For the last month, NBA news has been dominated not by scores and predictions but by a new gambling controversy spawned by an in-flight showdown between two Washington Wizards players. On December 19, a high stakes card game between Wizards teammates got a little too heated when Gilbert Arenas pulled an empty gun on Javaris Crittenton who in turn revealed his own loaded weapon. While the dispute was settled without injury to either player, the incident has greatly damaged NBA's already questionable image.
Arenas has since been suspended indefinitely without pay while Crittenton's future remains uncertain. Other participating Wizards players were fined, though gambling is not (yet) explicitly forbidden by the NBA. The controversy has spread beyond the Wizards, and now other teams are scrambling to avoid criticism of their own questionable policies. The Nets have already banned gambling on their team planes, and as more stories of behind-the-scenes high-stakes gambling emerge, the entire basketball community is waiting to see how Commissioner Stern will address the issue.
