A week after the Philadelphia 76ers' Allen Iverson announced he was leaving basketball for the rest of the season to be with his sick 4-year-old daughter, the star’s wife filed for divorce in Fulton County Superior Court.
In the divorce petition filed on Tuesday, Tawanna Iverson said her 8 ½-year-long marriage to the guard was “irretrievably broken.” In the petition, Tawanna Iverson asked for temporary and permanent custody of their five children as well as child support and alimony.
She did not ask for a specific dollar amount.
The children range in ages from 17 months to 15 years.
The children and their parents have lived in north Atlanta since August, according to the court filing. Before that, the family claimed homes in Rochester, Mich.; Englewood, Colo.; Denver, Colo.; and Villanova, Pa.
On Feb. 22, Allen Iverson and the 76ers announced that he was leaving the team for personal reasons.
The former NBA MVP and four-time scoring champion said he wanted to be in Atlanta to be with his daughter, Messiah, who had an undisclosed illness.
In a posting on Twitter, Allen Iverson wrote: “I need to be there to hold my little girl’s hand and encourage her to get better. I wanted her to wake up every morning and see her Daddy’s face, at least until she got better. Through God’s Strength, She Will Keep Getting Better!”
Prior to that announcement, Iverson had missed five games and the All-Star Game to be with his family.
The team said Tuesday, the day the divorce petition was filed, that lverson would not return to the team this season.
“After discussing the situation with Allen, we have come to the conclusion that he will not return to the Sixers for the remainder of the season, as he no longer wishes to be a distraction to the organization and teammates that he loves very deeply,” 76ers general manager Ed Stefanski said. “It has been very difficult for Allen and the team to maintain any consistency as he tries to balance his career with his personal life.”
My mouth dropped when I saw the article on NeeColeBitchie's web site. I feel bad for the guy being that he's beyond worried about his daughter and her undisclosed (and unknown, allegedly) illness. Now he's gotta go through what we all know will be a unamicable divorce proceeding. I'm just PRAYING and HOPING that she didn't already have this planned out. He's "somewhat" retired so who knows if this was the plan all along? To file for divorce once he gave up playing ball. Gosh that would really suck.
I don't want them to divorce AND hate one another. They've been together forever. And the kids? Lawd, this is sad.
Oh lawd!!! Not AI & Tawanna!! Damn...I really am speechless!!!! Well she held on till she couldn't anymore. I can't imagine what's going through his head. What is he going to do with no basketball and no marriage to someone who has been there since your were 15 years old. Sad situation. I hope Messiah is getting better and I hope the both of them can get through this amicably for the kids especially and for themselves.
OMG I can not believe this....They been together for a looonnnggg time...I am so shocked right now.........I hope she is not being scandalous cuz that will be messed up...I wonder how long the troubles has been going on woooooooooooooow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow I couldn't even believe this when I saw it... Never thought I'd see these 2 divorce... Talk about bad timing for a divorce with his daughter sick and him leaving basketball for the rest of the season..