“I’m Going To See The Boogeyman David Stern”: Allen Iverson Reflects On His ‘Embarrassing’ Rap Album Prior To His Meeting With The NBA Commissioner

Allen Iverson was recently a guest on the Headliners show, hosted by sports analyst Rachel Nichols. During his time there, Iverson recalled a hilarious incident from his playing days. This incident had nothing to do with basketball or anything on the court, but something that was more of an off-the-court affair.

In 2000, Iverson released a single called “40 Bars”. The rap song contained a lot of profanity and was flagged for its homophobic and sexist undertones. But without much publicity, the single started to catch air time on the radio, eventually falling on the ears of NBA Commissioner David Stern.

During the Headliners show, Iverson would recall his meeting with David Stern, telling Rachel Nichols the following,

“I remember when I did that terrible rap song…Awful. That’s one of the things, today, I’m so embarrassed every time we go somewhere and people play it.”

Iverson would continue by saying,

“When it came out, there was a big uproar over the whole thing. He called me to his office. The whole time I am nervous, cause I am going to see the Boogeyman, David Stern…Out of nowhere, he pulled out a piece of paper. He said, ‘I’m gonna read something to you.'”

 

Realizing the consequences of his actions, Iverson would later reveal,

“I’m hearing David Stern read the rap that I wrote. It was just the craziest moment. My heart was thumping so bad… In my mind I was counting every bad thing that was there…”

’40 Bars’ wouldn’t be the only song that Iverson would put out, as his entire album “Misunderstood” would have over 29 songs overall. A. I would eventually drop rapping altogether, as Iverson would have to deal with a slew of other problems throughout his career.

Stern and Iverson, a strained relationship

Allen Iverson probably had a bigger impact on basketball culture than any other superstar of his time. Not only did Iverson introduce the league and its viewers to streetwear and durags but also brought hip-hop closer to the league. A true culture shifter of his era, Iverson wasn’t afraid of showing the world who he was and the culture that he came from.

This in-your-face attitude from Iverson would eventually land him in trouble. The then NBA Commissioner, David Stern wasn’t someone that saw eye-to-eye with Iverson and the duo would often butt heads.

Ironically, 18 years ago, David Stern would enforce an official dress code on the league. This step was taken to combat certain kinds of ‘elements’ that the NBA and their investors didn’t find ‘ suitable’ for the league.

The new dress code banned vintage jerseys, jeans, hats, sunglasses, headphones, durags, T-shirts, large jewelry, sneakers, and Timberland-style boots. Too many people and players alike, the dress code implemented by Commissioner Stern was simply a medium of enforcing discipline and Control over the players.

But it wasn’t just Allen Iverson’s clothes that David Stern had a problem with. Iverson would later reveal that Commissioner Stern had ordered Iverson to make amendments to the lyrics of his single. This demand from Stern was something that Iverson didn’t take kindly but tried to comply with. Iverson would eventually realize that rapping wasn’t his cup of tea, as the 76ers legend would hang up his pen and paper. Iverson will forever be remembered for his contributions both on and off the court, especially for the fights he fought alone, to protect what he believed in.