Appreciating Allen Iverson

Happy late birthday to the pound-for-pound GOAT. It's hard to ignore AI's scoring binges, his filthy handle, and that he was never afraid of contact or taking center stage with the game on the line. But what I admire the most about Iverson is that he persevered even though so many people were against him. They couldn't stand that he was a true representation of real hoop culture. They were so intimidated by him that they made childish rules to protect the comfort of the average paying customer despite the fact that he wasn't hurting anyone. Now, there's too much of a circus and not enough of a middle ground. The rules are clearly being broken but they're hiding the rulebook that they used to permanently kill what he stood for since the circus is an example of the underlying motive, which was created by the people who've always had the power.