Gilbert Arenas, the former NBA player, got charged as a felon by the District of Columbia for his role in an illegal street bookmaking operation. He’s best-known for his stops with the Washington Wizards and Memphis Grizzlies. Those are very serious allegations against the 43-year-old. The charges include conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, operating an illegal gambling business, and making false statements to federal investigators. He is scheduled to appear this afternoon in U.S. District Court for his arraignment.
According to court documents, Arenas was leasing his Encino, California home. It soon became a site for underground poker nights. An associate of Arenas is said to have photographed the mansion for these games. They were proactive in the way that they recruited their co-conspirators to actually operate the gambling events. This associate further oversaw the collection of rent from these co-conspirators on Arenas’ behalf.
These legal woes are an unfortunate bookend to the type of play Arenas became known for on the hardwood. During his 11 seasons in the NBA, he averaged an incredible 20.7 points per game. His craft really came to light in some of his stops, none more so than with the Golden State Warriors and Orlando Magic. December 2009 marked a dark chapter in his career that became unsurmountable. To start with, he and then-teammate Javaris Crittenton were responsible for bringing guns into the Wizards’ locker room. In what Arenas later called “gunGate”, tempers were flaring from beef that started with trash talk on a team flight over a card game.
The pending charges against Arenas have significant ramifications as well. If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, per count. These charges further highlight the growing pressure on activities associated with gambling. This is especially important considering his previous issues with firearms and gambling-related offenses.
Arenas last stepped on an NBA court in 2012. In his previously unheralded career, the balance remains on both impressive accomplishments and difficulty-laden controversy. His next scheduled court appearance on November 14th is an important inflection point. Today, he is facing legal repercussions that threaten to severely tarnish his reputation and legacy.
Leave a Reply