---

Commentary by M.J. Darnell

I am not what you'd call "patriotic," at least, not in the traditional sense. I love the United States, sure, but I won't let myself get caught up in our recent "victory" against Iraq, I don't have an American flag on my car, and the fact that there's a "Columbus Day" embarrasses me. Today, though, there was some patriotism going on inside of me.

And why was I feeling the red, white, and blue on this particular day?

Allen Iverson is representing you, me, and all of our compatriots as Team USA attempts to qualify for the Olympics. That makes me feel good. On the first day of practice, Iverson was rocking a stars and stripes skull cap, and even had sewn little USA flags into the tongues of his Reeboks. It was a beautiful thing. Imagine that.

Iverson is a man that's spent his entire career being told he wasn't good enough. He has too many tattoos, we said. His hair isn't neat enough. He isn't articulate enough. He's disrespectful. He's selfish. He's a thug.

You know what he is? He's us.

Allen Iverson is flawed; there is no doubt about it. So are you. But when it was time to select the team to restore the USA's status as the world's dominant basketball nation, we needed him. The guy with the rows, the guy with the tats, the guy with the scowl; was chosen to represent us.

Isn't that what America's all about? A little redemption, a little acceptance, a little understanding, and our melting pot becomes a nice little place, and a place far better suited to bring home a gold medal in basketball.

His country decided to stick with him despite his flaws, which is fair, because Iverson stuck with America despite its flaws. Just one summer ago, Iverson was tried and convicted by the media and the public for an incident that never even went to trial. Police allegedly toasted to his "next felony." If anyone ever had a right to turn his back on all of us, and on Team USA, it was AI.

But Iverson had been dying to represent his country, to be accepted. He lobbied quietly and respectfully for inclusion, but would not beg; nor would he change himself. "I'm happy I was able to make this team without having to cut my hair off and laser my tattoos off and wear a suit and all of that, and stop hanging with the people who love me and have always been there for me. That means everything to me. I didn't want to change who I am," Iverson told John Smallwood of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

I'm not going to fool myself into thinking that Iverson's inclusion on the Olympic team is an indication that we, as a society, are ready to accept everyone, no matter their differences. It is a step, though, albeit a small one. AI is still AI, and the front of his jersey will say "USA," the same as Ray Allen's, the same as Karl Malone's, the same as Jason Kidd's. He's as American as any of them, as American as any of us. He deserves to be there, and we deserve him.

For the record, Iverson's particular list of flaws doesn't include his hair, his tattoos, or his friends; those are just things that make him different than your average Joe citizen, but not better or worse. Iverson has always represented where he came from. He didn't grow up in a quiet and safe neighborhood next door to the Huxtables, and when he became a millionaire, he saw no reason to pretend that he did. His hair stayed the same, his clothes stayed the same, and his friends stayed the same. We don't judge books by their covers in America, right? No, Iverson's flaws have been in judgment, and there have been more than a few of them. He doesn't hide from that fact. He will stand up, he will take criticism, he will try to become a better person.

"I'm not at that point where I'll stop dressing the way I dress or to cut my hair or anything like that. But I'm ready to, you know, become a real man. I don't want people to look at me like, 'Oh, there he goes again.' I don't want to be that person anymore," said AI. "I've got to be better in a lot of areas in my life. I've got to make better decisions than I've been making... I've got a long way to go. What I feel good about is that I understand that."

My man, we've all got a long way to go. As you fight that battle, we all fight the same battle, whether we know it or not. The ones who win the battle are the ones who know they have to fight it.

All Iverson wanted was acceptance. To know that no matter how he wore his hair or if he didn't want to wear a suit, that he could be accepted. To know that he has as much value to society as anyone else does. To know that he can represent us.

Imagine this scenario: Final game of the Olympics, gold medal on the line. Just .4 seconds on the clock, the United States trails by one. The history of American basketball superiority is on the line. Every sports fan in America is glued to their TV, their hopes attached to the next two free throws. At the free throw line stands Allen Iverson... and the entire nation is behind him.

That alone would be a bigger victory for America than any gold medal would ever be.

"I'm fighting every day to be the best person I can," said Iverson. I have flaws, just like people in any country. There are people in all different countries that have flaws and have made mistakes, and I just want to represent that. I think it's great that I can still get a chance to represent my country after I've made mistakes in my life and overcome them."

I think it's great, too.

M.J. Darnell runs themightymjd.com and is a new contributor to InsideHoops.com