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VIA NEW YORK DAILY NEWS:

NBA commissioner David Stern has sidelined Wizards star Gilbert Arenas indefinitely for bringing guns into the Wizards locker room late last month.

In announcing that he suspended Arenas Wednesday without pay, Stern said that Arenas faces a “substantial suspension and perhaps worse” when the NBA makes a definitive ruling on the matter after it completes its investigation.

Stern did not elaborate on the latter “perhaps worse” but that could potentially mean a lifetime ban for Arenas, who could have his contract, worth $96 million, for this season and over the next four seasons, voided.

“The possession of firearms by an NBA player in an NBA arena is a matter of the utmost concern to us,” Stern said in a statement released by the league. “I initially thought it prudent to refrain from taking immediate action because of the pendency of a criminal investigation involving the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and the Metropolitan Police Department, and the consideration of this matter by a grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia.”

But Stern said he decided to take action because Arenas “is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game.”

Arenas apologized for bringing several guns to the Wizards locker room after he was interviewed by federal prosecutors. He said that removing the unloaded guns from his locker, in a confrontation with teammate Javaris Crittenton in a dispute involving gambling debts, was “a misguided effort to play a joke on a teammate.”

However, NBA players are prohibited from bringing guns onto team property and to team functions and are regularly reminded of it. If Arenas’ actions result in a felony, that could result in Arenas having his contract voided.

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