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The Netflix documentary ‘Shooting Guards’ unsurfaced the old wounds for ex-NBA star Javaris Crittenton, who regaled his feelings for the very first time after watching it. It chronicles Crittenton’s turbulent NBA career, including the infamous locker-room brawl with former teammate Gilbert Arenas and the legal wrangles ensuing therefrom. Premiered earlier this year, the documentary has provoked conflicted reactions, with some praising its rawness and others, including Crittenton, feeling it misrepresented crucial events.
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The image accompanying the post was enticing indeed-far away in black and white stands Crittenton alongside Arenas, both sporting Washington Wizards jerseys, as their careers took an alternative path. Above the picture is quoted text in a boldly sized font about Crittenton’s own hesitant stance towards getting involved with the documentary, which, she said, sowed the seeds for a story which has remained heavy on her soul. A much smaller inset picture was given of the recent close-up of Crittenton speaking into a mic, perhaps portending the presentation of the counter-narrative at last.
The reception to Crittenton’s comments has been all over the place. Some viewers rallied behind him, believing he was cast unfairly as the bad guy in all of this, and one disgruntled viewer-identifying herself as a director-chimed into the discussions on editing, complaining the documentary strung together innocuous sound bites to suggest that it was, in fact, Crittenton himself who was courting gun play. “This is definitely some fck sht,” she said. “The way they manipulated the narrative is wild”
Others reacted with some harshness toward him. The majority wanted to know about Crittenton’s post-NBA legal bother, notably his 2015 conviction for manslaughter in the death of his accidental shooting of a mother of four: “How he free lol? Thought he killed somebody,” one said, setting off a debate about the seriousness of his crimes. Another bluntly said, “He did himself wrong with dumbass decisions,” while another claimed, “He had to pay his time, got out and history can’t be wiped away.”
The discussion also drifted into Gilbert Arenas’ involvement in all this. Some mocked Arenas’s podcast manifestation for being overly defensive and dismissive when challenged. “Gilberto is all WWE—he gonna sell you a nickel for a dollar,” one joked. Another entertained the thought of a joint podcast between former teammates and wondered if time had somehow softened the hard feelings between them.
No doubts remain that Crittenton’s career got derailed by decisions he himself made; however, this documentary has freshened up debates about guilty, redemption, and media framing. Some say that no matter how many mistakes he has made, he has paid his dues and deserves a chance to speak out for himself without his media-imposed image being tarnished. Others argue that no matter how much time has passed, some things should never be.
One thing is for sure; this debate is not going to end anytime soon. Whether the documentary did justice or not, this situation has kept Crittenton coming back for more, for better or worse. And with everyone keeping the topic alive, they surely will continue disputing how to remember him in the meantime.
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For the time being, it seems as if Crittenton has his focus on going forward. However, the past-and the Netflix-y version of it-isn’t done with him yet.