Allen Iverson was a player for the ages. He was undersized in a game that is dominated by giants. He brought a fire that was never quite equaled. He helped to bring back the Philadelphia 76ers from the brink of extinction. When he was at his best, he was the Answer to whatever needed to be overcome. He met all challenges head on, without hesitation, and without fear.
Allen Iverson is now scared, timid, lost, and near defeat. That is the picture that has been painted by Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Stephen A Smith.
We have learned over the last couple of days that the former NBA Star is in the battle of his life. Allen Iverson is hitting a bottom with his drinking and gambling. It seems to have cost him his marriage, his kids, and his career as an NBA player. It is a sad story, one that is horrible to watch unravel, but it is happening. Who can help Allen Iverson in these trivial times? Stephen A seems to believe that Iverson lacks the guidance of former college coach John Thompson, or of former 76ers owner Pat Croce. Former Temple coach John Chaney agrees with SAS that Thompson could get through to Iverson. Get him off this path of destruction. I get it. He was a mentor at one time for Allen Iverson, helped him get his life back on track when he was a teenager and helped get him into the NBA. Allen Iverson is beyond someone slapping him in the face and telling him to tuck his jersey in and stay away from the bar after a game. The answer to Allen Iversons issue is not John Thompson, or Pat Croce, or Larry Brown or whoever else has been an authority figure in his life. Allen Iverson is the answer.
I’m not one to attach vice labels on anyone such as “alcoholic” or “compulsive gambler”. I am an alcoholic, and God-willing, I will be celebrating 10 years of sobriety, ironically enough, on Saint Patrick’s Day next week. I know I’m an alcoholic, I don’t know if he is. Only Allen Iverson knows his situation. Whether or not he is an alcoholic, he is still ultimately responsible for his life and making the choice of turning it around, just like he is responsible for it falling apart. I don’t know who Iverson kept company with when he wasn’t at practice or playing in a game. Maybe he isolated himself. But that was his choice. It wasn’t anyone else’s responsibility. Iverson could have made the choice to spend his time with his family, with the wife that he claims that he would die for. But we do know that he chose to spend time drinking and gambling. Those were his choices. Now it is his time to be the answer to his problems. It is time for Allen Iverson to not only take responsibility to straighten out his life, but to be accountable to others as well. Just as he did as the team leader of the 76ers when he carried them to the NBA Finals in 2001. However, he doesn’t have to be fearless. He can be vulnerable, admit that he is fearful, and admit that he needs help. He doesn’t need to make it public, but he needs to find someone he feels close enough to and let them know he needs help. But, first, needs to own his mistakes, something that he has not always been able to do, even professionally. How many times did we hear during his career that it was managements or his coaches fault for the troubles he was dealing with, especially the last few years. The pattern is there.
Basketball is most likely not an option for Allen Iverson, at least not playing it professionally. But, right now he doesn’t have a career in anything unless he does what is necessary to preserve his life, and his children. I don’t know if he can repair his relationship with his wife, but he is responsible to the 5 children he is a father to. If he continues down the path that he is on, not only will he have lost his career, but his life too. Allen Iverson is the first answer to solving this problem, and until he realizes that, nobody can step in to help.

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