While the NBA has long been a prosperous league, it has also seen its share of unfaithful and unethical individuals in leadership positions who prioritize protecting their family’s name, regardless of the consequences. However, former Philadelphia 76ers President Pat Croce stood out as a person of integrity. When he discovered his own brother - John, had stolen from Allen Iverson , Pat took immediate and decisive action, ensuring that the issue was addressed and the value within the organization was firmly established.
Croce fired his own brother
During his 11-year tenure with the 76ers, A.I. earned over $151 million in salary. However, coming from a humble background, the 11-time All-Star was never the habit of safeguarding his money in the bank, rather he carried cash with him everywhere, even when he was heading for games. Unfortunately, this made him an easy target for John Croce.
As John stole from Iverson’s pants in the team locker room, he couldn’t get away with it. There were cameras installed, and when General Manager Billy King saw the footage, he informed Pat right away. Consequently, they confronted the culprit and took the necessary action.
"I found out about it the day Billy King showed me the video, the day we fired my brother," Pat said . "Billy showed me the video. I said, 'Call (John) in. Ask him pointed questions. Investigate this. If this is true, we’ll have to take immediate action."
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Allen wasn’t alone in facing that issue
Even though Pat could have easily swept the issue under the rug, he chose not to. He fired his own brother and informed him to pursue a different career elsewhere, setting a firm example of how the organization had no tolerance policy for antics like robbing.
Interestingly, had this been the first incident where John would have done something so severe, there was a possibility that King and Pat might have taken a softer punishment. However, several other players had reported their money getting stolen from the team locker room. That is primarily why King had installed security cameras in both the team’s training facility and road locker rooms. So, once John was caught on camera, it was naturally expected that the culprit had been identified.
"This is so painful," Pat added. "We had to take immediate action. There was no way I was going to cover this over."
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