I liked Gilbert Arenas a lot more when Dave McMenamin wrote his stuff.
Last seen around these parts arguing with Caron Butler over the specifics of the guns-in-the-locker-room incident that, six years in the rear-view mirror, has now become little more than sports trivia, Arenas — who at this point mostly reappears on our radar screens only for bad or weird off-court stuff — again turned himself into a trending topic Tuesday night and early Wednesday by belching out some true terrors, The Dreaded Laramie-style, in the caption of a video posted on his Instagram account of two scantily clad women playing some one-on-one.
Arenas posted the video as a means of offering his ever-helpful thoughts on how the WNBA might increase viewership in the women's professional basketball league:
NOW this is what america was hoping for when they announced the #WNBA back in 1996... not a bunch of chicks running around looking like,cast members from#orangeisthenewblack...dont get me wrong,they have few #cutiepies but theres a whole alotta #beanpies running around hahahahahaha if #skylardiggins came out like this,I dont care if she missed every layup..imma buy season tickets and I dont even know where the f*** #tulsa is hahahaha #2016newwnbaoutfitPLS and if u think this is sexist,9 times out of 10 u the ugly one and we didnt pay to come see u play anyway #donkeykong ...smdh#thiswillbeawesome #soldouteverywhere
Always a good sign when you have to cap your comment by explaining that you're not being sexist, and then saying another dumb thing. That typically means what you've just offered is some real top-notch business.
Arenas' remarks, unsurprisingly, have received widespread criticism from a wide variety of sources, prompting the one-time pro — who hasn't laced 'em up in an NBA game since May of 2012 — to double-down in self-defense in another Instagram post. You can read his long ramblings in full there, if you'd like; essentially, he presents a photo of women in the Legends (née) Lingerie Football League as support for the notion that, since "men are 80 percent of sportviewers," and many of the most famous and well-compensated female athletes come from sports in which the participants' uniforms show more skin, the WNBA should follow suit and "unveil them bodies."
There are, of course, lots of problems with this. Like the fact that the Legends Football League he holds up as a model of how showing more skin would make millions rain down from the sky doesn't pay its players and is being sued by several former players, so we're not talking about a raking-it-in-hand-over-fist proposition for anyone involved, least of all the women who just want the opportunity to compete in the game they love. Or the fact that, as The Guardian notes, similar thoughts on how promoting "a more feminine aesthetic" could boost the popularity of women's sports once fell from the mouth of FIFA President Sepp Blatter:
“Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball,” Blatter said. “They could, for example, have tighter shorts. Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men — such as playing with a lighter ball. That decision was taken to create a more female aesthetic, so why not do it in fashion?”
Congratulations, Gil. You're on the same side of the debate as maybe the single most corrupt person in the entire sports world. Dynamite stuff.
UPDATE: The WNBA and NBA released a statement decrying the comments:
 | @WNBA | |
WNBA/NBA Statement Regarding Gilbert Arenas' Comments pic.twitter.com/yZ8Nga6weZ
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We could also, y'know, not go that far at all, and just keep things simple:
 | @ConorDDirks | |
Gilbert Arenas is sexist, has been for a long time (a really long time), and is unworthy of your attention.
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 | @Follow24Hodge | |
Gilbert Arenas is ridiculous. It's okay to grow up and mature eventually.
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Skyler Diggins is amazing in full uniform. So's Elena Delle Donne. So's Maya Moore, and Shoni Schimmel, and so many more WNBA players. So, too, is the great Swin Cash, as she reminded us all Wednesday:
 | @SwinCash | |
People keep sending me this Gilbert arenas post, but I don't care! He obviously needs a hug& attention so y'all give it to him! 💁🏽
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| @SwinCash | |
To all my smart, beautiful young female ballers... No one ever asked NBA guys to hoop in a speedo so laugh at haters& Dab on dem folk💪🏾
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| @SwinCash | |
Sorry loves but we are at war trying to save our young girls from a lot of social media shaming & I am not here for it! Gotta run be great💋
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While Swin does that, Gil will be ... yelling in the comments section of his Instagram account, I guess. Neat.
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