Allen Iverson: Is it really a "Tragedy?"

Hello people!!! For the most part what you have gotten from me has been strictly football.  I want to change the tides this week. My focus takes me to Basketball. Recently, I was at work and a co-worker and I were having a conversation about basketball and we were discussing the 30 for 30 Film called Broke. The film's main concern was giving exposure to the mis-managing of funds by major athletes during their career. It showed how some players are left with nearly nothing when they walk away from the games that have made them famous. As the conversation continued to develop Allen Iverson's name came up. The moment his name was revealed my co-worker shook his head and said, "What a Tragedy!" He explained that "tragedy" was used in a sense to express his discomfort for young black males in particular who make a lot of money and lose in such a dramatic fashion. He could not understand how these guys work so hard to get to where they are in their lives only to take advantage of it and lose it. I understood why he would say such things, however, as I walked away from him, the thought of the word "tragedy" used in the same breathe in response to Allen Iverson was crazy to me. I pondered the rest of the shift that night in regards to its absurdity. From that moment on I decided to give my own piece on the topic.

 The next day as I sat down to put my mind to the computer I discovered the article written on Allen Iverson by Bomani Jones. This helped me to understand that my co-worker was not alone in his ideology on Iverson. Jones' article portrays Allen Iverson as a man that rose to fame with talent and a phenomenal sense of style that spoke to the masses only to end up with nothing. He finishes the article with "He went from nothing in this world, and now Allen Iverson may be back to nothing again. Literally, figuratively, and tragically." There is that word again, "Tragic." Tragedy should not be the word specifically defined to explain what Allen Iverson's life has come to be about. Unfortunate maybe, but not tragic. Tragic is defined as something that is extremely mournful, melancholy, or pathetic. Quite frankly when you put things into that type of context it brings upon the notion of death. Basically we’ve put together and stapled the obituary of Allen Iverson to the Sports World.

 We are going to differentiate between Allen Iverson the basketball player and Allen Iverson the man. In all retrospect the one thing that makes Allen Iverson a "tragedy" in the eyes of some is his financial woes, basketball is a non-factor. A.I is merely just another statistic. He alongside a lot of other athletes in his shoes have fallen victim to how vein our society has become. In this world money means power and respect and when it is gone it makes you no longer a factor.

In a further attempt to make this clear what people need to grasp is that losing financial status has caused for Iverson’s demise as a man and that is what may make him a tragedy. Everyone in this world has a choice and it was his personal choice to mis-manage his own funds. It was his choice to gamble his money away; it was his choice to drink himself into oblivion. Because of these things we get those stories about how a judge garnished his bank account to pay his debts and how he was banned from casinos in Atlantic City and Detroit. Furthermore, Stephen A. Smith was even quoted in 2010 saying that "according to numerous NBA sources" Allen Iverson would either "drink himself into oblivion or gamble his life away." He went on to add how Iverson's wife even separated from him after eight years of marriage. Obviously, this is a man in dire need of some assistance.

 
Instead of throwing in the towel, I am going to extend my hand to him. I am defiantly putting an end to all of this “tragedy” nonsense and letting everyone know that it is time to let it go. There is a bigger picture that is being missed. Allen Iverson is not a tragedy…PERIOD! Allen Iverson is an icon and a survivor. How many personal triumphs does this man have to overcome? Before Georgetown, the NBA and the money, the early stages of his life find him in the heart of struggle. His personal history starts with him being born to a single 15-year old mother and we all cannot forget about the mob trial that almost sent him to jail for 15 years. Eventually he would go on to only serve four months, however, Allen did not succumb to what was ahead of him he took his punishment like a man. In regards to his time spent in prison he was quoted as saying, “I had to use the whole jail situation as something positive. Going to jail, someone sees something weak in you, they’ll exploit it. I never showed any weakness. I just kept going strong until I came out.”

 
If money has become the root of all evil in regards to A.I, it is ironic because through watching him in the past it never seemed as though it was even as issue. Everyone knows about the t-shirts, the seat pants, the do-rags, the rap music. Those things of course are what drew everyone to him. It is true when those critical of him say that Iverson had an innate ability to connect with the masses because of the fact that people felt as though he was just like them, especially black males. However, I disagree with the fact that this was the only thing that helped to construct everyone’s opinion. I believe that Allen’s success came from how he in a positively defiant way snarled at those who tried to change him. What made Allen Iverson a prevalent icon was his ability to do things his way, and on his own terms. Not being afraid to stand up and be who he was. Nonetheless, his individuality made him shine and gave kids like me growing up and adults as well confidence. Leadership and his name have never been spoken of in the same sentence. I guess that was thrown out with his ideology on practice. I mean who can forget that. However, Iverson was a true leader on and off the court. Money was just something that he made because of what he did.

 
It was hard watching the later parts of his career. When Iverson finally realized that he could not do the same things he could when he was younger it began to discourage him. He could not connect with the notion that he had to form some type of new game for himself as a veteran. I mean what team wouldn’t want to have Iverson as an arsenal coming off the bench. When teams like Detroit tried to implement this new look Allen Iverson he could not understand. Most look at it as rebellion. No one could understand his lack of humbleness. His ultimate defiance of this role was not taken lightly by critics. Allen never let his star shine within him. In his eyes he was a starter and how dare anyone look at him any less. Aging gracefully was out of the question. He got a chance to restore this fact coming back to Philadelphia finally in the 2009-2010 season. He was quoted as saying, “I strongly feel that I can compete at the highest level.” Unfortunately, it did not work out for him. I feel that when he figured out that he would never reach the top again this is when his demise began.

 
If anything when his skills faltered, basketball was finally taken away and his appeal seemed to wither the only thing he had was his money. Sitting on that resource alone he used it like drug to diminish his pain. I agree with Bomani when he says in a sense that as famous as A.I became that is as obsolete to the sports world he would become. However, what the article and comments such as the ones made by Stephen A. do not give is a guide as to how to come together to ratify the problem. I stand wholeheartedly behind the comment I made previously about how everyone has basically come forth and signed the obituary of Iverson to the Sports World. When someone in a family is a drug addict and they show signs of no returning back to his or herself, at some point their family makes an attempt to do something. Where is the intervention? Where is Allen Iverson’s intervention? Surprisingly, there is none. Instead, backs have been turned and written things have come about that just add to the problem. My question is what happened to all the fans.

 All of those people that had pictures of him on their walls just like me and grabbed every magazine with him on the cover. Those young men that grew their hair out because of him, who had young girls braid their hair in styles that they saw on his head. Who dressed the way they dressed because of him. Who practiced the crossover and installed it within their own personal games because of him. Those who gave him the nickname “THE ANSWER.” The people to who cheered when he was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in the 1996-97 season. Those who rose to their feet and scream when he hoisted the Most Valuable Player trophy in the 2001 season and led the Sixers to the NBA Finals the same year. Where is everyone who cast their ballots for him and made him an eleven time All-Star and watched him win two All Star MVP awards. Those who watched him win the NBA Scoring Title for four consecutive seasons. Ultimately, I am looking for those fans who watched his relentlessness in the finals when trying to shake the defense of then Laker Tyron Lue. I watched this man fight for positioning with Lue and create space out of nothing and make a difficult shot. He would look down as Lue as he was on the ground like, How dare you try to guard me?  Who will ever forget that? Let everyone remember man to man defense was invented for Iverson alone.
Where are his colleagues? Players within the league who shook when the 76ers was on the roster because they knew it was going to be a long night ahead of them trying to contain Iverson. Who started wearing the sleeve because him. Those he talked trash with during the game. WHERE ARE ALL THESE PEOPLE!

 He may have been a small guy, six feet to be exact, but he never shied away from contact. This man was not afraid to hit the floor for the play. Allen Iverson was one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA. His regular season scoring average, which is 26.7 points per game, ranks sixth all-time in the NBA, and his all-time playoff average of 29.7 points are second only to Michael Jordan. The numbers don’t lie people. What everyone needs to do is remember all of these things I have mentioned. Whether people believe or not, they are Allen’s extended family. As family let’s intervene and rescue our fallen soldier. There is still hope. Now don’t get me wrong I am not saying that he will come back and take over the league. To be frank at this point it would be totally impossible. What I am saying is that in extending our hands to him we rejoice in what his career meant to the sport at which he loved and the people that loved him. We show him that he is still a factor. Life after Ball does not have to end for him as it has. Instead of shaking our heads to his demise, we cheer for him when he is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.

 Allen Iverson came from NOTHING but still has SOMETHING. Allen as someone that grew up adoring you I quickly hopes you realize that. In closing I leave everyone with this quote to think about:

 

ALLEN IVERSON=SWAG…NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN.

Signed hopeful sports diva

xoxo