NBA Player X: Lay off Iverson
March, 11, 2010
Mar 11
2:17
PM ET
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By Anonymous

Guys around the league are pissed at Stephen A. Smith right now for
his most recent column on Allen Iverson, the one in which he claimed
Allen is going to drink and/or gamble his life away. One of my NBA
friends in Philly says a bunch of Sixers can't wait for Stephen A. to
show up in their locker room so they can have words with him.

He's the kind of guy who, if Philly were playing well and won a
championship or something, would "break" the story that Allen was the
reason for their success, but because Philly sucks and Iverson's
numbers haven't been good, Stephen A. breaks the story that their
failure is about Allen's drinking and gambling. It's this kind of
thing that makes a lot of guys in the NBA wary of Stephen A. Smith.

Now, everyone in the league knows Allen has been a big partier his
entire career. Crazy thing is, he actually drinks a lot less than he
used to. I know there was talk because Allen was at some party on a
night he was supposed to be playing. But right now NBA players are
just talking about how they can't believe Stephen A. chose to write
that column now, when Allen's partying is way, way tamer than it used
to be. We all think the timing is suspicious.

I haven't talked to Allen, so I don't know how he feels about all
this. But guys around the league think Stephen A. took a cheap shot,
that he kicked a man when he was down. Allen is dealing with his sick
daughter and a divorce. That's the reason he's taking time away. But I
guess the truth doesn't sell newspapers. Fact is, if Stephen A. really
cared about him, as he says he does, he'd be going to AI's friends and
family, trying to say something that way. He wouldn't be blasting him
in the media.

Allen's going through all this personal stuff and he's in the
spotlight with no outlet. But Allen is probably the most loved guy in
the league after Shaq. Yeah, he's had problems with coaches. But every
guy I know who's played with him says he's a great teammate. He always
keeps guys loose by lightening the mood. There are dozens of guys in
the NBA who would help him if he needed it. And while I don't think
he'll be back in the league again -- he's just not where he used to be
physically -- his absence will have nothing to do with drinking and
gambling. You can print that.

Uzytkownik "Leszczur" <leszczur@acn.waw.pl> napisal w wiadomosci news:2653f104-f3e8-4332-b55b-39288830d6e8f8g2000yqn.googlegroups.com...

Wielkie dzieki za tego posta. Zadna nowosc bo takie sa media, ale fajnie, ze ktos to powiedzial. Ciekawe kto, pewnie Eric Snow? Czy to którys z aktywnych graczy?


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