Arthur Apologizes To Grizzlies For Actions At NBA Rookie Camp

Posted by Jeff Sack under NBA Off The Court Issues, NBA Rookies

In an age where many folks try to avoid responsibility for their actions, Memphis Grizzlies rookie power forward Darrell Arthur is accepting full blame for an incident earlier this week. The “Memphis Commercial Appeal” reported Friday that Arthur has apologized to team coach Marc Iavaroni and General Manager Chris Wallace for actions that led he and former Kansas Jayhawks teammate Mario Chalmers to be sent home from the NBA Rookie Transition Program.

Arthur and Chalmers according to “ESPN The Magazine” NBA beat writer Chris Broussard set off a smoke alarm at 2:00 am Wednesday in their hotel room. The rookies refused to open the door, so hotel security opened the door with a pass key. Broussard reported that Chalmers who is now with the Miami Heat, and Arthur who is with the Memphis Grizzlies were found in the room with two women, and allegedly the room smelled from marijuana. There were no drugs or drug paraphernalia found in the room according to the report. All rookies were told that they were not allowed visitors or guests during their stay. NBA Commissioner David Stern was none to happy with the incident according to reports. He is said to have told the remaining rookies about the incident, and that the pair would be forced to attend the same session next year.

Arthur denied having any involvement with the pot but according to the paper he accepted full responsibility of breaking the rules by having the women in his room. The rookie told the paper he expressed to Wallace and Iavaroni that he had learned a lesson from the incident. Arthur told reporters “I told them it won’t happen again. I want people to know I’m a good kid. I used bad judgment by bringing the girls in and violating the rules. This is the first really bad thing that’s happened to me. But I’m going to prove to people that I’m worthy to be on this team, I have good character and I’ll be good in the community.”

Arthur said “I want kids not to make the mistake I made. I want to try to teach them the right thing to do. If you follow the rules you won’t be in the same position I’m in. I feel terrible. I should have never opened the door. If I wouldn’t have done that, everything would have been cool. I knew the rules and I made a mistake. The thing I’ve learned is that you’ve always got to make the right decisions. I’m young and starting off in a hole so I’m going to try to dig myself out of this hole and make this thing right. I’m going to make sure I do the right thing. The rules are clear. Letting those girls come in my room was just a bad idea. It was bad judgment and I just have to learn from it.”

It is probably a sad reflection of our society, when someone who does the right thing stands out from the norm. I do not believe that athletes should be role models other than playing the game the right way. To me the mom and dad who bust their backs to put food on the table are the true heroes in our society. But if you are looking for an athlete for your child to look up to, Darrell Arthur would be right at the top of my list.

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