Sports For Chicks: This Chicks Sick of Gun Totin' Athletes

Ladies and Gentleman, what in the world is going on in the Wide World of Sports?  Let me rephrase..since I'm not hearing about any locker room gun totin' athletes in other countries, maybe I should say Wide World of  U.S. Sports?  Is it not bad enough that our crime rates are sky high in the streets that now we need to have issues within our sports venues?

Of course I am talking about the recent incident involving Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton of the Washington Wizards.  Arenas admits to bringing four guns into the Wizard's locker room and showing them off, allegedly with the intent of intimidating Crittenton.  The two had a difference of opinion over a gambling issue that had taken place on the Wizard's bus.  Arenas was suspended without pay on Wednesday by NBA Commissioner David Stern.  Suspended?  That's it?  So I guess if you have a contract to make $111 million, you get suspended.  Any one of us commoners with a regular 40 hr/week job would be fired...on the spot.

Well, what they do with Arenas is his business I guess, except for all the little kids who watch him play and want to be just like him.  It's kind of their business too, especially if they idolize him.  We hear this debate a lot, about the responsiblities of athletes as role models.  Apparently all the discussion is leading to a great big "goose egg", "zilch", "nada", nothin' , not even an "official time out."

Let's see, I've picked on the NBA enough, so let's talk NFL and NY Giants Plaxico Burress shooting himself in the leg because he was stupid enough to carry a handgun in his sweatpants...and then go into a club.  Yep, he's in jail.  Let's not forget Rae Carruth of the Carolina Panthers who ordered a hit on his pregnant girlfriend, and got it-- and a murder charge.  Now on to hockey.

NHL is full of violence.  Okay, its somehow permittable to beat the crap out of somebody on the ice, as long as you only use your hands.  Marty McSorley of the L.A. Kings went a step further and decided it'd be okay to use his stick a little...well a little bit of an assault charge followed.

Sports are competitive.  Rivalries are vicious. I get it. I'm not gripin' about all of this because I'm a girl and don't understand what all of the rough housing is about.  I'm griping because irresponsible people with guns result in dead people. There is nothing competitive about that.

Sports are about athleticism, competition, the last minute saves, the hail mary passes, the crack of a bat when it hits a home run, the swish of the net, the hush on the 18th green, the deafening roar of a last minute score before the buzzer.  There is no room here for guns and criminal records.  (I didn't even get into all the gambling, drugs, or domestic abuse).  If you can't play staight you don't deserve the millions.  If you can't be respectable you don't deserve our respect.

 I want to be able to watch my sports heroes and games on my sports channels.  If I wanted criminal investigations and  pleas, I'd watch one of those guy cop shows on one of those guy crime channels.

To the athletes who are playing with guns...get with it or get out.  There are too many awesome players out there who aren't in the lime light for their victories because you're hoggin' it all for your court hearings.