Guns in Washington DC Wizards Locker Room

No one was harmed, but it appears as if at least two of the Washington Wizard players had handguns with them in Washington DC.

NBA all-star Gilbert Arenas and his Washing ton Wizards teammate Javaris Crittenton drew guns on each other in the team's locker room during a Christmas Eve dispute over a gambling debt, The Post has learned. . . .

A top players-union official said he was shocked by the allegations. "This is unprecedented in the history of sports," said Player's Association Executive Director Billy Hunter. "I've never heard of players pulling guns on each other in a locker room."

Of course, this is raising the whole issue of athletes with guns again. Some anecdotal evidence indicates that a lot of players own guns.

The Nets, to a man, swear they've never seen guns in their locker room -- but some estimate that as many as 75 percent of NBA players own them.
"I guess they feel like they need some sort of protection," guard Devin Harris said yesterday, guessing that 60 to 75 percent keep at least one gun at home.
Forward Jarvis Hayes played for four years with Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas, who's under investigation for taking a gun into his locker room. He called 75 percent "a fair number."
"I didn't think he'd bring a gun to the locker room," Hayes said. "When I first heard it, I thought he might've been playing, but he wasn't, apparently."
"There's a time and a place for everything," said guard Keyon Dooling. "On the job is not it."

Some in the media are bashing athletes for having guns.

Out of such fears, athletes arm themselves, ignoring the good sense of Paul Pierce, the Celtics star who was the victim of a multiple stabbing at a Boston nightclub -- but still chooses to take a security person with him, rather than his licensed handgun.
A limo driver is dead and the fate of ex-NBA star Jayson Williams still is in legal limbo over a horrific, accidental firing at Williams' New Jersey mansion eight years ago. And yet athletes such as Allen Iverson, Sebastian Telfair and Delonte West still have been arrested on gun charges out of exaggerated needs to arm themselves.

Some NBA players carry concealed handguns:

A tower of power, he stands 7 feet 1 inch, weighs 325 pounds, and bears a tattoo of Superman's signature "S" on his massive left arm. Yet NBA great Shaquille O'Neal protects himself off the basketball court with more than his physical might and inky bond with the Man of Steel.

He is licensed to carry a concealed weapon. . . .