With the Hall of Fame induction just a couple of days away, more details have surfaced about the life and times of inductee Allen Iverson.
The 2001 NBA MVP was profiled in a piece by ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, who has covered Iverson throughout his career.
Allen Iverson from a new light
Smith shone light on the tender aspects of Iverson's persona, the ones people at times took for granted or just assumed true based on his reputation for defying authority and doing things his own way.
“He rose. He fell. He crumbled. Then rose again,” Smith wrote. “Financially. Ethically. Morally at times. Letting critics talk, cynics swell and allowing his life to become far more difficult than it needed to be.”
The 11-time All-Star would often take blame for things he didn't do because he figured he'd be guilty by association either way. Due to his history, people would have no problem believing it was him.
“There were many occasions when it wasn't even Allen who had done anything,” former Sixers president Billy King told Smith. “It could've been someone in [Iverson's] crew. But it didn't matter. You might as well blame him because the last thing he was going to do was tell on anyone. No matter the reason. Not matter the consequences. He'd take the heat himself for anyone he cared about, and simply say he wasn't perfect.”
Iverson's reasoning for taking blame is not surprising — he was damaged goods. The Georgetown standout had a long history of problems with the law, and people would easily nod and say it's just him doing what he does.
That's who AI is
The notion of him not telling on his crew comes from his rugged upbringing in Hampton, Virginia, where he had already been convicted and charged with “maiming by a mob” after a bowling alley brawl that took place when he was 17.
After four months, he was released from jail due to insufficient evidence, but his nationwide reputation had already been tarnished.
Allen Iverson made the best of it and was willing to roll with the punches and keep moving forward despite the blame and criticism, especially in a city as passionate a Philadelphia. A city that hated and loved him, and ultimately welcomed him as one of its own.
“Nobody truly knows the road I traveled,” Iverson said.
Many could argue that his personal triumphs through the trials and tribulations make him just as Hall-of-Fame-worthy as his outstanding achievements on the court.
Bold. Unapologetic. Himself.
That's who Allen Iverson was from start to finish.
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