I never thought I'd see the day when 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 it 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."

One of the things that Iverson possesses that is worth mentioning is star power. Even if he's not a serious force on his new Turkish team, he can still fill the stands and increase a team's profitability. Sports is a business, and talent on the court doesn't matter nearly as much as your ability to sell the product. Sadly enough, Iverson is going to Turkey after his agent has made calls to several NBA teams, all of whom have little interest in signing him. One can only wonder about the behind-the-scenes factoids that are leading teams to shy away from a very talented player who could also serve as a mentor to young athletes.

What's puzzled me the most is just how quickly Iverson's career diminished, right before our very eyes. After averaging over 26 points per game for Denver in the 07-08 season, he dropped to 18, 17, 12 and 13 points per game during short stints with his next three teams. Iverson's buddy, Stephen A. Smith, has gone as far as crediting Iverson with alcohol and gambling problems which may have been part of the reason for his decline.

I am not sure what's going on with Iverson's personal life, but I hope his story is not as typical as it is for many black athletes. In far too many cases, we've seen the washed up superstar, working to hang on to any semblance of past glory, no matter the cost. He plays longer than we expect, and watching his career fall apart is painful for us all. My hero, Muhammad Ali, was a perfect case-in-point. He thought he still had it long after "it" had left town for good. Michael Jordan tortured the nation by forcing us to watch him play after the age of 40. I often wondered why Jordan would sit on the sidelines during the peak of his career, only to try to come back when he should have been preparing to become a grandfather.

One of the challenges for many black athletes is that after their playing careers are over, they can't do anything else. The lure of professional sports leads many of us to let go of our educational pursuits in exchange for the short-lived dream of dribbling a basketball in front of a few thousand people. Even if we are successful in this endeavor (which most of us are not), the early end of our athletic career puts us back into the workforce with virtually no skills that don't involve running or jumping. That's one reason that so many professional athletes end up on the field for a time that is far longer than their bodies are capable of playing.

I certainly wish Iverson the best as he embarks on his latest adventure. Most importantly, Allen needs to make sure his personal life is in order. When the money stops flowing and the problems keep coming, that's usually when the tragic part of the story begins.


Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.