While on leave from the Philadelphia 76ers to reportedly attend to his sick 4-year-old daughter Messiah, Allen Iverson spent the weekend away from home in Charlotte.
Iverson was at the CIAA weekend, and spent Saturday night partying at Club 935 in Charlotte with rap mogul Jermaine Dupri. (Yes, Iverson was there.)
One of many Tweets noting his appearance:
The premise for Iverson to be in town was the creation of the CIAA Allen Iverson Scholarship Endowment.
Meanwhile, Phil Jasner of the PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS reports today:
He wasn’t in the gym yesterday when the 76ers resumed practice after their West Coast swing. No one could say definitively whether he would be in the gym again. But Allen Iverson, in his own way, remained a presence.
The Sixers continue to say he is out indefinitely as he copes with the illness of his youngest child, Messiah, 4, who, by all accounts, continues to battle a problem that has yet to be specifically diagnosed.
A source familiar with the situations of the Sixers and Iverson said that Iverson’s presence in Charlotte was not a factor in terms of whether he will return to play. It is likely that a decision on his availability for the remaining 23 games after tonight will be made later in the week.
Martin Frank at DelawareOnline.com notes today:
The Sixers could release Allen Iverson by Monday in order for him to sign with another team and become eligible for the playoffs. That doesn’t seem likely, however, based on comments from Ed Stefanski and Eddie Jordan. Iverson is on leave to care for his 4-year-old daughter, who has an undiagnosed illness. Iverson most likely won’t play for the Sixers again, but he also most likely won’t play for anyone else, either.
Would it be such a horrible thing if Iverson slipped into a Charlotte club Saturday night for a Henny or three on the DL? Probably not.
But allowing his image to be used in a promotional poster for the nightclub event? Not a good look and probably something that won’t endear him to NBA general managers this offseason.
12:09 pm on March 1st, 2010
What garbage. Just cut him and get his thug ass outta the league. Making the 6ers look stuuuuuuuupid.
12:11 pm on March 1st, 2010
Signing Elton Brand to a 5 year $80 million contract made them look a lot dumber.
12:59 pm on March 1st, 2010
That child is going to die because AI decided to spend a night partying instead of caring for his child, who he had probably spent the last 11 or so hours attending you. Shame on you, Allen Iverson, for getting away from the frightening ordeal that is having your daughter sick with an unknown illness for one night! You awful, awful person!
1:03 pm on March 1st, 2010
Seriously, why would anyone believe Iverson? A mental age of about 8, yet he continues to fool people.
Several teams got stung by him.. a suspension of disbelief I guess you can call it.
1:39 pm on March 1st, 2010
He goes down to NC b/c he created a scholarship fund and people have a problem with this???
3:17 pm on March 1st, 2010
Yeah the scholarship was a good thing, but what about whoring around with groupies at the club??? Got an answer for that one?? He’s too old to be acting a fool like this. Grow up.
4:28 pm on March 1st, 2010
Well for one iverson was diagnosed with arthritis so I think this season is pretty much his last. The 76rs signing was like a promitional stunt anyways, if he wants to play he can.
6:07 pm on March 1st, 2010
i think its time to get his rapper career going now that his b-ball career is almost behind him,,,if allen comes back it will be for one game ,,,,, the night he retires,,,, maybe he can sing the star spangle banner too that night,,..i hope he pwatices so it dont sound like crap…….,,,,,,,,im talkin bout pwatice..
i hope his daughter gets well though…that would make me drink too,,,,, but in the closest hotel where my daughter is spending her nights in the hospital,,,
,
11:17 pm on March 1st, 2010
Ok, not only is there a lack of definitive evidence that he was even at the club (someone tweeting that he was “in the building” is hardly eyewitness proof; perhaps it was an assumption based on the promotional flier?), but there is simply no reason to believe that he was “whoring around with groupies”. Really a shame that after an impressive history of giving back to those less fortunate than he (including, ironically, the scholarship program he supported this weekend), Iverson is still considered a no-good thug by so many. Sad, and undeserved, more an example of the ease with which we as a public can condemn rather than a true reflection of the man.
8:35 am on March 2nd, 2010
Well as long as you are a fool enough to pay these types of athleties they will rob you blind
11:29 am on March 2nd, 2010
IHe’s making league minimum. If anyone is surprised the sixers made the foolish decision of bringing him back consider this…
His first two games they sold out the building. They hadn’t sold out in 3 years (including playoffs).
In two games they easily covered Iverson’s contract so in a financial sense they winners…of course from a basketball standpoint they are perennial losers
3:09 pm on March 2nd, 2010
Actually Fritz somebody saying he was there is eyewitness proof. But you already knew that.
4:02 pm on March 2nd, 2010
Do 50 year old white guys really read sports by brooks?
“Thug”, “mental age of 8″, etc. Really?
You people are peabrains.
6:20 pm on March 2nd, 2010
What are we talkin’ about here? Sick children? SIck children? Yeah, I know I’m supposed to lead by example and be there for my daughter with an undisclosed illness, but we’re talking about sick children. This isn’t the funeral. This isn’t the funeral where I sink my hard earned money into paying for. Sick children, man. We talkin’ about sick children!
6:41 am on March 3rd, 2010
all ya’ll are wack…..leave the man alone….he made a big impact in the NBA for the time that he was there…and im sure that everyone who is commenting about him was a fan of his in his earlier years….just let him be. he made some mistakes in the past and he’s paying for it now, so why are you guys still riding his nuts?
2:58 pm on March 3rd, 2010
Yo goodfellas, we are “riding his ass.” That means we are giving him a hard time because of both perceived and actual wrongdoings.
You happen to be “riding his nuts.” That is an entirely different definition with which you are already familiar.
9:31 pm on March 3rd, 2010
Some of you really need to get a life, and stay out of the the lives of other people who seem to always be under the microscope. If any of you really knew Allen, then you would know that he’s a great father, supports his entire family financially, and he gives back to the community. He was in Charlotte to give away a scholarship; however, being at 935 had absolutely nothing to do with Messiah being sick; he loves and cares about his daughter, and he most certainly don’t need any of you saying the opposite of what he really is. It seems like when people do good, no one wants to acknowledge that, and people like yourselves only want to highlight someone’s imperfections and flaws. What you have failed to realize is that Allen is a regular person, only someone who makes a lot of money. He never asked to be idolized or put on a pedestal, you did that all on your on; and now that you see that he’s only human, you want to rip him apart…that makes no sense!!! Please leave him alone during this stressful and very personal time in his life….and if he needs to go out to relieve the stress in his life, then, he certainly deserves that because right now, he has the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he definitely doesn’t need hypocrites criticizing his every move…..because he really is a good man at heart!!!
12:45 pm on March 4th, 2010
Damn, KCC you sound like Darva Conger with the “I just want my life back!” line. When someone signs up to make the kind of money he has made, he waives the “regular” guy status, whether he wants it or not. He puts himself in the crosshairs when he does both good and bad.
If he was at this event to “award a scholarship”, and I have no idea what being at a club with scantily clad women has to do with rewarding higher education, why are the statements from people who were there all about partying? If he was so concerned about his daughter, why not make a pre-taped statement apologizing that he could not be there due to family commitments, but that he wishes the scholarship recipients the best as they pursue the next rung on their educational journey?
I’ll tell you why, because he is not the nice guy you say he is. He was, operative word ‘was’, an NBA caliber player with awesome talent that was selfish and half-assed it on the court when things weren’t going his way. Just look at his time in Denver and Detroit as proof.
Good family man? Remember what he did to his wife Tawanna? He kicked her out of their suburban Philly home butt naked and also abused her.
Don’t try to stick up for him. You can’t. You can’t defend the indefensible!