\n<\/p>\n
Gilbert Arenas figured it was an old video. There was no way, he thought, Ja Morant could have done the same thing so soon after his mea culpa. Not with all that was at stake.<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/strong>Once I realized it was a new one, there was nothing else to say,\u201d Arenas, the former Washington Wizards star, said, adding: \u201cThe fact that you keep wanting to do the things you\u2019re doing, then you must want to see how invincible you think you are.\u201d<\/p>\n Morant, a 23-year-old Memphis Grizzlies guard, is facing criticism for the second time in just over two months for a social media video that appeared to show him playfully but recklessly waving around a gun in public. The N.B.A. verified the first video, in March, but is still investigating the second, which went viral last weekend. Morant apologized Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Arenas, 41, can relate to Morant\u2019s turmoil better than almost anyone. In the 2009-10 season, the N.B.A. suspended him for 50 games for bringing guns into his team\u2019s locker room and mocking the situation by making finger gun gestures at a game while the league was still investigating. Arenas, who had made three All-Star teams by then, said he got in trouble in a space where he felt comfortable \u2014 perhaps too comfortable.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cIt\u2019s different for me because I am not getting in trouble in my everyday life,\u201d Arenas said. \u201cI\u2019m getting in trouble at my workplace. The invisible cloud that I thought I had was removed.\u201d<\/p>\n Morant\u2019s trouble has played out on social media, where he has millions of followers, and with much more at stake for his career and for the N.B.A. His otherworldly athleticism has made him a nightly highlight reel with legions of fans who have made his jersey one of the league\u2019s best sellers. Morant released his first signature shoe with Nike this year, and was leading a new advertising campaign for Powerade. He was poised to be one of the young stars the N.B.A. relies on to carry the league forward after LeBron James and Stephen Curry retire. Now all of that is in jeopardy.<\/p>\n Two videos. Two apologies, each with Morant vowing to be better.<\/p>\n N.B.A. Commissioner Adam Silver suspended Morant for eight games after the first video, and said in an interview on ESPN on Tuesday that he was \u201cshocked\u201d when he saw the second. It\u2019s unclear whether Morant broke any laws, but Silver, as he did in March, can suspend him for conduct deemed detrimental to the league. The Grizzlies, who were eliminated from the playoffs last month, have suspended Morant from team activities indefinitely.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s not only done a disservice to himself, but to the franchise,\u201d said Larry Parnell, the director of the strategic public relations program at George Washington University. \u201cAnd I think people take that more personally than they do politicians or actors who misbehave.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n He explained why: \u201cIf you\u2019re a celebrity and you make movies and I don\u2019t like what you\u2019re doing, I\u2019m not emotionally attached to your movie, but I\u2019m emotionally attached to the Celtics. I\u2019m emotionally attached to the Grizzlies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Arenas said that his situation contrasted with Morant\u2019s because he was more aware that he was a public figure and acted accordingly, such as by not wearing flashy jewelry in public to avoid being robbed. \u201cI understood I am not normal,\u201d Arenas said.<\/p>\n Nevertheless, Arenas\u2019s gun incident overshadowed the rest of his N.B.A. career, which lasted only two more seasons, in part because of injuries. He was seen as immature.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it affected \u2014 I don\u2019t even want to say legacy \u2014 my name,\u201d said Arenas, who co-hosts the \u201cGil\u2019s Arena\u201d show for Underdog Fantasy. \u201cIt affected it really bad. I said it back then, where the most disappointing part of it all is I did 100 things right. I did one wrong thing and that\u2019s all everyone remembers. That\u2019s what really hurts you the most.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n There have been other cautionary tales about star athletes and guns. Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in 2008 at a nightclub in Manhattan less than year after catching the game-winning touchdown for the Giants in the Super Bowl. He spent nearly two years in prison, and his career never recovered. In March, he was asked about Morant in an interview on \u201cThe Carton Show<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIf I was speaking to him, it would just be, \u2018If you can\u2019t learn anything, learn from me,\u2019\u201d Burress said. \u201cJust make better decisions because you really don\u2019t want for him to have that label moving forward, being that he\u2019s so young. He has the opportunity to be the face of the N.B.A. He\u2019s that great of a player and you want to continue to see him, you know, mature as a person as his game is getting better.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Negative reputations can be hard to shake, and the reactions to Morant\u2019s behavior have been mixed. JJ Redick, the ESPN analyst and former N.B.A. player, has argued, like many others, that Morant shouldn\u2019t face harsh punishment if he hasn\u2019t broken the law. Charles Barkley, the TNT analyst and former N.B.A. player, has teed off on Morant, saying that the rules are different for public figures. Nike did not respond to a request for comment, but Morant\u2019s shoes no longer come up in searches for his name at nike.com. A spokesperson for Powerade said the company had \u201cno update\u201d about Morant\u2019s contract.<\/p>\n Arenas lost his shoe deal with Adidas because of his gun incident. He also pleaded guilty to one count of felony gun possession and was sentenced to 30 days in a halfway house. That was more than a decade ago, but Arenas has become the go-to voice when athletes are in trouble. Still, in November, the Wizards honored him with a framed jersey at halftime of a game on \u201cThrowback Night.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cWe all throw out the word: \u2018Be accountable for your actions,\u2019\u201d Arenas said. \u201cBut do we actually allow that person to really be accountable? When we see: \u2018OK, he never touched a gun ever again. He\u2019s never showed that same behavior to want to be around guns. Never looked at a gun.\u2019 Why would you keep reminding the world that that\u2019s what he did?<\/p>\n \u201cWe want the person to change their behavior, but we don\u2019t want to accept it when they do.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n