NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Gilbert Arenas issued a public  apology yesterday as he prepared to start rebuilding his image  less than a week after the NBA suspended the Washington Wizards  guard for bringing guns into the team’s locker room.

The comments were made in an editorial piece published in  The Washington Post on Tuesday, where the three-time NBA  All-Star said he hoped young fans would learn a valuable lesson  about non-violence from his mistake.

“I know that won’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,” wrote the 28-year-old. “If I do that,  then hopefully youngsters will learn from the serious mistakes I  made with guns and not make any of their own.”

Arenas and team mate Javaris Crittenton were suspended  without pay for the rest of the season after NBA commissioner  David Stern said there was no justification for their actions.

Following a dispute during a flight home from a game in  December, the two players later brought weapons into the locker  room at the team’s arena. NBA rules prohibit players from  bringing firearms to league and team facilities.

In the article, Arenas said he failed to live up to a duty  of professional athletes acting responsibly.

Arenas also said he sent a letter to students in D.C.-area  schools in which he admitted to losing sight of lessons learned  from Abe Pollin, the late owner of the Wizards who changed the  team’s nickname from Bullets to Wizards because of the violent  connotations of the old name.

“I said that I lost sight of the lesson I learned from Abe  Pollin about how the responsibility to be a good role model  comes along with the opportunity he gave me,” wrote Arenas.

“I reiterate now the pledge I made to those students: that  this is a responsibility I am not going to walk away from, that  I will choose more wisely in the future and do my best to help  guide children into brighter futures.”