What to say of Iverson the Retired
Names become synonymous through connotation. I say “Notorious”, you say B.I.G. I say, “Cracker Jacks” you think, “Why bother if I’m at Dodger stadium where they grill the dogs.” Pardon the digression. What about when I say, “A.I.?”
Speaking of notorious, he is for his famous rant debunking practice given the fact that at the time he was the face of the Philadelphia 76ers. There’s the corn rows, the tattoos and the sleeve. There’s the persona of an egotist with the ability of a basketball freak. There’s an undersized human barely scratching 6-feet and weighing in at much less than 180 pounds.
There’s all of this and his first Thanksgiving as a retiree marking, for now, the end of an era. Allen Iverson hangs it up after having epitomized the underdog who triumphs in a land of giants. At 27 points per game he ranks 5th in career scoring average among players who lasted ten years or longer in the NBA.
But when a person is remembered, I mean if they got to choose the epitaph, it should at least be written with this in mind: According to the Associated Press (2006), “Allen Iverson paid for the funeral of a man who died three years after he was shot in southwest Philadelphia because he refused to hand over his Iverson jersey to a group of teens.” Kevin Johnson was the 22-year old victim and of the incident. Here’s a quote from the “The Answer” himself after the death of Johnson:
If they were that serious about that jersey I would have given them 100 jerseys if they wanted it,” Iverson said. “It was just tough, just to see somebody die for something senseless like that, over a jersey, over something material.”
I believe every word. Blessings to you A.I. Play your 6ixth Man.
Posted: by Norman Anthony
Category: Character
What I love about A.I. is actually what others hate. He did it his way. When his “handlers” were telling him to take out the corn rows, stop with the tats, and learn to enunciate (okay that would have been a good thing) he said no. This is who I am, and he never asked other to like it. Like T.O. always clamoring for attention. No A.I. was just A.I. Oh to live with no apologies no regrets no longing to press the rewind button. I would be shocked if he ever came out of retirement because guys like A.I. come along once in a life time. He’s probably going to do retirement just like he did the NBA…his way.
Brotha Norm I think this is a good example of what you and I spoke about way back when… When I asked you to enlighten me about the 6ixth man. Unfortunately I do not know that much about AI to even really comment . However, what I do know is what most people probably know …and that is the negative aspects of his career. What a talent though. What is it about the falling stars that burn out way before their time that we love so much! We have legends in the game, legends in music, legends on stage and on film, and I think we also have a seperate category for the really brilliant ones.
Mixed thoughts about AI. I do appreciate his thoughts about the jersey incident but does that make-up for all the other things he did wrong. For the role model that he became. Now, I know there is that argument that athletes don’t ask to be role models, the reality is they are.
Let’s not kid ourselves into thinking they didn’t ask for it. Perhaps not directly but when they sign that multi-million dollar contract and they allow their face to be the face of the team, they become a role model. To think otherwise is denying the reality of who they become. The people who killed for the jersey prove my point. They certainly didn’t kill for a FUBU jersey that you can get at Ross or Marshall’s. Why? Because it has no value. Name brand FUBU didn’t play in the NBA.
As we consider the 6th Man, how does a person not lose against emotions, fears, self-deceptions, abuses, injustice, etc? And how does one get the advantage to overcome these self destructing attributes? Do we consider ourselves accomplished as a 6th man when we look at how we succeeded but in the wake of our actions there is so much negativity?
The role model piece has always been a sticking point for me. Role models are almost appointed in a way. You arrive to a place of prominence and poof…you’re a model in a role and good, bad or indifferent you become THE MAN. And what happens with a guy like A.I. is that he grew up earning his stripes the hard way as an undersized, underprivileged, minority kid with a chip on his shoulder. (I wish he was a blogger so he could respond in fairness)
His mentality and giftedness gained him a place in society that is coveted. But that same place came with a mantle he probably wasn’t prepared to hold. When he was called upon to represent, for example, the idea of Team Practices, he went on and on about being the Franchise. On the other hand, there is an endearing part to a guy like him that we seldom got to see. The balance of human personhood is important to see so that we can tell the kid wearing a #3 jersey something good about his idol. That kid is gonna worship the guy regardless.