“I had a lot of growing up to do . A lot of times, I learned the hard way.”(brainyquote.com). The quote above is said from a guy who has always been in and out of the thorn bushes, Allen Iverson. Allen Iverson, one of my inspirational athletes, is an amazing man who always knows how to keep his head up when negative things come his way, and that is something that I like most about this guy. He has gone through hard times as a kid, through teen years, and even through college and the NBA. Allen never breaks out of it. Allen Iverson with so much struggles as a child became one of the biggest legends in NBA history. As a NBA legend people would think that Allen wouldn’t have struggles anymore, but he still does and never escapes from it. Allen Iverson had one of the toughest childhood that affected him later on in life. According to …show more content…
Also according to alleniversonlive.com, Allen’s biological father was never a part of his life because he was mainly always in jail. The house that Allen was raised in wasn’t really the best house ever. Nothing could be used in the house including water or electricity. The house that he lived in was basically something that can be compared to a porta potty. According to alleniversonlive.com, his house was on top of a sewer that was broken, so from time to time it always flooded the house. Allen explains, “She(his mother) did whatever she had to do,” while refusing to elaborate on that cryptic statement(alleniversonlive.com). Growing up as a child, Allen already had big responsibilities. Allen had to watch over his younger sisters Brandy(born 1979) and Leisha(1991),(alleniversonlive.com). Later on, as his life went, Allen’s mom, Ann, had a boyfriend, Michael, who lived with them from time to time. According to alleniversonlive.com, Michael didn’t really help with their debt problem but
Allen, in the beginning, is very apprehensive about meeting new people. He does not want to get attached to someone new and lose them too. When Maggie discovers his wedding band, she believes it indicates that he is still holding on to the past, and “wonders if it symbolized some lingering attachment to an ex-wife” (13). Later, Allen’s wife, Claire, and daughter, Miranda, died in a car accident trying to get Allen out of the airport. When Maggie and Allen were going to get coffee one day, Maggie was calling for Allen’s attention when she accidentally stepped in front of oncoming traffic.
Of course, being a professional basketball player was young Pete’s dream. He did everything he could to get better, and to be like his father. When it came to his early basketball career, it didn’t really do to...
"It’s easy to talk about; it’s easy to sum it up when you just talk about practice. We sittin' in here, I'm supposed to be the franchise player, and we in here talkin' about practice. I mean listen, we talking bout practice. Not a game, not a game, not a game. We talking bout practice. Not a game, not a, not a, not the game that I go out there and die for, and play every game like it’s my last. Not the game. We talking' bout practice, man.”- Allen Iverson on his lack of effort in practice in an interview with the press conference when they asked him about missing a practice. Do you now label him as a thug or just an arrogant asshole? It’s true many people would never give this guy another chance to try to clean up his name and would be perceived as arrogant no matter what he does after this interview. People are arrogant towards Allen Iverson because of the way he speaks in this interview. People can understand what he is trying to say, but they are being subjective to what they are hearing because he is not using correct English.
In the nonfiction book My Losing Season by Pat Conroy, he mainly expresses all the trials and tribulations he goes through as a child and in his current livelihood as senior at Citadel college. Conroy never had a good relationship with his father, no matter what he did the constant banter and hurtful play from his father always lingered. Conroy had a military family which meant that they were constantly moving every year to two years, this never gave him the chance to really settle in with the community and create steady friendships. This also made it hard for him to adjust to the way that certain area played basketball and how well he fit in with the teams. Basketball made him happy and having such an all-star basketball player as a father
Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born on February 17, 1963 in Brooklyn, New York. When Michael was still a toddler he and his family moved to Wilmington, North Carolina. Michael was the fourth of five children. He had two older brothers, James Jr. and Larry, one older sister, Deloris, and one younger sister, Roslyn. Michael’s dad, James Sr. Jordan, worked for General Electric, and Michael’s mother, Deloris Jordan, who worked at The United Carolina Bank as the head teller. Michael always wanted to be a professional athlete. Once when he was nine years old he watched the United States lose to Russia in the Olympic Games in Basketball. He then told his mom that he would win a gold medal in Basketball at Olympic Games. When Michael was twelve he pitched two no hitters in the Wilmington, North Carolina Little League. His little league team went on and almost made it to the Little League World Series.
Larry Bird has the appropriate nickname of Larry Legend. This nickname explains itself. He was a legend, and since he was a legend he is a household name sort of like Michael Jordan but not as recognized. Flashy dunkers and playmakers like Jordan get recognized and remembered but Bird is known for his shooting and only true NBA fans will know how great he truly was. In a video game called “NBA 2k15”, there is a training section available called “legends camp” and Larry Bird is the trainer for shooting. Larry Bird is arguably the best shooter of any legend.
Kevin Durant was born just outside of the nation's capital in Suitland, Maryland, on September 29, 1988. He was one of four children of Wanda and Wayne Pratt. (“Kevin Durant Bio.com”) Durant grew up loving sports with his sister, Brianna, and two brothers, Anthony (also a basketball player) and Rayvonne. Barbara, his grandmother was present during his childhood and she was very influential. She continuously mentioned that Durant’s height was a blessing, Even though schoolmates teased him for always being the tallest in class. (“Kevin Durant entire MVP awards speech”).
Pete’s parents were always at his games whether he was playing or not to let him know that they were there to support him through the tough and good times. When Pete finally got his opportunity to play he went in the game and threw a no look pass but his teammate was not ready and the ball bounced off his head and out of bounds which led to Pete’s team losing the game. Later that night Pete was in the gym shooting and his father walks in the gym and tells his son that he didn’t lose the game for his team and that the pass he threw to his team mate was a perfect pass. Pete’s father trusted him and would encourage him through his mistakes to let him know that he has a gift and he’s on the way to achieve great achievements if he would keep practicing and dedicating himself to the game. Also, his parents were truthful to let him know that they didn’t have the money to pay for college for him but they knew he had the talent to earn a basketball scholarship that would pay for his
The NBA is well known for the number of amazing professional athletes it has had over the years. Some of the most gifted and talented individuals come through the NBA and one of the better-known superstars is none other than Kobe Bryant. For years people have wondered what makes Bryant so successful. The main contributors that lead to Kobe Bryant’s success is his hard work and dedication, his mindset, his natural ability’s and talent, and the people that have helped him throughout his life. Kobe Bryant was very successful in the NBA because of the amount of hard work he has put in, the people in his life, his relentless determination and his god given natural abilities.
Jennifer Huang Dance 100 Professor Steele March 28th, 2014 Alvin Ailey Alvin Ailey was born on January 5th, 1931 in Rogers, Texas and passed away from AIDS on December 1st 1989. Ailey was a well-known African-American choreographer and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in 1958 located in New York. What made Ailey so different from many choreographers at that time was his race and skin color because society condoned African-Americans practicing in the arts during his time. Not only that, his unique teaching style of not limiting his dancers one specific style, but to stir them in the right direction of creating their own styles that best fits their own individual talent. The Alvin Ailey American Dance
Chris Paul is my personal favorite athlete, because of his dominance on the court and his will to win. I not only like him as a player but also as a person. He shows good faith and outstanding characteristics. Off the court he’s just as a dominant, as an outstanding individual. Chris Paul has shown adversity throughout his life from his grandpa, to his college days at wake forest, to his time spent on the New Orleans Hornets, and now to his dominance on the LA Clippers. Not only this but also his amazing work as a philanthropist giving back to the community and supporting local schools and his home town.
Larry Joe Bird was born on December 7, 1956 by Georgia and Claude Joseph “Joe” Bird in West Baden, Indianapolis. He is a retired NBA athlete, coach, and currently is the President for the Indiana Pacers. Larry Bird is a 3x NBA champion. He also received the awards for NBA finals MVP, two times, and been the NBA Most Valuable Player three times now. He also received many more awards. Larry Bird is married and has three children. He is currently married to Dinah Mattingly and they married in 1989. Out of his three children two are adopted, Connor and Mariah, and Larry Bird has a biological daughter from his first marriage, Corrie. Bird has four brothers also, Mike, Mark, Jeff, and Eddie. He also has a sister named Linda. Larry Bird co-owned a
“Oh shoot…… That was too close. I literally almost died. Let’s just take a break and play basketball.” That is what I ended up saying to myself just yesterday. “I literally almost died” isn’t something you say to yourself everyday.
One of the toughest times in Magic’s life was coming to grips with his diagnosis and then eventually having to announce it to the public. It all started one day when the Lakers had an exhibition game against the Utah Jazz. The team’s doctor Dr. Mellman called Johnson and told him he needed to get back to Los Angeles right that moment(Weinburg). Little did Johnson know that that his life was about to be altered forever. When he arrived back Mellman then told Magic that he had been tested HIV positive(Weinburg). Magic then showed his first signs of mental toughness and ability to overcome when he got over his diagnosis, and began to think to the future and letting all of the public know why o...
I was playing soccer with my friends in my neighborhood, just a normal day; everything looked as usual. But while I was playing soccer, I was hearing a noise; not knowing if I was the only one who was hearing it, I felt deluded for a moment. I stopped playing soccer and headed to the direction where the noise was coming from. It was from my neighbor’s house, so I went in, and looked from their outside window, which was opened; the TV was on and they were watching some type of game. During that time it was the Beijing Olympics, I assumed that my neighbors were watching the ten thousand meter race, which my people loved because of having runners that have been winning gold medals, but it wasn’t the case. I saw a game that I have never seen before; there were tall players wearing jerseys and bouncing a ball and throwing it to the rim of the board. One of the players was crossing his opponents and scoring points easily. At that moment I felt happy just seeing how they played the sport.