“I thought that once this day came, it would be basically a tragic day. I never imagined the day coming, but I knew it would come and I feel proud and happy to say that I am happy with my decision.” These particular words were spoken in the year of 2013 from a basketball legend by the name of Allen Iverson. With tears in his eyes and his children by his side, Iverson announced to the world that he had officially decided to retire from the game of basketball. The man that had once been able to fill thousands of seats with fans intrigued by his very unique playing style had now come to the realization that his NBA career was over. As millions of viewers tuned into ESPN to hear his retirement announcement, there were constant status updates on social media websites expressing their sadness to hear arguably one of the best NBA players from the 90s say his final goodbyes to his fans.
Drafted first overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1996 NBA draft, the Hampton, Virginia native Allen Iverson would change the sport of basketball forever. Spending two years at Georgetown University as a student-athlete, the announcement of his name on draft night was a major deal. Dressed in a grey suit with his mother and friends in attendance, Allen Iverson had risen from the tough streets of Virginia where he was raised by only his mother. Before that night in 1996, the long road of obstacles presented before him had already begun. In 1993, while still in high school, Iverson and his friends at the time were involved in a fight with a group of white patrons at a bowling alley that led to Iverson eventually being charged with hitting a white woman with a chair. After spending four months in prison at the age of 17, Iverson was released and was granted clemency because a lack of evidence. This particular event not only followed Iverson throughout his NBA career, but it also sheds light on some of the racial tension that was brewing during the 90s.
By the time Allen Iverson had played his first NBA game in Philadelphia, he was already starting to become a fan favorite and attracting a lot of attention. His stardom only grew in the year of 1997 when he played against the Chicago Bulls. It is in this particular game that Iverson was able to use his well-known “crossover” move on the great Michael Jordan. Sending Jordan into a state of confusion, Iverson was able to give him a dose of his own medicine with his quick, but “smooth” moves and seemed to send a statement to Jordan that there was a new star in town. This is what many believed to be Iverson’s introduction to legendary status and many have argued that this was the beginning of the end for Michael Jordan. It was not long after his rise to fame that the media began their image attack on Iverson. From family issues to conversations surrounding racial discrimination, the media ran with the personal life of Iverson and ultimately served as an opponent off the court.
What went from his great abilities to play basketball in 1996 quickly transitioned into debates about his appearance and character outside of the game of basketball. Standing approximately 6 feet with designed cornrows and tattoos, Iverson definitely stood out from the rest of the NBA players. His appearance was able to challenge traditional standards and also allowed critics to paint him as a society-created stereotypical black man with sagging pants and rap music blasting through his headphones. Iverson would also walk onto the court with his hair in an afro and headband on while sporting longer basketball shorts. His ownership in his look was able to attract a brand new fan-base while at the same time pissing off white America and older generation African-Americans. Also his own shoe deal with Reebok allowed him to become an entrepreneur outside of basketball and influence a younger generation watching his every “move”.
With the popularity of Hip-Hop growing during the 90s, Allen Iverson was also able to have an influence in that particular arena as well. His released rap song entitled 40 Bars tackled the aspect of sex, drugs, and money. His is able to brag about his lavish lifestyle as a “baller” on this particular track and present a side of him that his fans has never seen before. The media was able to use this particular song created by Iverson in order to justify their judgements of him. From being called a cheater to a thug, the life of Iverson seemed to have transpire out of control. For a young man that had only ever dreamed of playing professional basketball and win a championship ring which he never did, the evils of fame created difficulties for his career. On one hand Allen Iverson just wanted to express himself through basketball and other creativities, but on the other he seemed to never escape the stereotypes placed on black males living America.
The basketball career of Allen Iverson is very unique and important to the black 90s as it relates to black images presented to the world. His lavish spending habits to his public disputes with his wife, often overshadowed the fact that he was actually able to make it to the NBA finals and be an all-star player for consecutive years. Iverson is often blamed for the Hip-Hop culture in the NBA and is said to be the reason the league enforced a strict dress code for NBA players because of Iverson’s rapper image. In the midst of negativity often associated with Iverson, he was one of the best athletes ever. Not many athletes have been able to change an entire sports league and give birth to a new generation of athletes. Iverson was able to take the number 3 which was his jersey number and forever have it mentioned with the great numbers affiliated with sports history. The love/hate relationship with the man that once argued that he did not need to “practice” can still be found today, two years removed from his official retirement announcement. —Andy Reid
Works Cited
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/9839119/allen-iverson-officially-retire-oct-30-sources
