On-court, and off-court, Allen Iverson is no usual player, and what’s unusual is not always well received. This could be a near-accurate analogy of the 11x All-Star’s relationship with the media. While his in-game prowess was undeniable, not every media personality was so kind with their words in other instances. But, it turns out AI kept nothing against any of them but just one.

Appearing on an episode of All the Smoke with Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Iverson stated he hates no person as such, but just this one, who also hates him back. The fans and experts could only make speculations as Iverson gave out no name. “It’s one guy that, you know, I’m talking to that they talking about right now…It ain’t who you think it is…I got love for Skip…I know people think it’s Skip. It’s not you,” he said on the podcast.

Even Bayless, in a 2022 interview with GQ, stated how he was wrong about Al. Not only did he appreciate the former Philadelphia 76ers star but also reciprocated the feeling of love and respect. With Bayless out of consideration, multiple sources in the media speculated it to be Jason Whitlock. However, now on his YouTube channel, Whitlock has debunked all such claims and speculations.

Whitlock explains Allen Iverson did not intend to refer to his name in All the Smoke

The 57-year-old sports columnist recollected how all newspaper articles, blog articles, and tweets assumed Whitlock as the target for AI. “It was absolutely ridiculous for people to pin this on me. And it’s not that I really care, because I don’t,” he said on his YouTube channel. Further explaining his reasoning, Whitlock stated he had very limited interaction with the ex-76ers star. He even mentioned that most of it was during AI’s initial phase of his career. This was the time when the Vibe magazine hired him to do a long profile on Iverson. From how he narrated the whole experience, Whitlock seemed to have taken issue with The Answer for not acting cooperative.

“I was flying all over the country trying to track down Allen Iverson, get some cooperation. He promised me interviews…I mean, it was an exhaustive, extensive, well-researched article, but I couldn’t get much cooperation from Allen Iverson,” he recalled. In fact, in a particular instance, the 57-year-old columnist even followed AI to a party thrown by Reebok. Jason tried chasing him around all the time, but as he recalls, he ended up spending time with Larry Brown. Notably, Brown was Iverson’s coach in the Sixers and ended up discussing the 11x All-Star with Whitlock. Apart from this, Whitlock recalled yet another key instance associated with the ex-76ers star.

It is no secret that in his early career, Allen Iverson was considered as an heir to Michael Jordan‘s throne. And one of the most talked about instances of the two players facing off with each other is Iverson’s double crossover move against MJ. “His quickness is unbelievable,” even Mike himself had acknowledged AI’s move. But, Whitlock got the chance to get the 11x All-Star’s POV on this without him even knowing. During his recent appearance on his YouTube channel, Jason recalled the time he and Al were in the same hotel. This was the same phase in which Iverson was allegedly not cooperating with Whitlock for the Vibe magazine piece.

“He starts going off about breaking Michael Jordan’s ankles and sharing his thoughts about Michael Jordan…And I can remember sitting my recorder next to my door, recording like ‘man, Iverson is out here screaming and yelling, ranting and raving with his teammate about Michael Jordan'” he recollected. The columnist further mentioned this whole Vibe magazine stint was the most interaction he ever had with AI. Although he agreed to say a thing or two about Iverson, Whitlock does not believe AI even knew him, let alone hate him.

But he has yet another argument to emphasize that he was not who the media imagined, as stated in Allen Iverson’s statement. Notably, during his rant on All the Smoke, the 2001 NBA MVP also hinted that the anonymous person’s father was kinda popular. “You ain’t your daddy,” he said. Now, Jason has argued neither his father was ever on TV, nor AI ever met him. “It was a stupid for people to jump to the conclusion that Allen Iverson was talking about me. He wasn’t. I was irrelevant to Allen Iverson,” he added.

Jason Whitlock reveals the real person the ex-Philadelphia 76er star was referring to

Further, during his show, the 57-year-old columnist revealed his initial suspicion was Dan Le Batard. The reason behind the suspicion, you ask? Well, Whitlock relates it to Iverson’s reference to the anonymous person’s father. Not only was Dan Le Batard’s father on TV, as per Whitlocks’ claims, but Dan himself left the situation unclear on this front. “I ain’t never had any beef with Allen Iverson. Leave me out of this. However, I don’t speak for my father,” he wrote in a 2020 tweet.

However, a clip featuring Stephen A. Smith that Whitlock recently came across has made him sure the anonymous person was none other than Dan. In the clip, Smith was talking about the end of Bayless’ TV career. But, Smith talking about the 55-year-old sportswriter and his criticism of the First Take was it for Jason’s suspicion. Smith was reacting to allegations by Le Batard that he finished First Take and Bayless’ career.   

Although Smith started his counter by stating that whatever Le Batard said was not true, he forgave him for they go back nearly three decades with each other. However, there are two things on which the ESPN analyst has serious issues with the 55-year-old sportswriter. “One, I really didn’t know about until recently…Somebody was reminding me of the things that he said about Allen Iverson years and years ago. When Allen Iverson found himself, you know, with some issues to deal with on a personal level,” he said.

Pointing out this segment, Whitlock stated all that talk of going back a long way with Le Batard is not true. Smith and the 55-year-old sportswriter are being phony with each other, Jason claimed. According to him, Dan knows Smith is a fraud, but he won’t say it. The reason, as per Whitlock, is as simple as this: Dan doesn’t want Smith talking about the fraud he himself has become.

“He (Le Batard) is the person who Allen Iverson was clearly talking about. And Stephen A. Smith…he’s doing it intentionally to out Dan Le Batard as the person who Allen Iverson clearly has beef with,” Whitlock claimed. But why would the ESPN analyst not say this out in the open? The 57-year-old sports columnist believes the reason is that Smith hates him. So, he’d never be out in the open to help him out but would drop such clues to get back to Dan. While there is still no conclusive proof, there is no denying Stephen A. Smith’s statement speaks volumes.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger.