As most of you know I have said repeatedly every since I have been on this forum that I despise Arenas. This is an article that is on the front page of todays Washington Post.

It is quite an article, and I must say my opinion of the guy has changed after reading this.

The Psychic Scars That Shaped an NBA Star - washingtonpost.com

I agree. Very moving article.

That's some deep stuff. Sounds like he went through quite a bit.

Wow!! That was deep. I can see why he has a chip on his shoulder and has this me against the world mentality. I remember when he got left off the all star team and he took it personally and had some resentment towards Flip and the Pistons. He went off and keep staring down Flip on the bench. At the time I thought the dude was just an butthole but I guess he has a lot of deeper issues.

I dunno. It's hard to feel a lot of pity for this guy. It's not like he was learning to play basketball with bombs going off outside the gym.

I don`t feel pity for him, I just took it for granted that he was an idoit. The story of his past gives us an indication of how his character and personality was shaped.

I understand his stance and actions a little better know after hearing his story. I believe all of us as men and women have something in our past that can give people a glimpse of who we really are, perhaps, why we are who we are.

I am still not an Arenas fan, however, I will not be as hard on him as in the past.

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"You got to go wit da flow" Rasheed Wallace responding to Rip Hamilton's disbelief of him becoming a Boston Celtic.

Sorry dlev, my bad. I was making a joke. When the Serbian OG was coming into the draft, there were these stories that made it sound like he was dribbling through machine gun fire and playing hoops in an aircraft hanger.

Oh, I got you. My bad for not recognizing!!!!!!!!!

But that's exactly what it was like Roscoe. Severe early childhood trauma is just like living in a war zone. All the therapists on the planet are working on early childhood trauma issues all the time. On the DSM IV scale for psychiatric medicine, it's called post traumautic stress. Child abuse, neglect and the child's inability to have any control over their own survival at that age contribute to the dysfunction that shapes the adult later.

When his mom shows up at practice and shouts "Gilbert, I'm your mama!" in front of the world, you don't think he had a shame, guilt, rage and shock cocktail that was the psychological equal of a bomb going off inside him? Think about never knowing your mother your whole life and that's how you meet her.

I'm not crazy about Gilbert Arenas. But usually his kind of history ends up with self-destruction before the person reaches the age of 30. I think it's a great example of someone overcoming destiny with great talent. Usually, talent alone isn't enough to overcome that history. There's only so much basketball to play and then there is a whole live to try to live in between the games. Good Luck, Gilbert Arenas. I don't feel pity, but admiration for the effort and the results thus far.

Oops. I didn't get the joke either Roscoe. Obviously. What is funny is that something else I was going to point out was that just because Arenas didn't come from a war-torn country (Darko) didn't mean he didn't have a war-torn mind. LOL.