Allen Iverson Live

Even the NBA commissioner has expressed concern for Allen Iverson, reaching out to him on Monday to make sure everything was alright. This is according to Iverson’s business manager, Gary Moore. Stern telephoned Moore Monday and asked how Iverson was coping with the myriad problems that have come his way. Moore said the two spoke for about 10 minutes and he assured the commissioner Iverson is doing fine.

“David was genuinely concerned for Allen,” Moore said. “He asked about his daughter and his wife. He said that if Allen needed him he knows how to get him.”

“Allen’s personal life is at the top of his agenda right now and no thoughts about basketball will enter into his mind or thought process until he’s satisfied that his personal life is in order. Basketball’s not high on his list of priorities right now.”

Thompson, Iverson’s coach for two years at Georgetown, spoke with Iverson on March 7, the same day the Inquirer report suggested Thompson reach out to him.

Allen Iverson is going some pretty tough times right now. As he said himself on Twitter, “You all know that my life isn’t perfect”.  A new documentary by ESPN depicts another tough time early in his life.

On Valentine’s Day 1993, 17-year-old Bethel High School basketball star Allen Iverson was bowling in Hampton, Va., with five high school friends. It was supposed to be an ordinary evening, but it became a night that defined Iverson’s young life. A quarrel soon erupted into a brawl pitting Iverson’s young black friends against a group of white patrons. The fallout from the fight and the handling of the subsequent trial landed the teenager—considered by some the nation’s best high school athlete—in jail and sharply divided the city along racial lines. Oscar nominee Steve James (“Hoop Dreams”) returns to his hometown of Hampton, where he once played basketball, to take a personal look at this still-disputed incident and examine its impact on Iverson and the shared community.

Premieres Tuesday Apr 13 8PM ESPN,

Check out the amazing trailer…

It’s easy to forget about all the positive things a person has accomplished during times of negative events. Today’s links focuses on reminding us all the incredible accomplishments that Allen Iverson has achieved so far during his career (I say that optimistically hoping that he will return).

The following piece talks about how Allen Iverson needed a championship, something that would have probably helped him avoid the personal problem’s he’s facing:

No matter what happens in his personal life Allen Iverson will go down as one of the greatest basketball players to ever play and arguably is pound for pound the best player to ever play the game he had a legendary career and is the best small player the league has ever seen.

If Iverson won a championship he would be viewed differently as a player and person. He would still be on a NBA team and would probably be the 1st or 2nd option like he should be. He wouldn’t lose love for the game and wouldn’t have gambling and drinking problems. He would have done it all and could have retired anytime and it would be a happy ending because he would walk away from the game having done it all.

This article titled The Answer? Brotherly Love: Standing By Allen Iverson When It Counts also outlines his accomplishments and a message to those who are quick to judge:

The next time you find yourself quick to judge a man that you don’t know beyond the basketball court– think about how you would answer those questions.  Think about the player who stood at center court holding an All-Star MVP trophy and asking for his coach.  Think about the player who sat at the podium with his children falling asleep at his chest after leading his team during the 2001 playoffs.  Think about the player who started the CrossOver Foundation and numerous charity events to empower the dreams of the youth.  Think about the player who created the Allen Iverson Scholarship Endowment to support the success of underprivileged student athletes.  Think about the player who walked to center court and kissed the Sixers logo on the hardwood upon his return to Philadelphia.  Think about the basketball player that you do know.

Stephen A Smith has written a follow-up article after his controversial report on Allen Iverson’s drinking and gambling problems.  He claims that it has been a difficult week, where he has received a beatdown from Allen Iverson’s supporters:

I’ve been vilified and excoriated, called a turncoat and a sellout, unworthy of so much as a handshake from several members of Iverson’s former team, the 76ers – the last people in need of more adversaries.

Smith goes on to say:

The truth is, I deserve it. Despite the objectivity exercised while disseminating the news, it’s impossible to be completely impartial about someone you’ve known for 14 years and are incredibly fond of despite the innumerable mistakes he’s made.

No one said Iverson is an alcoholic or a gambling addict. What was reported was that he’s drinking and gambling too much, enough to concern quite a few people in the NBA.

Saying what needed to be said is something I don’t regret. The truth hurts sometimes, particularly when it involves someone at a low point in their life. Electing to stand alone, however, while a bevy of individuals – former teammates, locker room personnel, team executives, hangers-on, and his business manager – stand around in silence was perhaps the most questionable decision of all.

Smith’s first article was over the top, almost implying that Iverson was an alcoholic or gambling addict.  But this had no basis whatsover.

Ultimately, Allen’s personal problems can only be solved by one man — himself.  Let’s all hope that Iverson finds himself and turns his career and life around.

Support from all corners of the world has been pouring in for Allen Iverson.  As Scoop Jackson wrote on ESPN, Allen Iverson just needs a place to land.  The unthinkable incidents seem to all happen at once for Iverson – his daughter gets seriously ill, the Sixers announce his departure, his wife files for divorce, Stephen A Smith writes about his alcohol and gambling problems…

Larry Brown has spoken out, and he believes that Allen Iverson will return.

Maybe he’ll never play again at the level I saw him play at, but I think he can still help somebody,” Brown said. Even if Iverson does seek to return, the question remains whether a team is willing to take him on.

Mar. 11 – 8:07 am et.  Source: Charlotte Observer

According to one source, guys around the league are pissed at Steven A. Smith right now for his most recent column on Allen Iverson.

Guys around the league are pissed at Stephen A. Smith right now for his most recent column on Allen Iverson, the one in which he claimed Allen is going to drink and/or gamble his life away. One of my NBA friends in Philly says a bunch of Sixers can’t wait for Stephen A. to show up in their locker room so they can have words with him.

Carmelo Anthony, who was a close teammate of Allen Iverson during his stint in Denver, has spoken out about the recent news about Allen Iverson’s reported personal problems. He said never observed such behavior when the two were teammates for two years on the Denver Nuggets.

“No, man. I haven’t seen any of that,” Anthony, Iverson’s teammate on the Nuggets from December 2006 to November 2008, said Tuesday after Denver’s practice. “When I hear stuff like that, I just be wondering, ‘Where is it coming from?’ I want to hear it from him. So I’m pretty sure in a couple days I’ll get him on the phone and talk to him.”

Anthony, who called Iverson “one of my close friends,” has kept in touch regularly with Iverson since he was traded from the Nuggets 1 1/2 years ago. But Anthony said he hasn’t talked with Iverson for a few weeks, wanting to give him some space as he left the 76ers due to his 4-year-old daughter, Messiah, battling an undetermined illness.

“I don’t want to see nobody … go through what he’s going through,” said Anthony, who last spoke to Iverson when his family issues first surfaced last month. “I know he’s had his issues out there in Philly whether he was playing, whether he was hurt or whether he had to deal with family issues. Having to deal with family issues is one thing, but having to deal with all the other stuff that is going on … Nobody wants to deal with that stuff … I wish he could just deal with his family issues, and then that would be it.”

“I hope so,” said Anthony about Iverson again playing in the NBA. “I don’t think as far as his game he’s done. But I really don’t know. I really don’t know where his mind is right now. I’m pretty sure he’s not thinking about basketball right now.”

Allen Iverson has broken his silence over recent problems that he has been facing. Iverson posted four messages Monday night on his Twitter account telling fans he expected to overcome the most recent obstacles in his life.

“To my fans: You all know that my life isn’t perfect. I am going through some very tough times right now, like I am sure that we all do from time to time,” Iverson wrote. “However, I will stand tall like always with ‘rhino’ thick skin.”

Iverson had been mostly absent from the 76ers for a month, returning to Atlanta to be with his family as they deal with an undisclosed illness of his 4-year-old daughter, Messiah. Iverson and the Sixers decided last Tuesday he would not return for the rest of the season.

Allen Iverson said on Twitter it hurt to hear stories about his personal life that aren’t true.

“Even though I have become used to hearing people say things about me that aren’t true, it still hurts,” Iverson wrote. “I encourage you to continue your ongoing support and I want you to trust that this is another obstacle in my life that, with God’s help I will overcome.”

This is definitely a good sign. Hopefully, those stories are not true and that Iverson will truly overcome his personal problems. AI, our prayers are with you.

Allen Iverson is reportedly battling alcohol and gambling problems. These reports come at one of the most difficult times in Iverson’s career and personal life. Stephen A Smith reports that Iverson is consumed with both drinking and gambling, two addictions that are tearing his life apart.

Smith wrote: “If numerous NBA sources are telling the truth—and there’s no reason to believe they’d do otherwise in a situation of this magnitude—Iverson will either drink himself into oblivion or gamble his life away.”

Smith continues by calling those close to him to give some tough love and turn his life around.

As an AI fan for through the years, it pains me to hear the problems that Allen is facing. All we can do as fans is pray and hope that he can defeat his own personal demons.

In a shocking turn of events, Allen Iverson’s wife, Tawanna Iverson, has filed for divorce. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tawanna filed papers Tuesday, saying that the 8 1/2-year marriage is “irretrievably broken.” The couple has five children, aged 17 months to 15 years.  In the petition, Tawanna Iverson asked for temporary and permanent custody of their five children as well as child support and alimony.”

Allen Iverson had recently moved to Atlanta, Georgia and away from his NBA career in February 2010 to be with his sick 4-year-old.

In a posting on Twitter, Allen Iverson wrote: “I need to be there to hold my little girl’s hand and encourage her to get better. I wanted her to wake up every morning and see her Daddy’s face, at least until she got better. Through God’s Strength, She Will Keep Getting Better!”

“It has been very difficult for Allen and the team to maintain any consistency as he tries to balance his career with his personal life,” 76ers President and General Manager Ed Stefanski said Tuesday.

It has truly been a tough times for Allen Iverson.  Nobody wishes these kind of personal issues on anyone.  It’s to no surprise that basketball was not at the forefront of Allen’s mind during the last few weeks.  As fans of Allen Iverson, we can just hope for the best and hope he gets through these difficult times.

The Philadelphia 76ers have officially announced that Allen Iverson will not return for the rest of the season. As you all know by now, Iverson has mostly been absent from the team for a month, returning to Atlanta to be with his family as they deal with an undisclosed illness of his 4-year-old daughter, Messiah.

Here’s what team president Ed Stefanski said,

“After discussing the situation with Allen, we have come to the conclusion that he will not return to the Sixers for the remainder of the season, as he no longer wishes to be a distraction to the organization and teammates that he loves very deeply.”

“It has been very difficult for Allen and the team to maintain any consistency as he tries to balance his career with his personal life.”

The 34-year-old Iverson made a tearful return to Philadelphia eager to prove he wasn’t finished after disastrous stints in Detroit and Memphis. He returned to a sold-out crowd dotted with No. 3 jerseys, and showed flashes of his former playmaking self when he ruled the NBA as one of the best guards around. He scored at least 20 points six times—including a 23-point effort in a game against the Lakers that turned into a throwback 1-on-1 duel vs. Kobe Bryant.

Iverson said at a Feb. 15 practice that it was emotionally draining to leave his family to play basketball.

“It was tough to leave her and my wife and kids,” Iverson said. “But I do have a commitment and an obligation to be with my team and to do my job. But it is rough. I think this is the only thing I do in life where for a couple hours during the game I don’t think about nothing but (basketball).”

Today is a sad day for Allen Iverson fans.  We all had hope that Allen would eventually return to the Sixers.  Unfortunately, his family is taking precedence.  Hopefully though, there is still a ray of hope that Iverson will return to the NBA in the future.

The hot topic question of the Sixers these days is Will Allen Iverson return to the Sixers? Tonight’s game against the Orlando Magic at the Wachovia Center had been considered a target date for his return. Iverson, however, did not attend yesterday’s practice at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.

It is unclear when or even if he will return to a Sixers team that is struggling at 22-36. Last week, Iverson left the team for the second time this season to be with his 4-year-old daughter, who is suffering an undisclosed illness.

“I’m sure we will have some discussions in the next day or two about it,” Sixers coach Eddie Jordan said yesterday of Iverson’s status with the team. “Maybe I will talk to [Sixers general manager] Ed [Stefanski] a little bit today and certainly tomorrow while we are in the office.”

Jordan said Stefanski has talked with Iverson, the player’s business manager, and Leon Rose, Iverson’s agent.