Players and Coaches React to Gilbert Arenas' Suspension

As news of Gilbert Arenas' indefinite suspension reached NBA fans Wednesday afternoon, many players and coaches were blissfully unaware, too engaged in their regular game-day routines to discover the news.

In Atlanta, Hawks guard Jamal Crawford didn't learn of David Stern's decision until asked by FanHouse for his reaction. "I'm just kind of blown away," Crawford said before taking the court against the Nets. "I just hope everything works out for the best. I don't know every detail and even the suspension is news to me. So I don't know that part. That's just tough. I just hope it works out for everybody involved."

In Orlando, Hedo Turkoglu was also surprised. "I didn't know they had suspended him," he said. "He made a mistake. It was the wrong thing to do. I just hope people can forgive him. As a father, he was trying to do something good, get the guns out of his home. I feel sorry for him. He's an important guy for this league. Hopefully, he realizes what he did, and people can forgive him."

Nets guard Devin Harris, preparing for his game in Atlanta, shared similar sentiments in an interview with FanHouse. "It's an unfortunate situation all the way around," he said. "Obviously, with ramifications of what was going on and how much attention it got, obviously they had to feel they needed to do something like they did. As I said, it's just unfortunate."

Harris also tried to clarify statements he made to the New York Post last week, in which he suggested that 75 percent of the NBA's players own guns. "That's an estimation," he said. "I don't (know) at all. If you look around, you could guess. That's what my guess would be. I have no idea."

Regardless of how many players own guns, their presence in the locker room is simply unheard of -- or at least, it was until last month. "Not during my time have I ever seen guns in the locker room," Hawks coach Mike Woodson told FanHouse.

"I've never really heard about it too much," Crawford said. "But you never can tell what happens. There's 30 teams. So who knows what's going on anywhere else?"

It's not happening in Orlando, something for which Magic coach Stan Van Gundy is grateful. "I can't imagine any of our guys pulling (a gun) on one another, but on me ...?" he joked. "I'm glad they don't (bring guns into our locker room) because I'm sure I'd be the one they were bringing it in for."

Van Gundy added, "I don't want to make light of the situation because it's a serious matter. Players are well aware of the rules. Everyone knows the rules. The ground has been covered. Everyone's awareness has been heightened."

Arenas pleaded ignorance to Washington D.C.'s gun laws when he initially apologized last week, but Magic guard Anthony Johnson reiterated Van Gundy's stance that there's no excuse for Arenas not knowing the NBA's restrictions.

"You don't want to put yourself in a position where David Stern has to come down on you. Whenever Stern wants to see you, you don't want that."
- Anthony Johnson "You know coming into the league, there are rules to play by," said Johnson. "And there's no place for firearms in an NBA arena. We all know that. We're told time and time again what the rules are. It's unfortunate because he's such a great player, a great ambassador for the league.

"You don't want to put yourself in a position where David Stern has to come down on you. Whenever Stern wants to see you, you don't want that. I've been there before. Stern is the last person you want to see in that kind of a predicament. But there's just no place in a locker room room, around your teammates, for a gun."

All the way across the country in Phoenix, Suns coach Alvin Gentry said the same thing. "I really don't know all the details," Gentry said. "I just know that nothing good can come out of having a gun in the locker room. ... I don't know why he would have a gun in the locker room. To me, it's just bad judgment on his part. I know that Gilbert is not a bad kid, it's just some bad judgments that he made. And sometimes there are consequences for those."

In Cleveland, after his team easily defeated the Arenas-less Wizards, LeBron James said he wasn't surprised by Stern's decision. "Surprised, no. Honestly, I'm not," he said. "People have been asking me my opinion and what I thought would happen. I didn't know it would be that extreme. I didn't know he would be suspended indefinitely. It's definitely tough. I know Gil and he loves the game of basketball, and that's for anybody, to have the game be taken away from you like that, I know it's tough. But you've got to use better judgment sometimes."

Suns forward Amar'e Stoudemire hopes young fans won't get the wrong message. "For all the kids out there, or young adults, just make sure to be safe out there with the firearms," he said. "It's never a fun thing, it's not cool to carry firearms. At all. Unless you're with the law enforcement, then okay, you've got to protect and serve. But other than that, there's no reason to carry firearms. You definitely want to stay away from violence."

The timing of Arenas' suspension seems to be in response to his not taking his situation seriously enough to Stern's liking, which Suns forward Jared Dudley thinks was a mistake. "I felt that the picture of him pointing (with his fingers) pregame, I mean, that's not really the smartest," Dudley said following Phoenix's game against the Rockets.

"But his attitude's been like he hasn't done anything wrong, so I hope overall the facts come out (to back that up). I know it's wrong bringing guns in, but hopefully it stops (with the suspension). You don't want to see anyone get their contract voided, I hope that doesn't happen. Hopefully he takes things a little more seriously."

While Arenas must wait and see just how long his punishment will last, the consequences of his mistake are already being felt by the entire league, as players have become targets of renewed criticism due to the poor judgment of one individual.

"There's been a lot of things that have happened as far as the image of the NBA," Nets center Josh Boone told FanHouse. "All we can control is what we do. It's unfortunate that something like this happens. But the fact is the guys in the NBA really are good guys. We really do try and work hard to put up a good image, which is what we really are."

FanHouse writers Tim Povtak, Chris Tomasson and Brett Pollakoff contributed to this report.