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Josh Huff – Who's ‘Not Gilbert Arenas, Bro' – Apologizes to Eagles for Gun Incident

Josh Huff admitted that he made a “terrible decision” on Tuesday morning and has already apologized to his teammates, owner Jeffrey Lurie and the Eagles' organization. 
 
Now, he has to wait to see if he’ll be punished. 
 
“I know that my actions come with consequences and I understand that and I own up to it,” Huff said during his six-minute session with reporters by his NovaCare Complex locker Wednesday afternoon. “All I can do is take it a day at a time right now.”
 
Huff, 25, was pulled over for speeding over the Walt Whitman Bridge toward New Jersey at around 11 a.m. on Tuesday. 
 
Police found a gun, loaded magazine and less than 50 grams of marijuana. He was charged for unlawful possession of a weapon and for having hollow point bullets, as well as for the marijuana, a DUI, speeding and obstructed view for tinted windows.

Huff said he has a license for his gun in his home state of Texas. New Jersey does not honor that permit, per its gun laws.

“I mean, I knew about the New Jersey laws, but I didn’t know a lot about them,” Huff said. “I didn’t know enough about them, clearly. But, like I said, I made a terrible decision yesterday and it is what it is at this moment. I have to do my best to rebrand my image and make sure I give my all to my teammates.”

For now, Huff will not be punished by the team until they learn more about the incident, head coach Doug Pederson said (see story). Huff and Pederson said the private talk between the two of them went well. 
 
The last off-the-field incident involving an Eagles player and the law was when Nigel Bradham tried to bring a loaded gun through airport security in Miami. Huff said the team didn’t have any discussions about guns after that incident. 
 
On Tuesday, Huff had been at the facility earlier in the day to watch film and said he was racing to get home to be with his pregnant wife; the couple also has a son. 
 
Huff said he did not have the Smith & Wesson 9MM gun at the facility earlier in the day, so there must have been at least one stop before he crossed the bridge. 
 
“No. I’m not Gilbert Arenas, bro,” Huff said. “No. I’m not going to bring a gun on the premises. I’m not going to bring a gun and put my teammates in jeopardy of anything. That’s not me. It’s solely for protection and that’s that.”

The Eagles’ receiver and kick returner said he owns a gun for protection because he’s a professional athlete. “What professional athlete don’t have a gun?” Huff asked.

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“I have a wife and I have a son at home,” Huff said. “My job is to protect them at all costs and my job is to protect myself as well. I know they have security here but I have to protect myself as well.”
 
Huff, when asked, said that he carries the gun because he feels that his life has been threatened in the past. He grew up around guns, having been from Houston. 
 
“I’m from Houston. You can’t trust a lot of people in Houston,” Huff said. “There’s always somebody out to get you. You gotta protect yourself. Even when I’m back in Houston, I always have a gun on me. There’s been several incidents in Houston where I’ve lost a friend to gun violence. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, so why would I let that happen to me.”
 
Huff said it meant a lot to him that Pederson and the organization is standing behind him despite the incident Tuesday. He apologized for being a distraction — a very unneeded one — to his teammates and vowed to learn from this and fix it going forward. 
 
How will he fix it? 
 
“Just continue to be Josh Huff,” he said. “I can’t let this define me. And it won’t define me. I’m gonna grow from this and I’m going to learn from it.”

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