Despite signing an agreement to coach a Chinese tour, Allen Iverson has been pushed so hard to play by local promoters in Harbin, China, that officials held the 11-time NBA All-Star in the city and delayed his next stop, sources told RealGM on Thursday.
Iverson won in his head coaching debut Wednesday, leading Team Iverson to a 10-point victory over Lioning. A future basketball Hall of Famer, Iverson no longer has a desire to play, thus signing a coaching deal for the tour. Still, local promoters in Harbin wanted him to step outside of his contract and put on a jersey, later preventing him to move forward on the tour against his will, sources said.
As the closure of the Iverson`s China Tour, everyone seems dissatisfied with what happened last week. The activity was supposed to be a win-win while it upset all of them.
Iverson was really beloved by Chinese fans. All of the spectator were anticipating him to play in Harbin, but Iverson remained on the sideline as coach, and after the game went to a promotional dinner that included Yao Ming. Iverson remained on the sideline as coach, and after the game went to a promotional dinner that included Yao Ming. When Iverson readied to depart for a 6 a.m. flight Thursday to Xi’an, sources say local fans and promotors closed off transportation, leaving him without a plane until later in the day. There was strong support within Iverson’s family to scrap the tour and return to the United States.
Allen Iverson had been pushed so hard to play by local promoters in Harbin, China, that officials held the 11-time NBA All-Star in the city and delayed his next stop.
Most of people thought that it was Iverson who did not want to put on a jersey. However, as the news released, Allen Iverson just signed an agreement to coach a Chinese tour, which means he has never broken the contract. As reported, the agent Tianjin Qidi only spent 30000 dollars on this tour, while 200000 dollars demanded for Iverson to play.
“It indicates that China sports market is in disarray at that stage.” Zhang Qing, a famous expert in sports industry told the journalist, “ the organizers and local promnoters are trying to avoid agent of the player.”
The organizers do not want to pay a high price, still local promoters in Harbin wanted him to step outside of his contract, later even preventing him to move forward on the tour against his will. No one follows the rule and contract, all they do is to persuade the players to “respect the fans” .
“It is ridiculous, because anyone who has experience and basic knowledge knows the price. ” Zhang Qing said.
The organizers deceive the promoters, and the local promoters take the advantage of the “Super Stars” to invite sponsors. Both of the parts know clearly about the contract, but still keep it for their own reasons.
The mess should not have happened only if the organizers and promoters share their own responsibility. However, as the development of sports industry, the supervision is going to become more complicated. The competitors in the industry ought to self-manage and categorize the events, then tell what events they can hold.