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American Morning

Allen Iverson Turns Himself into Police

Aired July 16, 2002 - 09:20   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: 76ers guard Allen Iverson awaiting to be arraigned now after turning himself in to police early today. The NBA all-star, former MVP, faced felony charges stemming from an incident where he allegedly forced his way into a cousin's apartment with a gun. This is not the first time Iverson has been in trouble, and it's certainly not the first time a player has moved from the basketball court to the criminal court.

A former NBA all-star, Sean Elliott, is with us live this morning in San Antonio, Texas.

Sean, good morning to you.

SEAN ELLIOTT, FORMER NBA PLAYER: Good morning, thanks for having me.

HEMMER: I have heard you have some rather harsh comments right now about the current crop of young players in the NBA. First of all, Allen Iverson, what explains this? He already knows he's a marked man.

ELLIOTT: You know I don't know what explains it. I don't know if I'd say my comments are harsh. I just think that they're more a caution for a lot of these guys. I think with Allen Iverson, you know what you have to realize is we're all human beings here and we're going to make mistakes. And a lot of people have to learn life's lessons harder than others.

HEMMER: Yes, but in this contract there's, if I understand it correctly, if he's convicted of a felony at this point, he could lose about $40 million of his current deal.

ELLIOTT: Yes, that's a -- that's a lot -- that's a lot of money. You know it's just right now you have a different generation of ballplayers that are coming up that really -- I don't know if they really grasp right now you know how important or how they are looked upon in this society. And right now they're -- they tend to get away from the responsibilities of professional athletes.

HEMMER: Yes, could you chalk that up to youthful indiscretion or is that too simple a (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?

ELLIOTT: Well I -- no, I don't think that's too simple. I think we all make mistakes when we're young. You know I think you take a lot -- a majority of Americans or people who really don't have a lot of funds, you put them in situations like you have in the NBA, you know, it's not easy. Not only is it tough playing on the court, but I think the toughest part about being a professional athlete is what you have to deal with away from the -- away from the playing field. And I think you put a lot of people in these kind of situations and you know, they'll succumb to the same kind of pitfalls.

HEMMER: Yes, you had made an interesting comment about when you first came to the league back 1989, 1990, about that time.

ELLIOTT: Right.

HEMMER: You said the NBA sends at a group of players and they talk to you about drugs and they talk to you about groupies, but now they come in to talk about guns.

ELLIOTT: Right.

HEMMER: Listen, take the -- take the league as a whole right now, Sean, is this just the bump in the ride or is this something where the league has to truly be concerned?

ELLIOTT: Well, it could be both, to be honest with you. Like you said, back in '89, '90 I came in the league, we had seminars about groupies and the kind of scams people were running on players. You know we were talking about drugs as well. And you know coming down the back stretch of my career, we're getting memos or we're getting people coming in and explaining gun rules in the 50 states. And to me, I just think that's -- I think it's absurd, you know, for all these young people to be carrying guns around.

HEMMER: You said earlier, a few moments ago, that you said that a lot of young players don't realize the obligation they have to the public.

ELLIOTT: Right.

HEMMER: A lot of other people might take that comment and say you know what, he's a professional athlete, he's an all-star on the court, we don't really have to size him up as a person. Tell us what obligation he does have to the fans and the public.

ELLIOTT: Well I think we have a tremendous obligation to the public. (UNINTELLIGIBLE) -- people get sidetracked here, especially the players. They start to get into that mode where they believe that the owners are responsible for our salaries, and I don't believe that's the case. The public pays for our lifestyle, the way we live. The public makes our paycheck. And I don't think the players you know really grasp that. Without the TV revenue, without fans tuning in watching games, without people filling those seats up, we're not making the kind of money that we're accustomed to making. So I think there's a definite responsibility.

Now I don't think you can sit there and you can put us out in front of everybody and say hey, you're a role model and you have to act a certain way. I mean we're human beings. We have our vices. We like to do things, certainly at home, maybe behind closed doors that regular people in this country like to do. But at the -- at the same time, when you do step out in public, you have to think a little bit that you have a responsibility. Lots of kids look up to you. You're a person who can influence millions -- thousands and millions of people, and that's a tremendous responsibility. You can't take that lightly.

HEMMER: Good point. It's a business, too, as you point out as well.

I only have about 10 seconds left, how is your health? Kidney transplant from your brother, comeback in March of 2001, how you doing?

ELLIOTT: I'm doing great. It's just real early in the morning for me.

HEMMER: Well listen, they have coffee for that. We know all about it.

ELLIOTT: Yes, you're right -- you're right.

HEMMER: Thank you, Sean, good to see you.

ELLIOTT: All right, thanks for having me.

HEMMER: Sean Elliot in San Antonio, good deal.

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