Crittendon, a guard for the Wizards, pleaded guilty to the charges on Monday, citing fear as the reason he broke the law, along with breaking the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement by bringing a weapon to an NBA arena. He faces suspension or a fine for the latter.
Through his lawyer, Peter H. White, Crittenton said his client was scared of Arenas. He emphasized that Crittenton, in his third year in the NBA, did not have the stature on the team that Arenas enjoyed.
D.C. Superior Court Senior Judge Bruce Beaudin sentenced Crittenton to a year of unsupervised probation for possession of an unregistered firearm and ordered him to mentor young people in Washington and to help with relief efforts for Haiti. He must also pay a $1,000 fine and $250 into a victims’ fund.
“I accept full responsibility for my bad judgment, my terrible mistake,” Crittenton told the judge as he entered the plea. “I’m deeply sorry to the city of Washington, to the Wizards, to my family and to the NBA for this embarrassment.”
Crittenton eventually voluntarily surrendered his gun to authorities after they unsuccessfully searched his apartment for it Jan. 14.
Conflicting stories abound about the confrontation: gambling, threats, fear, multiple weapons, but whatever the case, was it worth loss of sustenance and freedom? A great example of how one poor choice can lead to complete devastation. -gerald radford
