Schultz conveyed his fears about young people being influenced by athletes who own guns (video below page break):
I`ve often wondered, why doesn`t David Stern, who`s been the commissioner of the NBA for a long time, just put his foot down and say, "If you want to play in our league, you can`t own firearms. We are in the image business. We`re not in the thug business. We`re in the business of making sure that we send a good message to the youth of this country"? And I`ll guarantee you that there’s probably some kid out there saying that, well, gosh, I can own a handgun because my favorite player on this NBA team does. That's how kids think.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Tuesday, January 5, The Ed Show, on MSNBC:
ED SCHULTZ: And in my "Playbook" tonight, this is a cultural issue that I`ve wanted to talk about for a long time, and now this comes up. Two Washington Wizards basketball players in the NBA – Gilbert Arenas and Jarvaris Crittenden – I`m sure they`re good guys. They`re being investigated by local and federal authorities after reports that they pulled handguns on each other in the Wizards` locker room.
Now, Arenas denies that happened. He did admit to storing several guns in the locker room, but he says that they were unloaded, and he did that so he could keep them away from his kids, and so they wouldn`t get a hold of them. And I understand that. But no word yet on penalties that these guys are going to be facing. The NBA, of course, bans players from bringing guns into basketball arenas or into the practice facility.
Folks, that just doesn`t go far enough. Professional athletes in this country are viewed by impressionable kids as stars. That`s the life they want to live. They want to be just like them. They work hard because some day maybe they`ll get a chance to be a big-time basketball star in the NBA. With the visibility comes the responsibility.I`ve often wondered, why doesn`t David Stern, who`s been the commissioner of the NBA for a long time, just put his foot down and say, "If you want to play in our league, you can`t own firearms. We are in the image business. We`re not in the thug business. We`re in the business of making sure that we send a good message to the youth of this country"?
And I`ll guarantee you that there’s probably some kid out there saying that, well, gosh, I can own a handgun because my favorite player on this NBA team does. That`s how kids think. And I think it’s a sad day when we have people in a position of responsibility who can make a difference and just pass the buck because they`re a good player and we`re really afraid to discipline these players. Telling them that they can`t bring it into the facility isn`t good enough. If you want to play in the NBA, you can`t own firearms because with the visibility comes the responsibility, and there’s a lot of people that look up to the players in the NBA. At least we want them to look up to the players in the NBA because the youth of America pays a lot of attention to them. Sad day for the league that they have to deal with this.
