A glitch in the matrix! That’s what Ja Morant’s whole firearm controversy could be, considering it all seems to be a déjà vu. An NBA athlete being fined and suspended for carrying firearms? The best way he feels to respond to the whole controversy: mimicking gun signs on the court? Well, the most recent name that comes to mind is Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant. However, it has all happened before, in a similar pattern.

Most fans would remember the storm Ja found himself in back in March 2023. Footage emerged of him holding what looked like a gun at a nightclub in Glendale, Colorado, landing him an 8-game suspension. Just when things seemed to calm down, two months later, another IG Live clip surfaced—Morant flashing a gun again. That triggered a heavier consequence: a 25-game suspension for the start of the 2023–24 season. And if that wasn’t enough, the league slapped him with a $75,000 fine for consistently flashing finger-gun gestures on the court this season. Now, here’s where the deja vu kicks in. Gilbert Arenas, a former Golden State Warriors player turned Wizards star, walked a remarkably similar road.

However, it turns out the 3x All-Star had his reasons for acting the way he did in the public eye. “I got all these emotions going on like, ‘I need to fight the media with my humor,'” Gil said in the Netflix documentary Untold: Shooting Guards. For him, humor felt like the only defense against the relentless media backlash.

The whole controversy started with Arenas facing a 50-game suspension in 2009 for bringing unloaded guns into the Washington Wizards’ locker room—an outcome of a heated spat with teammate Javaris Crittenton. Then came 2010. During a team huddle, Agent Zero threw up finger-gun signs in full view of the public eye—something Ja Morant would later echo, 24 years down the line. But it wasn’t some random outburst or act of rebellion on Gil’s part. He had his reasons, as revealed by him in the Netflix documentary. 

Sadly, the move only deepened the trouble he was in.  However, just because Gil had his reasons to act the way he did, the Warriors star did not give up on Ja when the Grizzlies star landed in a similar fix.

Gilbert Arenas’ take on the Ja Morant gun gesture controversy

When someone like Gilbert Arenas speaks on a gun-related issue in the NBA, you tend to listen. Especially given his own infamous 2009 suspension for bringing firearms into the Washington Wizards’ locker room. So when he had something to say about the whole Ja Morant controversy, fans intended to listen to his POV.

Arenas didn’t mince words while discussing the controversy on his Gil’s Arena podcast. In fact, he questioned why the Grizzlies star’s gestures were even being made into a big deal when, according to him, similar actions by other players are often overlooked.

“If they ask you that stupid a** question, so what was… It was a Super Soaker 3000. What was the f***ing point of calling me about this s**t man? We just gesturing around here,” Arenas said. He doubled down with a pointed comparison: “Same thing with the throat, or same thing with (Isaiah) Stewart doing this (pointing finger) s**t… I’d be afraid of Stewart doing this s**t…vs. Ja doing this (gun gesture)…nah I don’t want those problems right,” he added.

It’s clear Arenas sees a double standard—and he’s not afraid to call it out. However, a significant section of fans and the league itself views it otherwise. Whether it be Ja Morant or Gilbert Arenas.