Apparently, the “answer” to a court ruling in February where a judge ordered former NBA superstar, Allen Iverson, to fork over $8,000.00 a month in child support is a resounding no! According to A.I’s ex-wife Tawanna, he now owes $40,000 in back child support. In recently filed court documents, she is asking a judge to force Iverson to pay $40,000 and throw him in jail if necessary. Ouch!
The court hearing is set for next week.
Sigh, gosh boy Allen!
The following piece might have something to do with why he can’t pay.
Via the Washington Post
[box type="shadow" align="aligncenter" width="620" ]Three years after Iverson’s last NBA game, the spotlight has shifted from his play to his flaws. His refusal back then to play by society’s rules was seen as an independent player’s quirks, part of the character and the brand, same as his cornrows and tattoos.
Practicing with hangovers added to the legend. Skipping team functions and refusing to obey the league’s dress code was a man who wouldn’t be held down. And embarrassing defenders on the way to the basket, in the NBA and before that at Georgetown, was a nightly statement by the 6-foot, 165-pound guard: If a man, no matter his size, is determined enough, he can get the better of giants.
But Iverson isn’t a basketball player anymore.This is something most everyone but Iverson has accepted, and for years a question worried those closest to him: What happens when the most important part of a man’s identity, the beam supporting the other unstable matter, is no longer there?
For the past three years, as Iverson chased an NBA comeback, his marriage fell apart and much of his fortune – he earned more than $150 million in salary alone during his career – dissolved. Now, those who once ignored past signals have recognized that basketball may have been the only thing holding Iverson’s life together.
“He has hit rock bottom, and he just hasn’t accepted it yet,” says former Philadelphia teammate Roshown McLeod.[/box]
And it gets worst…
[box type="shadow" align="aligncenter" width="620" ]Iverson stood during a divorce proceeding in Atlanta in 2012 and pulled out his pants pockets. “I don’t even have money for a cheeseburger,” he shouted toward his estranged wife, Tawanna, who then handed him $61[/box]
It sounds bad for him now but there is a silver lining in all this.
[box type="shadow" align="aligncenter" width="620" ]Basketball was Iverson’s sanctuary, and he signed huge contracts: a six-year deal in 1999 worth $70.9 million and, four years later, a new agreement worth $76.7 million. Reebok signed him to a huge endorsement deal, including a deferred trust worth more than $30 million, a lump sum he can’t touch until he turns 55.[/box]
As bad as people may feel for A.I., all his wounds are self-inflicted. A.I.’s ignorance, lack of responsibility, and a general “I-don’t-give-a-fork” attitude makes it hard for us to feel too bad for him.
That being said, Iverson was one of the greatest basketball players that most of us have ever seen grace the court, it’s a shame that won’t be the way we remember him.
