The real Iverson has stood up once again

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© St. Petersburg Times
published July 13, 2002

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Allen Iverson.

Oh, you probably thought you knew him; that you had made his acquaintance years ago and after countless All-Star Game appearances and sneaker ads; that you had come to know him fairly well.

Sure, you always knew he was no saint, that he sometimes was impetuous and irreverent and a bit of a hoodlum. But you probably figured that was part of his youthfulness; that in time, he would mature and realize our hopes for someone so gifted and rich.

Sorry to burst your bubble, folks, but that ain't gonna happen. Allen Iverson is who he is, and despite our sincere hopes, he apparently isn't going to change. At least not any time soon.

So get used to it.

Get used to seeing the 6-foot 76ers guard as we saw him these past two seasons, dominating the game like few players his size. And get used to seeing him as we expect to Tuesday, surrendering to police under a cloud of criminal allegations.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the real Allen Iverson. One part hoops hero. One part roughneck.

What's that saying about being able to take the man out of the 'hood but not the 'hood out of the man?

This latest brush with the law (He was charged Thursday with four felonies and 10 misdemeanors after allegedly throwing his naked wife out of their house.) ought to be the clincher. Just when we thought he was turning a corner in his dazzling-yet-troubled career, he pulls this.

Remember the talk last season about being more of a team leader? He was, to hear him tell it, maturing on the court. Look, he told us, how courageously he played while nursing injuries and leading Philadelphia to the 2000-01 Finals and winning the MVP award. Look, he said, at his willingness to finally respect coach Larry Brown's authority.

And we almost bought it, too. Almost. But now we should know better. Now we should know it was just Iverson being Iverson.

We no longer can dismiss these repeated clashes with authority as mere inconsequential outgrowths of his youthfulness. Remember the arrest on a gun charge in 1997 (in which he later pleaded no contest)? Remember the rap album that was pulled for offensive language toward women and gays?

This is not a case of a kid still trying to grow into himself.

Iverson is 27, not 22. He is a husband and father, and he has been in the NBA for six seasons, long enough to know what's expected of him and, more important, what is not. The question is, does Iverson care?

Because make no mistake, this guy is a warrior. He is headstrong and street tough, tenacious almost to the point of ruthlessness, which is part of what makes him the phenomenal basketball icon that he is.

But those traits also are a large reason why he is where he is today, staring at the possibility of being locked up for 70 years. What he feeds off of also is what, ultimately, is killing him.

It's what has strained his relationship with Brown. And it's what has kept him on the wrong side of the law.

Many have tried to get Iverson to separate the two, to reserve his gladiator mentality for the court, not the world beyond it. John Thompson, his coach at Georgetown, tried. Brown tried. Ex-Sixers president Pat Croce tried. Former Sixers forward Charles Barkley tried. Former Sixers point guard Maurice Cheeks tried.

Iverson hears but, apparently, isn't listening. There's a big difference.

"We're all concerned about it, and we want to be supportive," Brown said at a news conference.

Iverson likely will continue along the same path, alternating between celebrity and controversy. The charges against him seem serious, but don't be surprised if he gets off. People of his stature have beaten a lot worse charges.

He undoubtedly will emerge professing to be a changed man, nodding and saying the right things. That is, until the next incident.

At least now, though, we ought to know how much of it to believe. Because we ought to know exactly who Iverson is.

The only question is, when his brilliant yet contentious career is over, will we believe it was a pleasure to have made his acquaintance?

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