How Did Allen Iverson End Up Playing in Turkey?
by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Syracuse University – Scholarship in Action
I never thought I’d see the day that Allen Iverson, one of the most talented players in the history of the NBA, would be pushed out of the league like a loaf of moldy bread. "The Answer" left us all full of questions, as most of us really wondered what in the heck happened to his stellar career. This week, Iverson signed a deal to play for a Turkish team called Besiktas (I haven’t heard of them either). The 35-year old veteran is likely going to be the star of the team and was given a two-year deal worth $4 million.
"There are a lot of things that I’m not proud of," Iverson said. "I came into this league 21 years old, never having nothing in my whole life and then given everything in the world. I met a lot of people that were bad people that I had around me. I met a lot of people that were good people. I had to at a young age distinguish who were good and who were bad. And I made a lot of mistakes along the way thinking I knew things that I didn’t know. A lot of times I was a fish out of water, I thought I was in the biggest ocean in the world. I made mistakes, so me not being on an NBA roster, and me being bad-mouthed throughout the league, a lot of things I have to own up to. A lot of those things were true. I made a lot of mistakes. And obviously it cost me."
Iverson is in Turkey because they have very strict laws regulating “Mary Jane.” If he can make it there, then someone in the NBA might be motivated to let him “Practice.” Let’s pray he can have a good life anywhere.