LOS ANGELES — True to his zany self to the end of a farce he created, blew up and then volunteered to atone for, Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas was suspended for the rest of the season by NBA Commissioner David Stern on Wednesday.
Arenas' teammate, Javaris Crittenton, who engaged in this so-called joke that involved five handguns in the Wizards dressing room, was also suspended for the season.
None of the weapons was licensed in the District of Columbia, and bringing them to the arena was a violation of NBA rules.
"We mean what we say when we say that guns are prohibited from being in our buildings and on team business," Stern said in a conference call.
The suspension will cost Arenas $9.9 million of this season's $16.2-million salary.
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Of that, $2.4 million is already gone. That's how much Arenas cost himself with his pregame skit Jan. 5, prompting Stern, who had been waiting for the legal process to run its course, to start his suspension early.
Meanwhile, Crittenton was allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and was given a year of probation. A former Los Angeles Laker, Crittenton hasn't played this season because of injury, and will lose $686,000 of his $1.48-million salary.
