Gilbert Arenas

The Washington Post is running an article entitled, "Who is Gilbert Arenas? Even He Doesn't Seem to Know." Earlier this week, NBA Commissioner David Stearn indefinitely suspended Arenas from playing in the professional basketball league because he pulled out several guns in the locker room. Sally Jenkins the author writes, "Arenas bears a series of tattoos on his legs that he calls Black Rushmore: images of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Nelson Mandela, and Barack Obama. When he first displayed them, they seemed nobler than the usual body art, more interesting than the inked tiger on his chest. They bespoke a guy who, beneath his teasing, was susceptible to meaning, conscious of things beyond himself. But now they just seem like costuming. The guy might as well have tattooed a feather boa onto his neck, for all the emblems seem to mean to him."

Questions to Consider

1. What do you think are the major reasons that people sometimes act foolishly?

2. If you could ask Gilbert Arenas one question in addition to "Why did you do it?" what would you ask him? Why?

3. Do you think that adults have tendencies to fall back on childish behaviors at times? Why or why not?

4. Do you think that professional athletes should be role models? See if you can answer this question from multiple perspectives.