gun, threw one of Arenas's weapons across the room and then displayed his own firearm, Kavanaugh said.
UPDATE: Here's a copy of the plea agreement document, via Fanhouse.
UPDATE: The Wizards just released what I think is a very, very telling statement. Emphasis mine.
"Gilbert Arenas has been a cornerstone of the Washington Wizards for six years. We are deeply saddened and disappointed in his actions that have led to the events of this afternoon. Gilbert used extremely poor judgment and is ultimately responsible for his own actions."
164 comments | 0 recs |
Gilbert Arenas reaches plea agreement, is pissed at the Wizards
by Mike Prada on Jan 15, 2010 12:06 AM EST
in Agent Zeroisms
76 comments
It's late, so I'm just going to combine two links into one and let you all comment before commenting further.
First, it appears that Arenas is going to accept a plea agreement that allows him to get off with much less than the maximum five-year sentence for the felony he was charged with today. Via the Washington Post:
Gilbert Arenas was charged Thursday with a single count of carrying a pistol without a license, a felony that carries a five-year sentence, but the Washington Wizards guard has reached a plea agreement that could result in much less or even no jail time, several sources close to the case said.
Basketball-wise, though, the issue of far greater importance is Arenas' future with the team. On that count, don't get your hopes up. Michael Lee and Mike Wise write tonight that Arenas feels betrayed by the organization, feeling they didn't support him during this time.
A person close to Arenas said Thursday that Arenas believes President Ernie Grunfeld and the Wizards management failed to support him following his locker room confrontation on Dec. 21 with teammate Javaris Crittenton. The two players were feuding over a gambling debt stemming from a card game on a team flight back to Washington from Phoenix two days earlier.
Arenas, the person close to the player said, has told NBA investigators that his flippant behavior following the incident, including the pantomiming of pistols before a game that led to an indefinite suspension from NBA Commissioner David Stern, was because he felt the Wizards organization had turned its back on him.
"If your own franchise, the people you considered family, weren't there for you when you needed them most, would you want to play for them and be around them anymore?" said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Arenas "was wrong for bringing guns into the locker room, and it's going to mean pleading guilty to a felony. It's serious business. But the way this came out and how Ernie and the organization handled the facts makes you wonder if he will ever play for them again."
There's more in there, including a line about how Arenas got emotional when he told NBA investigators that he didn't feel the team supported him after he made a mistake. Also, one player told Michael Lee (presumably, since he's in Chicago now) that none of this will matter because the whole team's being traded anyway. Nobody said the purging of this squad was going to be easy.
Back to Arenas, though. I understand that this is a remarkably complex issue, and the Wizards were kind of in a no-win situation. I also realize there's a legitimate argument to be made that Arenas deserves no sympathy at all. But Arenas' thoughts kind of confirm what many of us have said this week, which is that the manner in which the Wizards went about this merited questioning. Nobody said they needed to continue to push Arenas as the face of the franchise, but the way they did literally everything they could to distance themselves made any sort of reconciliation impossible. Now, the Wizards are in a position where they better hope the contract can be voided, because Arenas isn't coming back and nobody's going to want to trade him. This is instead of keeping their options open in case things got settled relatively harmlessly (which is still a possibility).
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Gilbert Arenas negotiating a plea agreement, and other links
by Mike Prada on Jan 14, 2010 10:27 AM EST
in Agent Zeroisms
15 comments
This should probably be a FanShot, but I want to highlight several things from the recent Washington Post story on Gilbert Arenas as well as several other links.
One is that Arenas is indeed negotiating a plea agreement that would keep him out of jail entirely. Because he brought four guns into the locker room, Arenas could face up to 20 years in prison (five per gun), but if this plea agreement works, he can get off with any number of lesser penalties.
The sources said it was unclear whether the plea agreement would set Arenas's punishment as probation, community service, a fine or some combination. But the negotiations would ensure that Arenas would not go to jail, one of the sources said.
Of course, there remains a very good chance these negotiations collapse. The article mentions how, if successful, Arenas could be in court today, but there's no Arenas case on the docket yet, so obviously there's still work to be done in terms of the agreement.
However, the (potentially) more interesting part about this article is that new details are emerging on Javaris Crittenton's role in all of this. Here's the interesting line:
An NBA official, on condition of anonymity, said league investigators met with many of the team's players this week. Union attorneys, including Billy Hunter, the head of the players' union, sat in on the interviews. The official added the NBA wants to conclude its investigation, which could result in further penalties to Arenas and some of his teammates, in the next week.
While at least three players testified to league officials they witnessed Crittenton chamber a round in his own gun, there are differences in their accounts. That, plus lack of proof that Crittenton took a weapon to the locker room, make it difficult for the NBA to severely punish the reserve guard, the official said.
A couple thoughts:
- Further penalties?
- If this is true about Crittenton, then it's really unfortunate that we might not get to the bottom of this. I'm having trouble figuring out how three people could agree on a central fact -- Crittenton chambering a round -- and disagree on everything else. Also, the absence of Crittenton's gun is very suspicious. Could he have given it to someone to hide (maybe even Arenas?)? Could he have dropped it in the trash can or something? Does he still have it? This is the aspect of the whole story that remains unbelievably suspicious. Determining what happened to that gun is the make-or-break aspect of all of this.
- Even without the gun, doesn't the NBA have to punish Crittenton severely in some way just for being involved in all of this?
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Discussing long-term burning questions surrounding our own fandom
by Mike Prada on Jan 8, 2010 1:27 PM EST
in Agent Zeroisms
258 comments
I know, I know, convoluted, confusing title. Sorry about that.
But it's become clear (not surprising) that we've kind of beaten the same points on the Arenas/Crittenton incident over and over again. Nothing wrong with that - nuanced discussion is good discussion, and this is an exceedingly complicated issue. But I want to shift the conversation a little bit and have us talk about three somewhat unrelated questions burning through my mind.
- How does this incident affect your Wizards fandom? Can you root for them the same way again? Will you still unconditionally love them? If not, how long will it take for them to win you back, and what would they have to do?
- Assuming you are here for the long haul, how do you try to convince yourself that things are going to be okay in the long/short run? How have you done this in the past, when similar embarrassing moments happened?
- It's become pretty clear to me that Gilbert Arenas has played his last game here. Assuming that's actually true, how are you going to remember the Gilbert Arenas era? How should the era be remembered? What memories, good or bad, stick out in your mind?
258 comments | 1 recs
Mike Wise: Javaris Crittenton had a gun, loaded it and cocked it
by Mike Prada on Jan 6, 2010 10:26 PM EST
in Agent Zeroisms
239 comments
Mike Wise unearths some stunning new details on the incident between Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton.
According to two first-hand accounts of the confrontation, Crittenton responded to Arenas's action -- which included laying the four unloaded weapons in Crittenton's cubicle with a note that read, "Pick One" -- by brandishing his own firearm, loading a clip of ammunition into the gun and cocking the weapon.
Two of the five people in the room that morning, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Arenas had originally not disclosed Crittenton's action to protect the little-used guard from prosecution and had told Crittenton he would assume full responsibility for the actions of both players that day.
Wow! Crittenton denied the reports, texting that they were "false" and that the investigation would prove he was innocent. But wait, there's more.
Walking into the locker room by himself two days after the dispute on the team plane, according to two witnesses, Arenas laid out the guns in Crittenton's locker. Two other teammates eventually sauntered in and, while Arenas was writing the note in front of Crittenton's cubicle, in walked Crittenton, according to their account.
Asking Arenas what he was doing, Arenas replied, "If you want to shoot me, I'd just thought I'd make it easy for you." As other teammates laughed, Crittenton crumpled up the paper, tossed one of Arenas's guns across the room, where it bounced in front of a team trainer, and said he didn't need any of Arenas' firearms because he had his own, according to the witness accounts.
Crittenton then drew his weapon, loaded the clip into the chamber and cocked the bar, the witnesses said.
Neither witness said the gun was ever pointed at Arenas, but both said Crittenton began singing as he held the gun.
Arenas began laughing, the witnesses said, telling Crittenton, "Look at that little shiny gun," as two other players slowly retreated to the training room.
Arenas eventually followed. By the time the players came back out, Crittenton was gone.
It's worth mentioning that a Wizards official was quoted as saying that this was one version of the story they've heard. But if this is true, doesn't this kind of change everything?
Editor's Note: Okay, I probably jumped the gun (no pun intended) on saying it changes "everything." Thanks to all on Twitter who knocked some sense into me there.
(That's all I'll say on this now. I need to let this digest. Wow. Mike Wise, you continue to amaze me).
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