Over the past few months, ESPN The Magazine has run a featured entitled 'Player X', where an NFL player has weighed anonymously on various issues.

In response to Stephen A. Smith's reporting that Allen Iverson has been dealing with gambling and alcohol issues, an anonymous player from the NBA has responded.

"Now, everyone in the league knows Allen has been a big partier his entire career," writes the player. "Crazy thing is, he actually drinks a lot less than he used to. I know there was talk because Allen was at some party on a night he was supposed to be playing. But right now NBA players are just talking about how they can't believe Stephen A. chose to write that column now, when Allen's partying is way, way tamer than it used to be. We all think the timing is suspicious.

"I haven't talked to Allen, so I don't know how he feels about all this. But guys around the league think Stephen A. took a cheap shot, that he kicked a man when he was down. Allen is dealing with his sick daughter and a divorce. That's the reason he's taking time away. But I guess the truth doesn't sell newspapers. Fact is, if Stephen A. really cared about him, as he says he does, he'd be going to AI's friends and family, trying to say something that way. He wouldn't be blasting him in the media."

The player also mentions that several members of the Sixers will confront Smith during his next locker room visit.