This article was originally posted on May 19, 2015.
Here in Philadelphia we have seen some legends take the court, Wilt Chamberlin, Dr. J, Charles Barkley, but one of the most polarizing, and arguably the most exciting, player to watch was Allen Iverson.
On the court Iverson seemed to embody everything Philadelphia fans craved: heart, passion, and an undeniable will to win that few people possessed. He left his blood, sweat, and tears on the court every game; there was no denying he gave it all. However, his off-the-court persona and how the media covered him left few people really knowing who Allen Iverson really was.
This past weekend, Showtime broadcasted a new documentary based on “The Answer”, which focused on his upbringing, the tough road he faced to get to the NBA, his impact on the league, and how a generation was caught up in the personality and playing style of who could be “pound for pound” the best player in history.
“IVERSON” opens with some young children playing basketball in Newport News, Virginia and are asked about Allen Iverson. Some of the kids have positive things to say about him, but it was overwhelmingly a negative response. “He didn’t sign any autographs, he just walked away from us”, one child says. Another said he admires him as a player, but not as a person. This seems to be the general public perception of Allen Iverson, something that this film tries to clear up.
The documentary features several of Iverson’s friends, family, coaches, and is mostly narrated by Iverson himself. He was born and raised in Hampton Virginia, in a pretty rough part of town, where gangs and drugs were the way of life. He grew up witnessing his father being arrested, just after he was previously released from jail, so his mother pretty much raised him on her own. He befriended his neighbor, who was one of the only white kids in the area, and was described as a very compassionate person. “Bubba Chuck,” as Iverson was called in the neighborhood, was a young star athlete who excelled in both basketball and football. While attending Bethel High School, Iverson was named the AP’s High School Athlete of the Year in both sports. He chose to play sports to get off the streets, as he saw many of his friends heavily involved with drugs and gangs. He would eventually get caught up in a major life-altering event.
As Iverson states, “You can try to run from the devil, but he will find you.”
While at a bowling alley in 1993, a fight broke out when Iverson was defending a friend after he had racially driven insults hurled at him. Chairs were thrown and several people were hurt. Iverson said that he didn’t remember exactly how it started, but at one point, he stopped and looked around at the madness that was going around him and left the scene. Iverson is then arrested and charged with several felonies for his involvement in the brawl. Conveniently, months pass before the trial date, which Iverson believed was so they could try him as an adult as he was turning 18 years old. The documentary looks into the reasoning behind the belief that because Allen Iverson was a young black star athlete, he was being made an example of and that the charges were racially motivated. Despite many protests, video evidence, and strong testimony from Iverson’s teachers, he was sentenced to five years in prison. ABC’s Tom Brokaw was allowed a one-on-one interview with Iverson while behind bars, which may have helped paved the way for the state governor to pardon Iverson from prison so he could attend college, after his choices became slim thanks to the incarceration. It was Iverson’s mother that recruited basketball head coach icon John Thompson at Georgetown University to take a chance on her son; a gamble for Thompson that paid off.
Iverson left Georgetown after two years and declared himself eligible for the 1996 NBA draft. He said he left school against Coach Thompson’s wishes because he wanted to help take care of this family as his sister was suffering from seizures and needed to pay for a specialist. The team that had the number one pick, the Philadelphia 76ers, were looking for someone who could change their franchise that had been struggling for several years. Pat Croce says in the film, “Everyone in Philly wanted AI, we wanted AI…he was a warrior”. Croce perfectly describes Iverson as having a “lunchbox mentality”, and it helped Iverson become the first Sixer ever to win the Rookie of the Year award.
Sixers coach Larry Brown and Allen Iverson had many spats during their time together, which Brown said was due to each of their competitive natures. “He was a young kid with a special gift, but didn’t know how to use it” Brown said. The relationship between the two is looked at in detail during “IVERSON”, as there was mutual admiration and respect for the duo. “People thought he took too many shots. I wanted him to take 40 shots a game; it was the only way we could win.” Brown said.
In what could have been a rather dangerous turn of events, the Sixers nearly traded Iverson before the 2001 season following issues with team lateness and the very controversial rap album that Iverson had recorded (but was never commercially released). Thankfully for the franchise, and the city of Philadelphia, the trade fell apart as Iverson had the greatest season of his career. An All Star Game MVP award, a scoring title, an NBA MVP award, and a trip to the NBA Finals against the Lakers, The City of Brotherly Love was completely enthroned by “The Answer”.
It wasn’t only Philadelphia who admired Iverson; it was the whole country, even other parts of the world, that loved “A.I.”. His attitude and swagger, the tattoos, the cornrows, the baggy clothes, which were described as a “thuggish” by some, was a culture that the NBA hadn’t really embraced before Iverson. “He came in and did it his style, his way,” Carmello Anthony states. After some backlash from the media and some other peers around the league, other players began to follow Iverson’s look (including Phil Jackson who didn’t approve of Iverson’s look). The NBA then enforced a dress code in which there was to be no more baggy clothing, head ware, headphones, or big jewelry worn during pre- and postgame events.
Sometimes his attitude would strike a chord with people. During a commercial shoot for Reebok, with an hour and a half left to shoot, the director tells a story that Iverson said he “was out”, called over his friends and left the set. The director was irate and in the film says, “He was a great guy, but he didn’t give a sh*t about obligations.” This was another picture that was painted in a certain light by the media. Enter the infamous “practice” speech.
“IVERSON” goes into what the “practice” rant was really about. It shows how the media only plays specific portions of that press conference and how it made Iverson look bad. Iverson was under the impression that the press conference was about other issues and when he arrived, he was bombarded by questions about how he had recently missed a team practice. Iverson had just lost one of his best friends, the Sixers were just eliminated from the playoffs, and Iverson expressed his anger toward the questions focusing around the missed practice.
“Allen could have been the most popular athlete the NBA ever had, but I think his pride got in the way of that.” Larry Brown said. After ten years with the Sixers, Iverson
goes on a carousel ride through the NBA. He’s traded to the Denver Nuggets, then after two seasons, he is dealt to the Detroit Pistons. Iverson is angered by the fact that the Pistons wanted him to be a player that came off the bench, which led them to send him to the Memphis Grizzlies.
After only a few months, Iverson took a leave of absence from Memphis, which eventually led to him being released. The Sixers, who were in desperate need of attendance and possibly a boost, decided to bring Iverson back to Philadelphia. After an undisclosed illness to his daughter, Iverson leaves the team and would never play in the NBA again. He has a quick ten-game stint in Turkey before formally announcing his retirement.
“I will be a Sixer until the day I die. When you think of the Sixers, you think of Allen Iverson.”
For many of us, this statement is true, especially the younger generations. “IVERSON” sometimes seems like a film that wants to paint “A.I.” as a martyr, but it also shows the triumph, the tribulation, the courage, and the heart of someone who overcame tough odds. Like him or not, you have to respect the effort Iverson gave on the court, and maybe this movie will help Iverson earn your respect as a person as well.
Sean Selby is a co-host of Corner Pub Sports Radio and founding member. You can listen to him live on Friday nights, or by downloading the show.
Rachel Joyce is a contributor to cornerpubsports.com as well as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Philadelphia University.
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