In other obvious news…
According to Stephen A. Smith (who is probably one of the most annoying sports columnists ever), Allen Iverson has alcohol and gambling problems.
To turn a popular phrase the kids are saying these days:
Um, DUH!
It’s Allen Iverson. I think people would be more surprised if the headline read “Allen Iverson wins Humanitarian of the Year; Nobel Peace Price Next.”
I’m honestly surprised this information doesn’t come out more about professional athletes. With the tremendous amount of disposable income coupled with an absolute enormity of free time, what else is there to do beside gamble and drink? I suppose they could volunteer, but I’m not sure the Red Cross allows guns and body guards at its blood drives. I suppose I am making a very sweeping generalization about professional athletes, especially given the commitments to their communities from players like Drew Brees and Peyton Manning. However, it is very sad that the large number of contributions athletes like Brees and Manning make to the community are overshadowed by the even larger number of athletes who have nothing to contribute to their communities.
But let’s look for a minute at the life of Allen Iverson: As a junior in high school, he was in an altercation at a bowling alley and was convicted as an adult of felony maiming by mob, a conviction which was later overturned after he was granted clemency by the Virginia governor. Because he was going to Georgetown. Yes, that’s right. THIS guy got into Georgetown:
My little brother didn’t get into Georgetown. My little brother who now works for Michael Bloomberg and BusinessWeek. Perhaps if my parents would let him get tatted up and not go to school and carry guns around, he might’ve gotten in there on a football scholarship. But I digress. Allen Iverson spent two seasons at Georgetown and did quite well there; how he did in the classroom is anybody’s guess, but I suppose when you are a two-time defensive player of the year in your conference, academics are kind of a footnote.
Then he jumped to the NBA. He’s been league MVP (once), co-captain of Team USA (the team that won the bronze in the 2004 Olympics), and on four different teams in his 14-year NBA career, most recently landing in Philadelphia where his career started. Publicity and image problems have trailed him throughout his career, from being criticized for missing training (and the tantrum he threw to the media following those comments), to having his bodyguard beat up a guy who would leave a club’s VIP area so Iverson and his entourage could sit there, to peeing in a trashcan in an Atlantic City casino and being barred from the property.
In his 14 year professional, he’s only played a complete 82 game season twice and railed against anyone who dared discipline him for being late, skipping team events and being a general pain in the ass. So really, he’s had a lot of free time on his hands. That kind of boredom leads to nothing good; and that kind of general shitty attitude toward people who are trying to help you be a good person definitely isn’t helpful either.
The bottom line is Iverson did this to himself. It’s astounding to me how many chances he’s been given throughout his career, despite demonstrating on several occasions what a less-than-stellar person he is; owners and coaches are that desperate to win, they’ll overpay a guy with attitude problems and who misses roughly 20-30 games a year to get his whopping 42% career field goal shooting. I’m not sure why I should feel sorry for him or feel compelled to get behind him. Just like I’m not compelled to feel sorry for Michael Vick for being unhappy on the bench in Philadelphia, even though they’ll pay out a $1.5 million roster bonus to him on Tuesday. DUDE SHOULDN’T EVEN BE IN THE NFL RIGHT NOW, and he’s complaining about not being starter? Hey idiot, you’re not a starter because you missed two season BECAUSE YOU WERE IN JAIL. And when you were in your prime, you were an average quarterback whose one glowing attribute was your ability to run out of the pocket when you couldn’t find your receiver. Atlanta went to the playoffs twice, I think, when he was quarterback and he never got them past the conference championship game. Dree Brees, who was a second round pick to Vick’s overall #1 in 2001, has done a little bit better in his career, I think. But I could be wrong.
I just will never understand why aren’t guys like Iverson and Vick aren’t just a little more grateful for the incredibly blessed life they lead. It’s why I should spend less time on the internet, because reading this about Iverson basically enrages me to the point that I need to go have some gin. Can you tell?
