The Wizards’ wildest era had to be when Gilbert Arenas was the supreme overlord of the locker room. Between pranks and off-court shenanigans, some stories the mid-2000s Wizards are too unhinged to believe. That’s probably why, when Shannon Sharpe had former Washington Wizards rookie and Arenas’ perennial victim, Nick Young, across from him, he had to get confirmation of some of the craziest stories from that team. One of the infamous incidents in Wizards lore involved an unauthorized night out with a cheerleader, which led to her exit. Young didn’t just confirm it, he also revealed how Gilbert Arenas stepped in with $10,000 in cash.
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Appearing on Club Shay Shay podcast, Swaggy P reflected on the chaotic off-court culture, including Arenas putting dog poop in teammate Andray Blatche’s shoes and altering his name tag to read “b—h.” As the bona fide franchise centerpiece, Agent Zero got away with all these pranks unpunished, Swaggy claimed.
But when Sharpe brought up the consequences of Swaggy’s own rookie misadventures with Blatche that cost a cheerleader her job, the former NBA champion had to ask, “How do you know about…?”
Young eventually admitted that as a 2007 first-round draft pick, he was oblivious to the strict organizational boundaries separating players and dance team members. “Yes. I didn’t know. But we didn’t know that cheerleaders could get fired,” Young told Sharpe.
Sharpe immediately reminded Young of the universal rule among sports leagues, noting, “You know cheerleaders not supposed to mess with the players, Swaggy.”
Young apparently didn’t think the cheerleader deserved to be fired. That’s when Gilbert Arenas stepped up with a gesture that made Swaggy respect him as a friend.
“That’s why Gil was a good friend, cause he ended up giving the lady like $10,000 just for getting fired for us,” Young said. “That’s why I like, you know, Gil might do something… but he’s a good dude.”
While Unc agreed, he pressed for more details on what really happened. Young explained that he wasn’t trying to get anyone fired. He also dismissed the misconception that it was some petty move against Blatche or the cheerleader.
The situation, according to Swaggy, escalated after a team gathering where he and Blatche became “too friendly” with a cheerleader before leaving early together. When organization officials confronted the players at practice the following day, Young admitted his composure completely broke down under questioning.
“We ended up leaving early and they found out. And then we come to practice, they had a little sit-down with us.”
When Sharpe questioned if the staff asked, “Why’d you lie?'” Swaggy said, “Yeah… But they already knew. I guess she told them already.”
It made Sharpe joke that he couldn’t hang out with Swaggy and Arenas at the risk of his own personal secrets spilling out.
To that, Young conceded, “I’m not good with pressure. Like, the pressure was on me. I damn near snitched on Andray Blatche. I said it was him.”
But Young didn’t really frame Blatche. Both players got away with it and the cheerleader was fired for fraternizing with two players beyond professional boundaries.
Gilbert Arenas explained the context behind Wizards’ cheerleader firing
Gilbert Arenas himself previously addressed this exact incident. Although he never mentioned he gave the cheerleader $10,000, he revealed that players operated with complete impunity due to their massive contracts and star status.
“It’s a no-no for who? The cheerleaders,” Arenas stated in a 2023 interview. “What are they going to do to us? I’m making $20 million, what are they going to do? No player has been fined because he’s talking to a cheerleader.”
“They’re contracted. They’re not even employed. It’s just one of those things. It’s not a real thing. You think, hold on, let’s just be honest here. You’re paying her $200 a game. If I want to take her out to dinner, you really think she’s going to say, ‘Oh no, I want to save my $200’? No,” he added.
Arenas added that given the modest compensation cheerleaders receive per game compared to multi-million-dollar athlete salaries, strict non-fraternization clauses place an unfair burden solely on the support staff.
While Young looks back on his early days with the Wizards with nostalgia, calling it “fun times” despite the chaotic environment, the incident serves as a classic example of the mid-2000s Washington locker room culture, where off-court antics, lack of boundaries, and Agent Zero’s cash payouts were simply part of everyday life.