NEW YORK -- Washington Wizards teammates Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton drew guns on each other during a Christmas Eve locker room argument over a gambling debt, according to the New York Post.
Last week, the Wizards and Arenas acknowledged that Arenas had stored unloaded firearms in a container in his locker, and the NBA said it was looking into the situation.
It was during that investigation that a confrontation between Arenas and Crittenton was revealed, according to a Yahoo! Sports report.
The dispute stemmed from an unspecified disagreement, sources told Yahoo! Sports.
Citing an anonymous source, the Post reported in Friday's edition, however, that the standoff was sparked when Crittenton became angry at Arenas for refusing to make good on a gambling debt.
That prompted Arenas to draw on Crittenton, who then also grabbed for a gun, league security sources told the Post.
Asked by the newspaper about the confrontation, Arenas denied pulling a gun on Crittenton.
The Wizards on Friday afternoon released a statement regarding the alleged confrontation: "The Washington Wizards take this situation and the ongoing investigation very seriously. We are continuing to cooperate fully with the proper authorities and the NBA and will have no further comment at this time."
Arenas, a three-time All Star, tweeted Friday about the developments.
"i wake up this morning and seen i was the new JOHN WAYNE. ... Media is too funny," he wrote.
About 2½ hours later, his tweet was more straightforward: "i understand this is serious..but if u ever met me you know i dont do serious things im a goof ball this story today dont sound goofy to me."
At practice Friday afternoon, Arenas declined to answer questions about the allegations the Post and Yahoo! Sports reported.
However, he did address the reports of the allegations, telling local TV station WJLA: "I like the story, it's intriguing."
Then, in response to questions whether anything had taken place between him and Crittenton, Arenas said: "I don't know."
"This is unprecedented in the history of sports," Billy Hunter, executive director of the NBA players' association, told the Post. "I've never heard of players pulling guns on each other in a locker room."
On Dec. 24, the Wizards had issued a statement addressing Arenas' storage of unloaded firearms in a container in his locker at the arena and said that the NBA was looking into the situation.
On Tuesday, Washington police said they were investigating a report that weapons were found inside a locker room at the Verizon Center.
Now, the federal government is also involved. Ben Friedman, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, told the Post "we're working with the Metropolitan Police Department on the investigation."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
