The Dre Era
11-30-2010, 04:34 PM
It's a sad story that breaks every few months. A hall of fame athlete needs money so they sell their prized possessions to make ends meet. Some are for altruistic reasons and some are a little more sleazy, but it speaks to what happens to a lot of these "heroes" after the spotlight is no longer on them. When their bodies fail them, there is very little to fall back on. They might succeed in other avenues, but unless your name is Magic Johnson, it can't replace the rush of performing in front of a crowd and chances are it won't pay as well either.
11-time NBA All-Star Allen Iverson is learning this lesson the hard way in Turkey. With his skills diminishing but ego still intact, Iverson was too proud to come off the bench in Detroit and Memphis. Now he's wallowing in everybody's pity in a second-rate European league and stuck in the same situation he's been in for the past two years. But now he's selling stuff on eBay while he's at it.
If you've searched eBay lately for Iverson autographs and memorabilia, chances are you've come across the eBay seller "iversonauthentic." As the name would suggest, the seller has plenty of authentic Allen Iverson gear available. Often they are signed practice shoes and wristbands, but occasionally you'll see a listing for a game-worn jersey, or in the case of one auction, an entire uniform set right down to the warm-ups. Usually when an athlete goes the eBay route, it's been to promote a charitable venture. But in the case of Iverson, especially with rumors abound that he might be broke, the Answer might be getting a significant cut of these sales.
So there's a part of me that feels bad for Allen Iverson, but not because he (allegedly) has lost all his earnings. For someone who was very articulate and self-aware of the legacy he would be leaving behind, Iverson sure is taking being old hard. I grew up a fan of Iverson and even I knew that the breakneck pace that he was playing on a nightly basis - both on and off the court - was going to catch up with him eventually. But I always thought he would know when to quit, or at least admit to taking a backseat to someone who is more capable. Granted, Mike Conley and Rodney Stuckey probably weren't the best people to put above AI, but he had to know this was coming, right?
Maybe we should consider buying some of those 8x10s that iversonauthentic is peddling. It's all for charity; just not the charity any of us ever expected to donate to.
http://www.examiner.com/trading-card-in-los-angeles/allen-iverson-is-selling-gear-on-ebay-and-it-s-sad
11-time NBA All-Star Allen Iverson is learning this lesson the hard way in Turkey. With his skills diminishing but ego still intact, Iverson was too proud to come off the bench in Detroit and Memphis. Now he's wallowing in everybody's pity in a second-rate European league and stuck in the same situation he's been in for the past two years. But now he's selling stuff on eBay while he's at it.
If you've searched eBay lately for Iverson autographs and memorabilia, chances are you've come across the eBay seller "iversonauthentic." As the name would suggest, the seller has plenty of authentic Allen Iverson gear available. Often they are signed practice shoes and wristbands, but occasionally you'll see a listing for a game-worn jersey, or in the case of one auction, an entire uniform set right down to the warm-ups. Usually when an athlete goes the eBay route, it's been to promote a charitable venture. But in the case of Iverson, especially with rumors abound that he might be broke, the Answer might be getting a significant cut of these sales.
So there's a part of me that feels bad for Allen Iverson, but not because he (allegedly) has lost all his earnings. For someone who was very articulate and self-aware of the legacy he would be leaving behind, Iverson sure is taking being old hard. I grew up a fan of Iverson and even I knew that the breakneck pace that he was playing on a nightly basis - both on and off the court - was going to catch up with him eventually. But I always thought he would know when to quit, or at least admit to taking a backseat to someone who is more capable. Granted, Mike Conley and Rodney Stuckey probably weren't the best people to put above AI, but he had to know this was coming, right?
Maybe we should consider buying some of those 8x10s that iversonauthentic is peddling. It's all for charity; just not the charity any of us ever expected to donate to.
http://www.examiner.com/trading-card-in-los-angeles/allen-iverson-is-selling-gear-on-ebay-and-it-s-sad