His four-year old daughter Messiah is suffering from an undisclosed, but believed to be serious, illness.

Tawanna Iverson, his wife of eight and a half years, recently filed for divorce and requested custody of their five children.

Tawanna is Allen’s childhood sweetheart, and the woman he spoke of when he told Stephen A. Smith, “I’d die for her, and die without her.”

Numerous NBA insiders, including Smith, are also claiming that Iverson is battling alcohol and gambling problems.

Smith recently wrote, “If numerous NBA sources are telling the truth—and there’s no reason to believe they’d do otherwise in a situation of this magnitude—Iverson will either drink himself into oblivion or gamble his life away.”

Should we feel bad for the man who once played and lived with such confidence that he was dubbed "The Answer"?

This is a man who has made some poor choices in his life, and he certainly needs to be held accountable for them. A man who has burnt more bridges over the years than any other athlete in memory. A man with one of the most tarnished public images in the world of sports.

However, does making some mistakes in your life disqualify you from compassion when the tragedies of life strike?

There will be some who will never be able to look beyond the brashness, the tattoos, and the infamous “practice” interview and realize that Iverson is a human being like you and me. And like all human beings he has emotions and feelings and is susceptible to pain and sadness when life goes awry.

On Monday night Iverson released the following statement on his Twitter account: “To my fans: You all know that my life isn’t perfect. I am going through some very tough times right now, like I am sure that we all do from time to time.”

I am not saying that Iverson isn’t at least partially responsible for the hardships he is currently facing, especially his troubles with gambling and alcohol and his marital problems. 

What I am saying is that his past shouldn’t dictate our reaction to the struggles he currently is facing. He certainly isn’t the first human being—or athlete, for that matter—to come against some of life’s more serious obstacles.

You don’t have to feel bad for Iverson, but you should at least show him some compassion.

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Consider that hole filled.

On Tuesday, the Blazers acquired Marcus Camby from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Steve Blake, Travis Outlaw, and three million dollars cash.

Camby is currently averaging 7.7 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.9 blocks per game.

Camby provides Portland with a much needed big man to compliment the Blazers' young core of Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge.

The move should cement the Blazers a spot in the playoffs,as they currently sit in eighth place in the Western Conference standings, and gives them the chance to pull off a potential first-round upset.

All three players involved have contracts that expire at the end of the season, meaning that the deal has little impact on either team's cap situation heading into the offseason.

The Clippers will give Blake and Outlaw a look over the remainder of the season, and ultimately decide if they want to offer either a contract during the offseason.

However, the real motivation for the Clippers here is the three million dollars the Blazers will be including in the deal, as Clippers owner Donald Sterling's bank account is always open for deposit.

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