Larry Brown Sports

A judge who presided over Allen Iverson’s divorce ripped into the former NBA star’s parenting, stripped him of custody of his children, and ordered him to attend Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) to address his drinking problem, TMZ reports.

The Atlanta judge recently signed off on Iverson’s divorce from ex-wife Tawanna, and awarded her legal and physical custody of the couple’s five children. Iverson reportedly has visitation rights, but he has to follow strict rules in order to maintain them.

Iverson reportedly must not consume any alcohol for the next 18 months, and he must not have alcohol within 24 hours of seeing his children. He also has been ordered to see a psychiatrist and attend AA meetings for a year, per TMZ.

In the final ruling, the judge ripped into Iverson.

“[Iverson] does not know how to manage the children; has little interest in learning to manage the children and has actually, at times, been a hindrance to their spiritual and emotional growth and development.

“For example, he has refused to attend to an obvious and serious alcohol problem, which has caused him to do inappropriate things in the presence of the children while impaired,” the judge writes, per TMZ.

The judge also scolds Iverson for leaving his children alone without supervision.

Iverson’s personal life has appeared to be a mess since he stopped playing in the NBA. His divorce case got so ugly that at one point his ex wanted a list of all his sexual partners while they were together. Iverson’s financial problems were exposed, and his mansion was in foreclosure as of last December.

The judge’s ruling is not a surprise. In 2010, we exposed Iverson for hosting a party when he was supposed to be taking care of his daughter. There were also reports of him having an alcohol problem.

Maybe the judge’s ruling will actually help Iverson turn around his life.

Allen Iverson is still interested in playing basketball, but he doesn’t want to prove himself at the lower levels in order to be given another shot in the NBA. Iverson recently received an offer to play for the Texas Legends, the D-League affiliate of the Dallas Mavericks who are co-owned by Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson.

On Tuesday morning, the 37-year-old announced on his Twitter account that he has decided to turn down the offer and thanked Nelson for the opportunity.

I thank Donnie and Dallas for the consideration and while I think the D-League is a great opportunity, it is not the route for me.

— Allen Iverson (@alleniverson) January 29, 2013

Perhaps more surprisingly, Iverson then went on to acknowledge that his own mistakes shortened his career and expressed his desire to return to the NBA.

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Allen Iverson has no intention of letting his $4.5 million Atlanta mansion go to foreclosure without a fight. Earlier this month, word surfaced that the home Iverson purchased back in 2010 was set to be sold at auction on Dec. 4 after he allegedly defaulted on a $1.2 million mortgage. However, Iverson has filed a lawsuit against the lender that has held things up.

According to TMZ, Iverson’s suit claims that he never consented to the loan and that his estranged wife, Tawanna, was the one who signed off on the mortgage in order to “screw him.” Iverson says Tawanna agreed to the loan knowing that he would be unable to meet the financial terms.

That’s certainly an interesting accusation, to say the least. If nothing else, the lawsuit has postponed the auction for the time being. This isn’t the first bizarre story we’ve heard about A.I. and his estranged wife. Remember several months ago when she requested a list of all the sexual partners he has ever been with as a part of their divorce proceedings?

For Iverson’s sake, let’s hope that rumor about his friend tucking away $35 million for him in a secret account was true. It sounds like he may have to tap into those funds in order to sort this mess out.

Working above Allen Iverson cannot be easy. In fact, it was probably one of the worst jobs in sports at times during A.I.’s NBA career. Either he’s lighting up the arena and leading your team to victory or he’s talkin’ bout practice. According to former Sixers GM Billy King, the latter nearly resulted in his resignation.

During an interview with Andrew Goldman of the New York Times, King spoke about the infamous “practice” rant and the highly-publicized spat that took place between Iverson and Philadelphia head coach Larry Brown back in 2002.

“Larry Brown had said he couldn’t coach Allen anymore,” King explained. “Allen said he couldn’t play for Larry, so they had a meeting to clear the air. After the meeting, I thought, Let’s do a press conference so that everybody knows they’re on one page. We did the press conference, and it becomes legendary. You can go online. Everybody imitates it.

“I called Ed Snider and resigned because I said, ‘This is a disaster.’ Later Ed said, ‘You’re not resigning.’ I went to the Palm, had some Scotch, and I’m thinking, both of these guys are making a lot more money than I am, they’re in a good situation and this is what I’m dealing with.”

Dealing with a difficult personality like Iverson’s can’t be easy, and King’s recollection of the days surrounding the infamous incident is a reminder of that. When celebrities like Charlie Sheen are poking fun at something 10 years after it happens, you know it must have been pretty big news. During the Brown-Iverson feud, King had quite possibly the most difficult job in sports. The “practice” rant certainly did nothing to help anyone involved, but it has provided us with a decade worth of solid entertainment.

H/T Ball Don’t Lie
Photo credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Allen Iverson made his triumphant return to the Philly basketball scene by attending Game 6 between the Sixers and Celtics as we told you earlier on Wednesday. Iverson made his way onto the court before the game began and unsurprisingly received a warm welcome from the fans. He was also interviewed by Lisa Salters during the second quarter of the game and discussed his hopes to continue his playing career.

“I’m not using that word,” Iverson told Salters in response to a question about retiring. “I want to play basketball so bad.”

“The way it is right now, I’ve accepted the fact that [playing in the NBA again] might not happen, but I still want to play basketball. If I get an opportunity to where it’s going to make me happy at the end of my career, then I’ll take that opportunity. I just love to play and I want to have another opportunity to play.”

It’s no surprise to hear that Iverson wants to continue playing given that he’s played in Turkey, and reports have linked him to playing in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and China. But don’t feel badly for him; his refusal to be a good teammate as a bench player is what stunted his NBA career.

Video of his interview is below via @Jose3030:

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On the heels of Kevin Garnett blasting 76ers fans for being “fair-weather” and not nearly as supportive as the fans in Boston, Philadelphia has reportedly invited one of the best players in team history back to the City of Brotherly Love for a critical Game 6. According to Steve Lindsay of CBS 3 in Philadelphia, the Sixers have asked Allen Iverson to attend Wednesday night’s game and help motivate the team to triumph over the Celtics in a must-win situation. SLAM Magazine has confirmed that Iverson accepted the invitation and will be in attendance.

The team is also reportedly going to pay tribute to Iverson at some point during the game, so it’s obvious they are trying to infuse some added electricity into the arena for the biggest game of the year. Iverson had his ups and downs with Philly and didn’t leave on the best terms, but no one ever questioned his ability to ignite a crowd as a player. Whether or not he can do that as a spectator remains to be seen.

As far as the game is concerned, the Sixers have no reason to believe they can’t win. They have shown a tremendous amount of poise late in games throughout the series, especially on their home court. The Celtics are probably a better team and should have finished the series in five or six games, but they have been far too inconsistent. If Philly plays with energy Wednesday night and can find ways to score, they should be able to force a Game 7 in Boston.

H/T Crossing Broad
Photo credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

After seeing what Stephon Marbury was able to accomplish last season playing in China, it is reasonable for Allen Iverson to believe that his career may not be over. Marbury (35) may be two years younger than A.I. (nearing 37), but if Starbury can dominate the Chinese Basketball Association and bring the Beijing Ducks their first ever championship, why can’t Iverson contribute?

According to ChinaDaily.com, Iverson has reportedly confirmed that he will speak with a few Chinese basketball teams about the possibility of joining them next season. A.I. has been in Shanghai since Thursday for a two-week promotional basketball tour along with Dennis Rodman, Shawn Kemp, and other NBA stars. They will face three CBA teams and play seven games during the tour.

A.I. is reportedly hoping to stay. If Marbury can win a championship and connect with the fans the way he has, there’s no reason to believe Iverson could not do the same. I mean think about it: if the people of China like Starbury so much that a statue is being built in his honor, you’d be silly to assume Iverson has no shot at rejuvenating his career.