The Gun Shots Recent Posts
Categories
Recent Comments
Archives
The Gun Shots |
January 06, 2010
The Wisdom of Karl Malone - 11
by John B. Snow
 NBA all-star legend Karl Malone, who also happens to be an avid hunter and support of gun rights, weighs in on the stupidity that took place in the locker room of the Washington Wizards when one player allegedly brandished a number of firearms in front of his fellow players. Malone (a finalist in the OL 25 awards program) rightly worries about the impact this has on the image of responsible gun owners: Once again, gun owners get a bad rap. We're good people; we're not back in the Old West. I got my first gun when I was 8 years old—an old .410 single shot. I've been around them all the time ever since, and I'm a member of the NRA. I love guns, and I respect guns. I have them in a secure place. When I was in Utah, I took all the necessary training with the gun and had my concealed-weapons permit, and I'll be the first to tell you I don't go anywhere in my vehicle without my weapon, but at no point has it ever occurred to me to take it inside anywhere, let alone an arena. Unfortunately, we always hear bad things about guns. But guns don't kill people —people kill people. I'm not saying that everybody should have guns, but I will tell you this: If you're willing to go through the training and proper procedure to have guns, then they're fine. He also doesn’t want to see the NBA sweep this under the rug in an attempt to minimize the incident: To me, this is another example of a dark cloud that we can never seem to get over. When I say "we," I mean the NBA. I'm still an NBA player; I'm just retired. The amazing thing to me is, it seems just when the league has a little bit of positivity, then we have one big negative and it reflects on all the players. Now people think every NBA player is carrying firearms into the locker room. I guess the next thing is that instead of us walking around those metal detectors in arenas, we should start walking through them. So many kids are doing it the right way in the league, but you get linked with one guy making one mistake. Read the whole thing.
|
Visit Our Sister Sites at Bonnier Corporation
|
Outdoorlife.com is part of the Field & Stream Network, a division of Bonnier Corporation.
Copyright © 2013 Bonnier Corp. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Comments (11)
what a cut sheep
The NBA instituted that dumb "one and done rule" sating that you need to finish at least one year of college to be NBA eligible. They should follow NFL standards in having to be at least a junior to be drafted.
Lack of education (total...not just firearms training) is a huge contributor to this problem.
Jason Whitlock defined it succinctly: Quote "Arenas gives Stern and NBA owners the leverage to aggressively pursue long-term solutions to problems that have plagued the league since Magic, Larry and Michael turned the league over to high school, one-and-done superstars, Allen Iverson wannabes, children from highly dysfunctional families and boys raised to be replacement husbands by single mothers.
The league, shoe companies and television networks turn improperly prepared, poorly educated kids into high-profile, instant multimillion-dollar companies. The kids can’t comprehend the responsibility, let alone handle it."
There need to be incentives (or rules) that prohibit the NBA from signing kids right out of high school i.e. maybe based around a minimum age (21 is probably a good milestone...21-22 is about the average age of a college graduate.) and amount of education.
My dos centavos...
Kody, you make such a good point about the importance of a mentor or parent. My father was so safety conscious that as children we were not allowed to point even toy guns at each other. The strict rule was you NEVER point a gun at anything you don't intend to kill. Too many people acquire guns with no prior experience or knowledge and the results are often devastating. Unfortunately, as long as idiots own guns, these type of things will continue. I guess all we can do is our part, and pass our knowledge on to our children.
As Karl Malone points out, those who make the effort to get some training are unlikely to be using their firearms in an irresponsible manner. Those players are in need of some training or an education one way or another. Pointing a firearm, loaded or unloaded, at someone gets a failing grade... F minus when it happens in a crowd of innocent bystanders... double F minus when it is certain to get the attention of the media. Many of us were fortunate enough to have had a parent or mentor who taught us to handle firearms safely. Pity the child who pointed a rifle at someone accidently, let along intentionally! Such conduct would have resulted in a loss of that firearm until the kid was up to the responsibility.
my fault missed the part where guns was pointed! I reverse my feelings :-]
I agree with Malone that this incident gives gun owners a bad rap. According to Arenas, he & another player pointed unloaded guns at each other as a prank. If that's the truth, it isn't as bad as what was originally reported, but it's still a bonehead move that makes gun owners look irresponsible.
DropJ,
I don't think anyone on this site is faulting the guy for owning a firearm. Producing it in a high profile environment during an arguement about the 25K you owe somebody isn't the right message. People pulling those kind of stunts are the reason the rest of us have concerns about laws restricting us from having one available when and if we need one.
what is it with athletes and celebrities they get paid to much money evidently.because it must cause a giant brain freez these people are the ones in the spot light so when they do something stupid its all over the news and we as law abiding gun owners are the ones that suffer!
If there was a pack of terrorist that took over the stadium this same day we might not be talking about a idiot. Everyone would of been thankful that he had the gun he just might have been a hero but it didn't turn out that way but it could. If the anti crowd has the media all over this guy I would think the NRA members would try to help him out but no they leave him for the sharks. I just dont understand?
He's right, one idiot will make everyone look bad, especially when you have an anti-gun media that can't wait to blow out of proportion such a story.
Post a Comment (200 characters or less)
DropJ,
I don't think anyone on this site is faulting the guy for owning a firearm. Producing it in a high profile environment during an arguement about the 25K you owe somebody isn't the right message. People pulling those kind of stunts are the reason the rest of us have concerns about laws restricting us from having one available when and if we need one.
He's right, one idiot will make everyone look bad, especially when you have an anti-gun media that can't wait to blow out of proportion such a story.
I agree with Malone that this incident gives gun owners a bad rap. According to Arenas, he & another player pointed unloaded guns at each other as a prank. If that's the truth, it isn't as bad as what was originally reported, but it's still a bonehead move that makes gun owners look irresponsible.
my fault missed the part where guns was pointed! I reverse my feelings :-]
As Karl Malone points out, those who make the effort to get some training are unlikely to be using their firearms in an irresponsible manner. Those players are in need of some training or an education one way or another. Pointing a firearm, loaded or unloaded, at someone gets a failing grade... F minus when it happens in a crowd of innocent bystanders... double F minus when it is certain to get the attention of the media. Many of us were fortunate enough to have had a parent or mentor who taught us to handle firearms safely. Pity the child who pointed a rifle at someone accidently, let along intentionally! Such conduct would have resulted in a loss of that firearm until the kid was up to the responsibility.
Kody, you make such a good point about the importance of a mentor or parent. My father was so safety conscious that as children we were not allowed to point even toy guns at each other. The strict rule was you NEVER point a gun at anything you don't intend to kill. Too many people acquire guns with no prior experience or knowledge and the results are often devastating. Unfortunately, as long as idiots own guns, these type of things will continue. I guess all we can do is our part, and pass our knowledge on to our children.
Lack of education (total...not just firearms training) is a huge contributor to this problem.
Jason Whitlock defined it succinctly: Quote "Arenas gives Stern and NBA owners the leverage to aggressively pursue long-term solutions to problems that have plagued the league since Magic, Larry and Michael turned the league over to high school, one-and-done superstars, Allen Iverson wannabes, children from highly dysfunctional families and boys raised to be replacement husbands by single mothers.
The league, shoe companies and television networks turn improperly prepared, poorly educated kids into high-profile, instant multimillion-dollar companies. The kids can’t comprehend the responsibility, let alone handle it."
There need to be incentives (or rules) that prohibit the NBA from signing kids right out of high school i.e. maybe based around a minimum age (21 is probably a good milestone...21-22 is about the average age of a college graduate.) and amount of education.
My dos centavos...
If there was a pack of terrorist that took over the stadium this same day we might not be talking about a idiot. Everyone would of been thankful that he had the gun he just might have been a hero but it didn't turn out that way but it could. If the anti crowd has the media all over this guy I would think the NRA members would try to help him out but no they leave him for the sharks. I just dont understand?
The NBA instituted that dumb "one and done rule" sating that you need to finish at least one year of college to be NBA eligible. They should follow NFL standards in having to be at least a junior to be drafted.
what is it with athletes and celebrities they get paid to much money evidently.because it must cause a giant brain freez these people are the ones in the spot light so when they do something stupid its all over the news and we as law abiding gun owners are the ones that suffer!
what a cut sheep
Post a Comment (200 characters or less)