Sources have told TMZ that the Gilbert Arenas/Javaris Crittenton incident may have been caught on tape.
We’re told the Washington Wizards have told D.C. cops they have locker room surveillance video but are having trouble downloading it. The Geek Squad — aka computer-savvy detectives — are going to the Wizards organization today to help.
And get this — a source connected with the investigation tells TMZ the Wizards have been “over cooperative” with cops — as the source says, “almost as if they want Arenas to go down.”
Why would the Wizards want to go down? Hmm. Maybe it’s the four years and $80 million remaining on his contract. If he gets into serious trouble with the law, the Wizards may be able to void his contract.
Arenas’ contract would be nullified if convicted of a felony. Instead of having a team salary of $79 million, the Wizards would sit at a far more manageable $62 million, with their largest, long-term obligation magically off the books.
Making matters worse (or maybe better, from the Wizards perspective), Arenas did not have a license for the guns (TMZ).
SI.com has more on the possibility of voiding his contract.
The NBA’s collective bargaining agreement clearly states that a contract can be voided if a player “at any time, fails, refuses, or neglects to conform his personal conduct to standards of good citizenship, good moral character (defined here to mean not engaging in acts of moral turpitude, whether or not such acts would constitute a crime), and good sportsmanship …” It could be argued that any criminal charges leveled against Arenas would constitute a failure in personal conduct.
I’m a little torn on this issue. Part of me would like to see the Wizards suffer for signing a player coming off of an injury to such a bloated contract. But given his lack of remorse, Arenas should pay for what he did, and if that means the franchise can erase his deal from the books, then so be it.
I like the guy’s quirkiness, but this is ridiculous.
