Perhaps the most controversial player to ever step into the NBA, Allen Iverson has gained many fans over the years but he also had a few haters as well. The Iverson documentary was premiered on Saturday from Showtime and he finally addresses some of his haters. Click more to check out the clip!
Selfish. Small. Tattoos. Thug. Evil. That’s how Allen Iverson recalls many people describing him throughout his professional career and even after his career ended in some instances. One of the more progressive athletes of our time–undeniably–sat down to address a few of the misconceptions about him and how he felt about them. Iverson was simply embracing what he knew to be normal his entire life and in the end, he caught backlash for that.
There really is no other way to put it but Allen Iverson was not a liked figure in the NBA by NBA officials and the media because they did not understand what it meant to be young and black. Iverson was progressive in the sense that he wore baggy clothes, sported tattoos, and had braids and you can now look at players in the league and see just how far it has come. Something as simple as him not wanting anymore bad haircuts, caused an entire group of people to judge him, simply because he did not look how they wanted him to.
In an interview, A.I describes people that did not like him because he was always himself and really didn’t front about that. He also goes on to say, “a positive story about A.I doesn’t sell, no one wants to hear that,” and he just might have a point about that. Of all the times I can recall him being in headlines–until recent times–it was really never anything good, unfortunately.
The Snippet…
Sadly, Iverson admits that the comments many used to make about him often hurt him and he had to develop “Rhino Skin” to brush the comments off. One thing that was great about the snippet was when A.I said, ” At the age of 40, I’m done defending myself,” and he is absolutely right about that. Why should anyone have to explain their logic of thinking to those that just don’t get it? I don’t feel like that should be anyone’s responsibility. If you have not seen the ‘Iverson’ documentary, you can catch it on Showtime On-Demand right now!
Iverson ended the snippet with a few fitting words: Hardworking. Dedicated. Defiant. Warrior. Survivor.
Source: Sporting News
