Arenas Case Enters More Sane Phase

The Gilbert Arenas Saga is over. Due to the sentencing date, Arenas is highly unlikely to return to a court this season. At that point, the furor will have died down; at worst, Gil will do a little time during the offseason -- not the first athlete to do so -- and be available again in time for 2010-11. If Ron Artest can change his image from "lunatic who starts riots" to "loose cannon who might distract you," then surely Arenas can complete his circle, ending up back at "talented eccentric" after having spent these past few weeks playing Nicky Barnes.

Even the Wizards, who ran for the hills the second Arenas stopped following the script for repentance, might see it in their best interest to not railroad their (former) franchise player.

Even when Stern reinstates Gil, his career may already effectively be over. He's injury-prone and not getting any younger. But if you support Arenas -- and let me clarify, that's by no means an endorsement of his actions -- there's a certain relief that this mega-event is winding down. The sentence isn't settled; the contract hangs in the balance; this season may have been crucial to the Wizards guard learning to adapt his game. But the furor will die down, another story will flare up in its place, and public figures, politicians and sententious experts will be forced to move onto the latest sociocultural hot zone.

That's what made the photos of Arenas, wandering out of the courthouse alone, in shock, and staring down at the ground like he could see right though it, so affecting. The man is not evil. Stupid sometimes, silly, irresponsible, arrogant, but not evil. But between the compulsive reporting that fed the public its information on the case, and the need we have to latch onto certain kinds of stories -- "NBA criminals" and "fallen millionaires" being near the top -- Arenas was fashioned into something he wasn't it. His reaction, which provoked almost as much outrage as the crime itself, was the most Arenas-like, idiosyncratic, and confusing aspect of the last few weeks. Somehow, though, it was morphed into typical thug posturing.

In a league with lots of guns, the silliest man around played a prank, then refused to help with damage control. He didn't help his cause, but at the same time, Gil knew he was already taking on exaggerated significance. There were plenty of opinions, coming from every conceivable media outlet or man on the street, who didn't know the first thing about Gilbert Arenas, or other recent NBA gun cases. Stern had to make a statement with Arenas, especially after FINGER GUNZ. And yet you have to ask yourself, who was the audience there?

Remember when then-MVP candidate, and scoring champ, Carmelo Anthony was suspended 15 games for that sucker-punch on some random Knick? That was all about fighting off the specter of The Brawl. Again, Anthony got made an example of, offered up to the most fickle fans and noisy radio personalities without much regard for the real weight of his offense. Melo deserved a couple games. In a calm, rational world, Arenas should've been hit with 20-30 games. But this wasn't the downfall of the NBA. If anything, Arenas' unrepentant attitude -- which I guess makes him worse than puppy-murdering Michael Vick -- was the wild card, the other shooter on the grassy knoll. It made it difficult for even us hardcore observers of the Association to make sense of it all.

Yet somehow, a totally weird episode got packaged and sold without a hitch. Much of the public didn't know the first thing about the principals when the first reports hit. They just ate up the chance to trot out the same old tired outrage. Arenas doesn't play along. Firestorm ensues. And now, Gil's gone from the Verizon Center, and will surface again this season only to hear his sentence. It gives everyone a chance to move on -- if they never really cared to begin with -- or at least calm down and put things in perspective.

Is punishment in order? Of course. Do Arenas and the Wizards need to cut ties? Most likely. Is Gil at a crossroads as a player and personality? Duh. Today, I'm just happy that we can get on with the very serious work of sorting these issues out. The carrion have left town.