Allen Iverson

 One of the most controversial Basketball players of all time, Allen Iverson is one of the most adored and hated figures in Basketball. Allen Iverson was born Allen Ezail Iverson, in Hampton, Virginia. His family was poor, and his father abandoned his son. He was an extremely talented athlete as a child. He played football and basketball throughout his high school years. Iverson was able to get into basketball after his mother's insistance, despite wanting to be a football player. He turned out to be a skilled basketball player. At Bethel High School in Newport News the young man started his basketball career at the high school level. He earned a reputation for speaking a lot and was not a coach. If you say he went through an unhappy childhood is an understatement. On one of his places where he lived, he walked through the sewage that was deep and muddy every day. He witnessed the death of ten of his closest friends during one summer. Iverson first came to the forefront of national attention in 1993 after an infamous incident surrounding violent events at a bowling alley in Newport News.