You gotta do what you gotta do. And I had to figure that out, and I used to – I couldn’t stand the media, but I realized they have a job. They gotta do what they have to do.
I think a lot of times, when people who get a chance to meet me and be around me, they understand that I’m not the person that the media make me out to be.
I couldn’t have accomplished the things in my career if I didn’t practice, and the worst part about that whole thing is when a kid comes up to me and says ‘Allen, I don’t like practice, either.’ I’ve got to straighten that kid right then.
I don’t have any problems with what these guys wear because they got their own style and their own originality. That’s the way it’s supposed to be, man.
Tattoos, cornrows, headbands, hip-hop. I never meant to start any trends. I got my butt kicked, but if that meant that the guys who came after me could be themselves, then it was worth it.
Man, people have been waiting for me to fall off my whole career. From the first time I stepped on the court. It probably made people sick to their stomachs watching my whole career, watching the things that I’ve done in my career.
This is like a tribute to them, the people who helped me to get here. The thing that makes me feel good about the whole thing is, the fans voted me here.
Either you give in, or you fight. That’s all I know, being where I’m from. You fight for what you want. You go after what you want. The only thing I could do was give up or keep fighting for what I wanted in life.
