Columnist Dean Juipe: Fame fails to curtail Iverson

Dean Juipe

Wednesday, July 17, 2002 | 9:47 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

Beyond giving his best effort any time he steps on a basketball court representing the Philadelphia 76ers, Allen Iverson doesn't owe any of us anything.

He is neither obliged to be a hero nor a role model, and people need to take him as such.

Where is it written that sports stars have to be held up as men or women to be emulated? And for those who continue to insist that athletes are required by some vague tenet to carry themselves just so or conduct their personal business without a chord of discontent, think again.

Oh sure, most athletes recognize the obvious: Their status as celebrities makes them not only instantly recognizable but a focal point of public attention. When your every move is open to critique, you owe it to yourself to tread lightly.

Generally, athletes tend to be conscious of their actions and the impact any negative ones might have on their younger fans. Many see it as their duty to uphold an array of honorable principles, from fairness and trust to generosity and compassion.

Most set a very good example, which unfailingly makes each of us proud when we see those characteristics displayed. Everyone likes Superman and what he continues to stand for.

But Iverson, based on his away-from-the-court actions during the first 27 years of his life, is indifferent to moral posturing. He gives no thought or credence to always being on his best behavior.

If he couldn't play basketball at such an extremely high level and have the bulk of his time occupied by a professional's marathon season, the risks of his mischievousness would appreciate accordingly. Is it a stretch to insinuate he would slip into a life of crime?

Arrested Tuesday for at least the third time in his life, Iverson has been pilloried in some quarters for his reprehensible ways. The brawl in a bowling alley as a teen that led to jail time; a gun charge that brought a no-contest plea a few years ago; the ugly rap CD that derided women in the worst way; and now allegations of assault and threatening behavior in a series of incidents stemming from a run-in with his wife -- for these and other transgressions, Iverson has built a bad-boy image that many find repulsive.

Yet we have no right to ask or require of him to conform to our ideals. The world might be a better place if Allen Iverson toed a new and improved line, but that's his choice and not ours.

While he was initially cut some slack for having grown up poor -- his Hampton, Va., home supposedly lacked water and electricity at various times -- to a 15-year-old single mother, Iverson seems to have turned even the most liberal observer against him. Likewise, a number of athletes from similar backgrounds who have since overcome their obstacles or turned over a new leaf have seen fit to comment on Iverson's distasteful habits.

That's their right, of course, and their intent is likely good. They want to impress upon Iverson that thousands of eyes are routinely upon him, and that many of those looking -- especially the youngest ones -- will mirror what they see and perhaps mimic his lesser ways.

My guess is that Iverson realizes his faults and is aware of the generally accepted standards that athletes are asked to sustain. But if he doesn't care, why should we?