US professional basketball player Allen Iverson has been heavily criticised by the Atlanta judge conducting his divorce trial.
The 37 year-old former Philadelphia 76ers player was labelled a a “hindrance” to the “spiritual and emotional growth and development” of his five children.
According to a report on celebrity site TMZ, the judge claimed Iverson “does not know how to manage the children” and has “little interest” in learning to do so.
He had occasionally “left the children alone without supervision,” sometimes with men not known to their mother.
The Virginia-born sportsman had also not dealt with an “obvious and serious alcohol problem” which caused “caused him to do inappropriate things in the presence of the children while impaired.”
Iverson married ex-wife Tawanna after they had been high school sweethearts. She filed for divorce in early 2010.
The judge awarded custody of the children to her and ruled that Iverson could only visit them if adhered to strict conditions regarding alcohol: he must attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and cannot drink for the next18 months. He is also forbidden from drinking within 24 hours of visiting his children until they are 18.
