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Gilbert Arenas Dances Leaving Jail Hours After Kwame Brown Celebrated His Arrest

#Gilbert Arenas
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Kwame Brown reacts to Gilbert Arenas' arrest

© Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / © Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images


Gilbert Arenas is “back on the streets” following an arrest for his alleged participation in an illegal gambling ring. Former teammate Kwame Brown is in shambles.

Brown was heard celebrating Arenas’ hardship, reigniting a years-long feud that extends well-beyond their playing days. He may now see some online retaliation.

“Doing all that bippenin’ and bappenin’, saying, ‘He’s a drunk, he’s a this, he’s a that, talking about my momma, my family,'” Brown said in a video following the news. “I told people one thing. I said, ‘This is a dumb motha—. He’s gonna self-sabotage. He’s a dummy.’

“Today is like my [expletive] birthday.”

-Kwame Brown

Why was Gilbert Arenas arrested?

The former NBA star has been accused of running an illegal high stakes poker operation in Southern California. He faces significant jail time if charged.

“From September 2021 to July 2022, Gershman, Arenas, and the other defendants operated an illegal gambling business,” a statement read.

“Arenas rented out an Encino mansion he owned for the purpose of hosting high-stakes illegal poker games. At Arenas’ direction, Arthur Kats, 51, of West Hollywood, staged the mansion to host the games, found co-conspirators to host the games, and collected rent from the co-conspirators on Arenas’ behalf.”

Arenas is being charged with one count of conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, one count of operating an illegal gambling business, and one count of making false statements to federal investigators.

The Kwame Brown beef explained.

Brown is a former No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick. He largely failed to live up to expectations.

Gilbert Arenas played alongside Kwame Brown with the Wizards in the 2003-o4 and 2004-05 seasons. He’s been vocal about his lack of commitment to professional basketball.

“If you think you are ‘It,’ or you think you know ‘It,’… you’re not accepting anything,” he said in a 2024 edition of his Gil’s Arena podcast.

“You’re not accepting knowledge because you think you know it. That’s the problem… His problem wasn’t that he didn’t have the skill. His problem was that he didn’t want to do nothing.”

Arenas has also been heard calling Brown a drunk, saying that wherever he went, he was a cancer to the organization. Brown, meanwhile, has accused Arenas of ruining his career.

Gilbert Arenas is ‘back on the streets.’

He posted a video dancing on social media a few hours after the news of his arrest went viral.

“This ain’t got shyt to do with me,” he wrote. “Just rented the house, wasn’t apart.”

Arenas maintains his innocence in the situation. He’s pleaded not guilty to the accusations. He insists that his role in the illegal operation was minimal.

It will be interesting to see what happens next in the case. With Arenas being back on social media, it seems likely that he’ll have a response to Kwame Brown’s initial reaction to the arrest.