National Basketball Association star Gilbert Arenas is just the latest in a long list of American pro athletes who feel they are above the law or public scrutiny.

In a move to try and repair his tarnished image, the suspended Washington Wizards player wrote an article for The Washington Post in which he issued and apology and said he failed in his responsibility as a professional athlete to set a good example for young NBA fans.

In the op-ed piece, Arenas apologized for a gun incident in the Wizards' dressing-room that caused the league to slap him with a season-long ban.

Arenas joins Tiger Woods, Mark McGwire and Michael Vick as fallen American sports heroes who have either run afoul of the law, suffered the consequences of using performance-enhancing drugs or used poor judgment off the playing field in the case of Woods who has taken a leave of absence from golf to try and save his marriage.

"While I regret a lot about this incident, letting the kids down is my biggest regret," the 28-year-old Arenas wrote. "I love the time I spend with the kids here in the district and it means a lot to me whenever I can help lift their spirits or inspire them, especially kids who have difficult lives."

Arenas said in the article he "damaged the image of the NBA" and wants to "build my relationship with young people in the D.C. area".

"I understand the importance of teaching non-violence to kids in today's world," Arenas said. "Guns and violence are serious problems, not joking matters - a lesson that's been brought home to me over the past few weeks.

"I thought about this when I pleaded guilty as charged in court and when I accepted my NBA suspension without challenge."

Last week, the NBA announced the suspensions of Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton for the remainder of the season. Crittenton entered a guilty plea on a misdemeanor gun charge and on Tuesday he announced he would not appeal the season-long ban.

Arenas said he knew his message of non-violence "wouldn't happen overnight and that it will happen only if I show through my actions that I am truly sorry and have learned from my mistakes. If I do that, then hopefully youngsters will learn from the serious mistakes I made with guns."