Allen Iverson, who changed NBA culture for good, was once embroiled in a bowling alley brawl that led to a 15-year jail sentence.
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As a school student, Allen Iverson, in spirit, was taller than anybody around. He was probably the most famous kid in entire Virginia.
The legend of Iverson grew like an unstoppable flood, not just in Basketball communities but also in football communities. He was arguably the most popular school athlete in the entire nation.
But that fame came at a cost no school-going kid should ever have to pay. A random brawl in a random bowling alley threw AI’s entire future under the bus. He was jailed and there was a possibility he would remain imprisoned for 15 years.
Also read: “What’s Up, You Little B**ch?”: Allen Iverson Recalls the First Time Michael Jordan Spoke to Him
Allen Iverson was made an example of by the authorities
On February 14, 1993, 17-year-old Allen Iverson visited a bowling alley with five of his friends. Sometime after he reached, things went south rather quickly.
There was a full-on brawl between a white group of men and AI and his friends. Chairs were thrown, things were smashed, and people were hurt.
Steve James directed a documentary titled ‘No Crossover.’ The docu covered the brawl and its aftermath in detail. According to James, the fight was definitely racially motivated and all parties involved knew it.
Iverson came from the town of Hampton, Virginia. Back in the early 1990s, the bifurcation between African Americans and Whites was as clear as day and night.
Allen Iverson rose from those troubled times. He led his school’s football and basketball team to the state title. Naturally, that should have made him a local superstar. While he did become a local superstar, his success also brought upon him the viciousness of those who envied his athletic triumphs.
Speaking about the brawl, James told NPR: “I just thought, there must be something larger at work here than just a fight in a bowling alley, even a racial fight.”
Iverson and his classmates later acknowledged the same in their statements. They claimed that one of the men in the alley had used a racial slur against them.
Allen Iverson was found guilty of being a part of a mob with the intent to maim. He was sentenced to 15 years in jail. During the sentence, no white man was sentenced.
The infamous ruling was soon overturned
The ruling effectively ended any and every athletic dreams Allen Iverson might have had. The statute used against Iverson in the case was the same one that was used to protect African Americans from lynching.
Essentially, a law created to protect African Americans after the civil war was made a weapon against the same people. Allen Iverson was made an example of what might happen to problem athletes.
But the truth was, even if AI had participated in the brawl, he was not a part of the mob that later formed at the Bowling Alley. Iverson’s conviction was subsequently overturned after the court found the evidence to be insufficient.
But the overturning came in 1995. By then, AI had already served 4 months of his sentence. Iverson was granted clemency and released. But the trauma had cut deep like a hot knife on butter.
Iverson, even later in his career, always struggled around authority. Though he paved his own path, his mistrust of the white men in power governed much of his antics. To be fair, AI cannot be blamed. What he went through was not normal and definitely motivated by his fame and his race.
