For better or worse

Allen Iverson is scared to be in Philadelphia.

I can't really say I blame him. He's right when he says he's being targeted. He has walked around with a bulls-eye on his forehead since he was accused of breaking into an apartment with a gun while trying to find his wife (the charges were all dropped).

The media's been after him, scrutinizing him about everything both on and off the court, and you'd better believe that the Philly police have been keeping a close eye on the man.

But with all this hullabaloo, you have to ask yourself, whose fault is it?

Iverson has called attention to himself since the day he walked into the league, for better or worse. The cameras are all over him when he dives into the stands after loose balls and the cameras are all over him when he shows up for his court date. If there's one thing his life hasn't been, it's private.

And this, he says, is the problem. All eyes are on him, all the time, and that's why he's scared of Philadelphia. All it takes, he says, is one crooked cop, and he's done for. Finished. Dead.

This might be extreme (I don't really think that there are any Philadelphia cops sitting outside of his mansion waiting to pop him) but it might not be far off.

So who's responsible for this mess? We all are, AI included. See, attention doesn't just reach out and grab you. You won't be labeled a thug if you've never acted the part. You don't see Tim Duncan having anywhere near the same problems that Iverson has. Can you honestly picture Duncan ever saying that he's afraid to be in San Antonio? That's because he's never fit that image, never wanted to, never tried to, and never will. Iverson does.

And that's what fuels the fire. Nobody wants a league full of Tim Duncans. Everybody will yell about Iverson and how he's a bad role model, he's a thug, he's punk. But whatever we say, he's what we want. He's fascinating, both on and off the court. You can't take your eyes off him.

He has character flaws, he gets into trouble, he bickers with Larry Brown, he won't practice, and then he goes out on game night and gives 110 percent, every time. That's what he's shown us, and that's what we can't stop watching. He's like a train wreck.

AI has been a walking contradiction ever since he stepped foot in the NBA. He's a team player who's selfish. He's a disciplined player who won't practice. He's a smart player who's na??ve. He's about 5'10", 175, and he's an NBA superstar. So people keep watching him. We don't know what's going to come next, but it'll be interesting.

Iverson says that this is what he hates _ always being under a microscope. But he hasn't done anything to prevent it. Maybe he's just being himself, but if he hates the scrutiny, it's up to him to do something about it. A player will always be criticized for not practicing, no matter how much effort he gives you on game day. Iverson can score 50 points and dish out 18 assists, but all anybody will talk about is how he didn't go to practice the day before.

And he's not helping himself in his current situation, either. Allen, you want people to back off for a while? Lay low, blend in, go to practice, don't do anything extreme, don't stand up and announce that the Philadelphia police are crooked and everyone's out to get you. It won't help. The more he tells people he hates the attention, the more attention he's going to get.

There's always a certain amount a of scrutiny that comes with making millions of dollars for playing a sport in front of a national audience, but Iverson certainly adds to it.

But the most tragic part about it all is that Iverson is probably right. People probably have mislabeled him. He's done some things to give him the labels that he has, but if you look at his supposed "rap sheet," it barely exists. He has one conviction, for riding in a car with friends who were smoking pot, and he had a registered gun under the seat, so it was considered a concealed weapon. He got three years probation. That's it.

He hasn't held up any liquor stores, hasn't murdered anyone, hasn't chased his wife around with a gun, hasn't stolen any candy from children and hasn't clubbed any baby seals. He's had a few run-ins with the law, but all except the one have been thrown out. He's light years away from perfect, but he's definitely not the scum of the earth. He's not the thug that everyone makes him out to be.

Sure, he should go to practice. Sure, he has tattoos. Sure, he hangs out with the wrong crowd. But that doesn't really make him a criminal.

But he'll continue to get the same attention and the same scrutiny, unless something changes. And judging by his most recent statements, it looks like we're in for more of the same.

He's still the living, breathing contradiction that he always was. He loves Philadelphia, but he's scared of it. He wants to stay, but he wants to go. He hates the attention, but he fuels it.

He's AI, for better or worse.

Ethan Austin's e-mail address is austin@tuftsdaily.com