The Washington Wizards never told the NBA that an all-star player and his teammate drew guns on each other in the team's locker room during a fight over a gambling debt, the New York Post reported.
The league reportedly found out about the Dec. 21 incident after the Post inquired about it. The alleged gun duel now threatens to end not only the careers of the two players involved, all-star Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton — but also of general manager Ernie Grunfeld, the Post reported.
"This is gonna cost Ernie Grunfeld his job," a former NBA team president told The Post. "Because the buck stops at the top."
Neither player nor Grunfeld have been suspended.
The incident occurred inside the locker room at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. Arenas, 27, reportedly went for his gun first after a verbal fight with Crittenton about a gambling debt. Crittenton, 22, allegedly brandished a firearm as well, the Post reports, citing unnamed inside sources.
It was unclear whether other teammates saw the standoff, the Post reported.
The Wizards announced on Christmas Day that Arenas had admitted to bringing guns to the locker room and had turned them over to team security. The NBA club's statement didn't disclose how Wizards officials discovered that Arenas was storing weapons on the job.
"It's in the hands of [Washington] authorities," Grunfeld told the Post, declining to go into details. "We're going to get to the bottom of this, if there is a bottom to this."
Washington police said they were investigating Arenas for gun-possession violations.
Arenas reportedly told the team he had brought the guns to the locker room because he didn't want the weapons near his newborn baby in his Virginia home.
Arenas made several postings during the day in response to the Post's story. He tweeted, "i understand this is serious .. but if u ever met me you know i dont do serious things im a goof ball this story today dont sound goofy to me."
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