Could the players association reasonably defend Crittenton if he did in fact load a gun?
Yes. The argument by the players’ association in defending any player is that whatever treatment he gets in a specific instance could become precedent-setting and impact other players in the future. In a way, the argument is that they’re not just fighting for him; they’re fighting for all players. And that’s consistent with their fiduciary duties to all players. The other thing they may want to focus on is that the whole idea of “innocent until proven guilty” remains in sight. They don’t want the commissioner taking action until after the criminal investigation, even if the early signs look negative for a player. Could the other Wizards players who seemed to take amusement in Arena’s pretend gun-pointing in Philadelphia be disciplined? They could. Stern could conclude that they encouraged a lighthearted perspective on a very serious matter. Practically, it’s difficult for the players in that situation to be viewed as culprits, but joking around with guns is such a serious manner, parti
