It's sad that it happens but you have to be really stupid for it to happen. Not just stupid, but don't care at all for that matter.
Iverson probably made 15 million a year for almost a decade just on his basketball contract. 1 million dollars is 50,000 a year for 20 years. $50,000 a year is a solid middle class salary considering many teachers, cops and whatever other profession makes half that.
It's easy to blow through a million dollars, I'll give you that. But if you need someone to teach you how not to spend 15 million a year, you didn't deserve the money to begin with and order is restored when you end up broke. That may sound cold-hearted but there are bigger tragedies than people who piss away millions of dollars(partially earned on God given talent).
At least Michael Jackson and Mike Tyson have a legit excuse. Michael Jackson was probably molested and was overworked as a child with no real childhood. Mike Tyson was punched in the face by heavyweights and probably has brain damage. People like Allen Iverson and Antoine Walker are just stupid to begin with. I wish it hadn't happened to them and don't want them walking the streets but 18 year olds are sent overseas to die. Why should anyone care about 18-21 year olds who end up broke when they had millions of dollars to better themselves? They weren't exactly broke at 18-21 either. Their rookie contracts were nowhere near the contracts they got at 25 or 30. So in other words, they were still stupid at the age of 30. They never evolved and that's on them.
There are people with crap backgrounds who grow up with nothing, will never have anything and nobody feels sorry for them. They didn't ask for that life. Why should anyone feel sorry for people who are naturally fast, can naturally jump high and made millions playing a game for a living? Heck, they were given a scholarship they probably didn't earn as a student and took for granted they were given a free education to fall back on. And I'm certain some do in fact rely on God given talent which means they didn't work nearly as hard as other athletes. And what did they do with that God given talent? They took advantage of it and pissed it away. Antoine Walker was always a chub, was said to be lazy and didn't really give a crap. Jamarcus Russel? He has plenty of money for codeine now.
I get it... not everyone has a good upbringing and I was fortunate to have good parents. That doesn't change the fact that when you win the lottery and play a game for a living, you shouldn't need someone to tell you how not to piss away a hundred million dollars. Again, if you blow 100 million in a life time, you deserve to be broke. Blowing it in a decade is just embarrassing.
I'll just leave it at this... I see middle class families struggling to get by and not lose their home at the age of 50 after having busted their ass for 30 years. It's hard to feel sympathy for people who were filthy rich and now lack money. There are more important things in the world than money and those people chose to piss it away. I don't feel that bad when Allen Iverson says he doesn't have money for a cheeseburger after having been able to afford 20 million burgers(dollar burgers) a year for a decade. That really is all on him.
