Is Gilbert Arenas Negatively Portraying Black Athletes?

Gilbert Arenas is currently suspended from the NBA indefinitely pending the results of the charges filed against him for gun possession in the locker room at the Verizon Center. Exactly a week ago on January 15, 2010, Gilbert Arenas was charged with a felony gun possession for carrying a pistol without a license. And that's just the legal side of it. Having weapons in an NBA locker room faces additional consequences with the NBA. His suspension came before the charges due to this photograph that was taken of the superstar mocking the NBA commissioner.


This all started when Gilbert Arenas and his teammate Javaris Crittenton (both pictured below) got into an argument following a card game on the team plane on their way back from Phoenix. Gilbert threatened to light Javaris's car on fire and Javaris threatened to shoot Gilbert in the knee. As a result, Gilbert brought unloaded handguns in the locker room in an attempt to play a prank on Javaris and left him a note reading "Pick one".


Do stories and charges such as these negatively portray the African American community both in sports and in general? It seems that they do. Every time an African American athlete gets in trouble with the law it automatically creates a negative stereotype against the African American community which is not fair. Many famous people voiced their opinions after this event occurred expressing their opinions on what this meant in regards to the African American community. Stephen A. Smith who appears on ESPN, stated that "the mess that Arenas has created is not going away. Nor are the questions destined to follow about professional athletes, specifically those from the African American community -- and how the criminal element has virtually hijacked the culture of black America." Rev. Al Sharpton also voice his opinion on the situation and actually encouraged the NBA commissioner to take harsh actions against Gilbert's mistakes.

A group called the Athlete Liberation and Academic Reform Movement (ALARM) was founded on the premise that "Black men are not gun-toting thugs who mismanage their money and remain illiterate. We are leaders, thinkers and protectors of our communities." Unfortunately, Gilbert Arenas did just the opposite.