Outspoken Washington Wizard Gilbert Arenas Fined for His...Lack of Words?

(Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

I think you know what SI's sign of apocalypse will be this week.

Washington Wizards PG Gilbert Arenas was fined $25,000 for NOT speaking to the media. The team was fined the same amount. The self coined “Hibachi” is feeling cold.

This guy never used to shut up! Countless press conference and interview rants and raves. The commercials, nicknames, video games and blog posts are all a thing of the past for Agent Zero.

In the Washington, D.C. area, "Gilbertology" was the name given to his unorthodox behavior on and off the court, first coined by former Wizards head coach Eddie Jordan. After being criticized for shooting too much as a point guard, Arenas would play games nearly without shooting at all, and then score at will the next game.

On road trips, he often avoided team outings on the town in favor of sitting in his room and ordering products from infomercials, such as a colon cleanser. He has admitted to enjoying sleeping on the couch rather than on his bed, and that he once ate 12 cheeseburgers while on a road trip with the Wizards in Canada.

He was one of the first athletes’ to jump on the blog train. NBA.com called him the first “blog superstar.”

Media day this season signaled his intention to keep quiet, declaring, "I'm not the entertainer anymore."

Arenas is returning after playing a total of 15 games the past two seasons following three operations on his left knee. Wouldn’t you think he has been chomping at the bits to remind everybody about Gilbert?

"I don't feel like speaking anymore. I just want to go out there and play," he said during media day.

“When I was entertaining, all you guys focused on was my words. Now I'd rather you just focus on my basketball."

A changed man?

Arenas is pulling a complete 180 degree turn...but why? He thrived on his cockiness. He was a free spirit that kept the Wizards loose. Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler fed off the incredibly high energy level he brought to every game. A serious Arenas is a serious problem for the Wiz.

The closest sports comparison to Arenas is Chad OchoCinco of the Cincinnati Bengals. Both players are in the top 10 at their position. Both had flamboyant personalities that fueled them into the spot light constantly, for better or worse. Each one was the face of their franchise and for their respective leagues as well.  

In 2008 Chad had a boycott on the Cincinnati media, didn’t talk for almost a year (unless he was on ESPN complaining about his contract.)

The results were spectacularly awful. He had the worst season of his career and the Bengals were 4-11-1. This year Chad is yapping again and everything is back to normal. He has returned to Pro Bowl form and the Bengals already have last seasons win total after five games (4-1).

I’m not saying the two players are wired the same way. But sometimes athletes need to be talking. The desire to challenge the opponent is installed in a player at a young age. It’s a mentality they will carry for as far as the sport will take them.

There is little doubt that Arenas will continue to talk plenty of trash on the court. But is the guy going to completely shut down directly after? Seeing a quiet version of Arenas just doesn’t seem right.

We’ll see how long this lasts but don’t be surprised if the Wizards struggle early on as they adjust to a rusty Arenas and his newly found off the court persona.

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