'I Am Trying Hard to Right My Wrongs'

In op-ed, suspended Wizards guard reaches out to young fans
By Marie Morris,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 1, 2010 6:19 PM CST
'I Am Trying Hard to Right My Wrongs'
In this Jan. 5, 2010, photo, Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas dribbles during a game against the 76ers in Philadelphia.   (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Gilbert Arenas has learned his lesson. "Professional athletes have a duty to act responsibly and to understand the influence we have on all those kids who look up to us," the Wizards guard, suspended for the remainder of the NBA season and awaiting sentencing on a felony gun possession charge, writes in a Washington Post op-ed. "I failed to live up to that responsibility when I broke the law and set such a bad example."

Taking the newspaper up on its suggestion that he reach out to young fans, Arenas comes clean, running down a list of his transgressions and vowing to do better. "Guns and violence are serious problems, not joking matters—a lesson that's been brought home to me over the past few weeks," he writes. "Washington's children, parents and fans all deserve better from me, especially after all the kindness they've shown me over the years."
(More Gilbert Arenas stories.)

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