Gilbert Arenas had an incredible NBA career. Three All-Star appearances, big scoring numbers, and some unforgettable moments. But his path to the league wasn’t easy. He grew up in some tough parts of LA, where he and his father struggled just to get by. There were times they didn’t have a stable place to live, even sleeping in parks and making do with very little. Basketball became his way out. Arenas relied on his talent, insane work ethic, and sheer determination. But amidst all these, it is fair to wonder where Gilbert Arenas’ mother was while he and his father were struggling?
It’s an unfortunate tale. Gilbert Arenas’ mother, Mary Francis Robinson, abandoned him when he was 3 1/2 years old. She gave him up in a rundown Overtown section of Miami. On VladTV, Gilbert Arenas courageously told, “So we have to rewind in, while my dad was in college, my mom was raising me, and then yeah she disappeared, she disappeared yeah.” He narrated it with a smile on his face, but the voice carried all the weight. Gilbert Arenas also revealed what he thought of his mother’s absence.
He shared a specific moment where his dad asked him something. “At the age of 24, I guess after the playoffs, okay, we were after we got beat bY, Cleveland in the playoffs, he was like ‘how come you never asked about your mom?’”. This statement tells us that, to an extent, Gilbert Sr. Arenas had stepped up well. Not even allowing Gil to feel an absence. And the special treatment? He breaks on this, too!
He continued to share, “and I was like I don’t know because all my friends had mothers and I had a father and all they wanted to be around you, so I figured I was the golden child, so um so I never asked about her growing up.” What a bittersweet thing for a child to feel. The young boy, who may have somewhere felt the need of a mother, made himself content by watching his friends love his dad. However, Mary’s life was far from a normal one.
Mary Francis Robinson was a strong-willed woman who faced more than her share of struggles. In her youth, she was a talented athlete with dreams of going to college or becoming a teacher, but life took a different turn. Early motherhood and a string of tough choices led her down a difficult path. Others raised her eight kids after she separated from them.
She carried deep guilt, especially about her eldest son, Gilbert Arenas, and in her clearer moments, she openly expressed regret and love for her children. Later in life, she managed to get off the streets, working at a KFC in Miami, trying to rebuild some sense of normalcy. But the years of hardship caught up with her, and she passed away in 2010 at just 46 from liver failure. Gilbert Arenas covered all the funeral expenses despite their estranged relationship.
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