"This is going to be another situation where something difficult that has happened in his life takes away from all of his accomplishments and everything he stood for," said Charlotte Bobcats coach Larry Brown, who coached Iverson with the Sixers. "That, to me, is the saddest thing of all."
The divorce proceedings are the latest development in the deterioration of Iverson's personal and professional lives:
According to several NBA sources with knowledge of the situation, Iverson has been troubled by excessive drinking.
His legal problems include a number of civil lawsuits.
Iverson's once-brilliant basketball career is probably finished, before many had expected. At 34, he is left to ponder his future.
The Iversons have known each other since their junior high school days in Virginia. Their youngest child is 17 months; the oldest is 15.
Iverson often mentioned that his wife, Tawanna, was there "with him and for him" since the bowling alley brawl that left him incarcerated for four months as a teenager in the early 1990s. She was with him during two seasons at Georgetown and throughout a 14-year career in the NBA, where he won four scoring titles and generated more than $200 million in earnings.
Tawanna Iverson has hired John C. Mayoue, a renowned family-law attorney in the Atlanta area who has represented Chris Rock, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and Jane Fonda, among other celebrities.
Her decision to file for a divorce at this time has brought an unwanted spotlight on Iverson, who missed 13 games with the Sixers before leaving the team for good. Several NBA team officials contacted yesterday voiced the opinion that Iverson's career is over.
A spectacle in many ways
!["We have come to the conclusion that [Iverson] will not return," the 76ers' statement said. (Clem Murray/Staff file photo)](http://media.philly.com/images/600*450/030310-400-bford.jpg "\"We have come to the conclusion that [Iverson] will not return,\" the 76ers' statement said. (Clem Murray/Staff file photo)")
