News Archive for David Stern

Allen Iverson Dealing With Divorce, Alcohol and Gambling Problems

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

The Answer appears that he has a lot of problems to solve.  As his days have come to an end on the hardwood, Allen Iverson’s personal life has taken a turn for the worse.  Last week, his wife and high school sweetheart filed divorce papers to end their marriage.  Now revelations are hitting the street about what is truly “irretrievably broken” as was noted in his divorce filing.

Are We Surprised by Iverson's Fall?

Reports are swirling that Iverson has been on a downward spiral for some time due to gambling issues and alcohol consumption problems.  Iverson took to Twitter yesterday to respond to rumors about his personal issues.

“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.”

It is unclear whether or not Iverson used his child as a smoke screen to take the spotlight off the real issues.  If he did, it was a shameless act by coward of a human being.  Not surprising coming rom Iverson, but still despicable.  If his daughter really is sick, it is time for Iverson to reveal the true nature of the illness.  At this time, nobody can sit here and believe a word coming out of his mouth.  We have no reason to believe his child is sick at this point and that this had anything to do with his absence.

If the rumors about the alcohol and gambling issues is true, why has it taken so long to hit the newspapers?  According to former ESPN analyst and Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Stephen A. Smith, Iverson’s gambling problem is so serious, that he has been banished from casinos in Detroit and Atlantic City.

Are you telling me the NBA was unaware that AI was banished from casino halls?  Are you wanting me to believe that NBA brass and the Philadelphia 76ers didn’t know the guy had a drinking problem?  Of course they knew, how could they not?  If Iverson’s issues come as no surprise to the average fan, I think we can conclude that David Stern has been aware for a long time and looked away in the other direction as the turnstiles jingled.

You are now looking squarely in the face at the reason why the NBA is beginning to fail.   Their target audience is middle class families earning $75,000 or more annually.  We teach our kids not to not do drugs, not to consume alcohol and not to gamble.  We encourage them to strive to become something more in life, earn your way and appreciate what it took to achieve what you done.

Then we’ve got Allen Iverson, the example of exactly what we never want our children to become.

Iverson’s life was interrupted on February 14, 1993 when he and several of his friends tore up a bowling alley in Hampton, VA.  His group was repeatedly ask to behave or leave, leading to his posse to start a racially charged brawl with white youths in the bowling alley.  During the fight, Iverson assaulted a woman by hitting her with a chair and was arrested.

Iverson was later convicted of a felony, but due to his budding athletic superstar talent, he was granted clemency by the Governor of Virginia and the judicial system was accused of racism and pressured to overturn the conviction.  Iverson ended up just sending four months in juvenile.   It was these events that pull the ball in motion that led to these problems today because Iverson was provided special treatment that you and I would never receive.  And all this special treatment was due to his ability to dribble an orange basketball.

You can grant him all the clemency you want and you can overturn his conviction for supposedly insufficient evidence because a person’s word doesn’t count against an athletic superstar.  Iverson got a second chance in life that would have derailed the rest of us and learned nothing from it.

Iverson’s defenders are still out in full force about how good a guy he is.  John Thompson and Larry Brown just keep loading up the stories about how wonderful a guy he is.  Let them talk all they want, it won’t change the fact that I’d never leave my kids alone with him for more than two minutes.  There is nothing good about an overindulged sports star that shirks their responsibilities in life, both to their co-workers and their families.

The end of the Iverson basketball saga is here.  The story has ended with him falling into an abyss.  But the question we should all ask ourselves…is anyone even surprised by this?

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Posted in Philadelphia 76ers, nba | 9 Comments »

NBA’s Problems On Display With Iverson All-Star Start

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

Can you imagine the cringe on the faces of NBA executives yesterday when they announced the final balloting results for the All-Star game that is scheduled three weeks from now?  All-Star games are meant to display the league’s most talented players during that season.  So what happened?

Iverson All-Star Selection Troubling

Iverson All-Star Selection Troubling

Philadelphia 76ers guard Allen Iverson easily earned a starting spot in the upcoming game with the following glistening resume:

  • Was able to only get one team to display interest in him in offseason, the Memphis Grizzlies
  • Was cut by the Memphis Grizzlies due to poor behavior which disrupted the team.
  • His former coach Larry Brown lobbied for someone to sign him, but wouldn’t do so himself
  • Got his former team, the Sixers, to sign him simply to fill seats not earn victories
  • Play a total of 19 games, score less than 15 points and not rate as a stat leader in any category

About the only All-Star worthy stat line associated with Iverson is the Memphis Grizzlies win-loss record since his departure.  While creating distractions galore, Iverson helped lead the Grizzlies to a 2-8 start.  Since his departure, the Grizzlies are 20-11.  They are on pace to gain a playoff spot due only to subtracting Iverson from the team.

Iverson’s selection highlights what is wrong with the NBA.  Fans actually really believe that Iverson is a great player although the teams he has played on have close to a .500 record when he actually plays.  It personifies that the NBA does not do enough to promote that basketball is a team sport.  And it leaves traditional fans disappointed in the product being served to them.

Commissioner David Stern needs to wake up and smell the coffee.  The attendance figures and revenues are down because fans want to see team ball.  Selfish ball-hogging and showmanship is killing the game and turning basketball fans to college basketball over pro.

What’s left in the stand are a bunch of people that actually think Allen Iverson is an All-Star.  If Iverson has any self-respect, he will decline the invitation and allow another player that is deserving be allowed to play.

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Posted in Philadelphia 76ers, nba | 12 Comments »

NBA Finally Silences Arenas Unloaded Gun With Suspension

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

Gilbert Arenas likely played his final game of the 2009-2010 NBA season and collected his final paycheck on his way out the door.  NBA Commissioner David Stern brought the hammer down on Arenas Wednesday, placing him on indefinite suspension while the NBA completes its internal investigation into the shenanigans involving gambling debts, unloaded pistols and a Mexican standoff that has taken place in the Washington Wizards locker room.

Arenas Suspended Indefinitely

Arenas Suspended Indefinitely

The straw that broke the camel’s back played out in Philadelphia last night. While horsing around during pregame warmups, Arenas imitated fake gun shots at his teammates in a circle as they laughed and giggled over his display.  The immature antics were caught on camera by Jesse Garrabrant of Getty Images.  While his Wizards teammates thought it was hilarious based on their facial responses in the background, Commissioner Stern failed to find the humor in the display of stupidity.

It is disappointing that it has taken Stern this long to act.  When Al Sharpton comes out in support of suspending an African American player for violation of gun laws and common decency, you know it is serious.  The poor decision making displayed by Arenas marks some of the worst behavior ever seen in the NBA, perhaps even topping Ron Artest’s entering the crowd in Detroit to start a fight with a fan.

The sad part is that Arenas and his teammates in that Washington Wizard locker don’t seem to grasp the seriousness of the situation.  Guns have no place in their lives, let alone the locker room.  If you need to have a handgun with you everywhere you go, it is clear that the lifestyle you are choosing to live is not the correct one.  Arenas’ explanation that he brought the guns to work to get them away from his child is a comical.  The is much more to this and it is tough to believe anything that comes out of Arenas’ mouth.

As Arenas’ forfeits his $147,200 game check for each game he misses while suspend, perhaps he finally realize this is not a joking matter.  It’ll become even less funny when his $118 million contract is voided for his blatant violation of  NBA player conduct standard which he agreed to abide by when he signed the contract.

The only people that will be laughing when this is all over is the Washington Wizards management team when they get out from under the rock of Arenas’ awful long-term deal.

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Posted in Washington Wizards, nba | No Comments »

Mike Golic Blasts Fan’s Email About NBA Collusion

Tuesday, December 8th, 2009

During the December 8th taping of the Mike and Mike in The Morning Show on ESPN 2, co-host Mike Golic went on a tirade during a segment that discussed the recent 60 Minutes interview wherein disgraced former referee Tim Donaghy accused the NBA and it officials of being in collusion to aid certain teams with marketing value to get beneficial calls.

During the 60 Minutes interview, Donaghy shares that the NBA provided instructions on how they wanted officiating improved.  An example, confirmed by the NBA, was a directive about fouls calls not being called on behalf of one of its biggest stars Kobe Bryant.  Donaghy used this information to win seven bets knowing that the directive would lead to beneficial game calls in the Lakers favor.

Golic’s tirade, with Mike Russo’s support, chastised fans for believing that a league could fix games and the truth behind those fixes not get out.  Both jumped on fans stating that it would have to start at the top of the NBA, coming down from Commissioner David Stern to Stu Jackson to a team owner to a head coach.  Too many to keep it quiet, that everyone would have to be in on it.  That questions that the Pau Gasol trade from Memphis to Los Angeles was fixed to help the Lakers win were absurd.  Golic demanded from the fan that emailed him to provide the “proof”.

If Golic needs proof of possible collusion, all he needs to do is read up on the NBA’s revenue sharing agreement amongst team owners.  Adopted at the end of the 2007-2008 season, the agreement provides for $49 million to “qualifying teams” to help close the gap between high and low-revenue teams.  More interestingly, the league doesn’t disclose the formula for how the money is doled out to these “qualifying teams”.

Noted in the Street & Smith’s article is that one of the leaders of the proposal to increase revenue sharing by 63% from $30 million to $49 million was the owner of the Memphis Grizzlies, Michael Heisley.  Coincidentally, the proposal was approved just weeks after Memphis traded its star player, Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers in a highly criticized, unbalanced trade that helped send the Los Angeles Lakes back to the championship game.

While there is no smoking gun, Mr. Golic needs to take a deep breath and realize that revenue sharing agreements structured in this manner do not give incentive for smaller market teams to attempt to compete.  The NBA stands to profit more by having its large market teams win and rewarding teams like Memphis with revenue sharing dollars by aiding those large market teams with unbalanced trades.

Clearly, Golic should offer up an apology to the listener he chastised.  The NBA doesn’t deserve a free pass until to opens up the books and shares specifically what money is distributed out to what teams under the revenue sharing agreement.

If Golic and Russo are truly newsmen, they would demand Commissioner Stern to come onto the show, answer some tough question and open the books on the revenue sharing agreement.  If there is nothing hide, Stern doesn’t need his lawyers his present and has everything to gain by putting this to rest.

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Posted in Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, nba | No Comments »