Gilbert Arenas to Score for Schools

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Washington Wizards All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas has pledged to “score” dollars for Washington, D.C. metropolitan area public schools during the 2006-07 season. Arenas will conduct a press conference at Verizon Center on Monday, October 30th at 1:00 p.m. to discuss the program and choose the winning schools from a pool of 190 area schools in a live drawing.

Arenas will select one school for every one of the 41 Wizards home games this season and donate $100 for every point he scores to the selected school. Arenas’ program will help supply schools with computers, athletic uniforms and equipment, as well as fund after-school programs.

“I want to help the children of the metropolitan area in any way possible,” said Arenas. “This is an exciting and fun way to introduce this program. I am confident that this will be an enjoyable and positive experience for all the students participating in the program this year. I am looking forward to scoring a ton of points for the Wizards and the kids of the metropolitan area this season.”

James Brown, host of The NFL Today on CBS and a correspondent for HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, will host the event and help Arenas select the winning schools. Brown, a native of Washington, DC starred locally at DeMatha Catholic High School and was a two-time All-America basketball player. He attended Harvard University where he earned a degree in American Government in 1973. Brown, a former standout on the hardwood earned All-Ivy League honors in his last three seasons at Harvard. Brown has received numerous awards in his career including two Emmy awards and he was recently inducted into the DC Sports Alliance Hall of Champions this past September. In addition, Brown became a minority owner of the Washington Nationals this past May.

Last season, Arenas was the fourth leading scorer in the NBA with an average of 29.3 points per game. In games played at Verizon Center last year, Arenas averaged 30.4 points per game with a total of 1,216 points scored, which would have amounted in $121,600 scored for schools.

Since joining the Wizards in 2003, Arenas has been very active in the Washington, DC community. For the past three years Arenas has hosted “Gilbert’s Christmas Dream” during the holiday season to benefit underprivileged DC area children. Arenas won the NBA Community Assist award for the month of August, 2005. In September of 2005, Arenas purchased $18,000 worth of goods and delivered them to Hurricane Katrina victims sheltered at the DC Armory. Arenas also joined former Washington, DC Mayor Anthony Williams to host a holiday party for local teens at Lucky Strike Lanes in December 2005.

WHO: Wizards All-Star guard Gilbert Arenas and The NFL Today on CBS host James Brown

WHAT: Gilbert Scores for Schools press conference and live drawing

WHEN: Monday, October 30, 2006 1:00 p.m.

WHERE: Verizon Center
Main Concourse - F Street Entrance