All language subtitles for Iverson.2014.1080p.WEBRip.x264.AAC-[YTS.MX]

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[ambience]

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[children shouting]

Man: Tell me
about Allen Iverson.

That's my cousin!
That's my cousin.

He a good player
on the court.

Yeah.
He got bad behavior.

- I'll take--
- He got a bad attitude.

He got a real bad attitude.

Sometimes.

Why do you say that?

[talking at once]

When he came here to talk,
he signed no--

he didn't sign no autographs
he just walked on the court.

He think he better
than everybody.

He pushed this one boy
from out of the limo.

I'll take up for him
at basketball,

but I don't think I'll
take up for him in public.

[Nina Simone performing "Don't
Let Me Be Misunderstood"]

♪ Don't you know no one
alive can always be an angel ♪

♪ When everything goes wrong
you seem so bad ♪

♪ But I'm just a soul
whose intentions are good ♪

♪ Oh Lord, please don't
let me be misunderstood ♪

♪ I try so hard

♪ So please, don't let me
be misunderstood ♪

Everybody know why we're here.

Um, I'm formally announcing

my retirement from basketball.

I never imagined
the day coming,

but I knew it would
come, and, um...

I'm happy with the decision
that I'm making, and, um...

it was a great ride.

Man: Allen Iverson
could've been

the most popular athlete
the NBA has ever had.

Male announcer:
Raw lightning.

Iverson all the way. Yes!

- Take that!
- I do not believe it!

You can't take your eyes
off him.

Male announcer:
Iverson in OT.

Two seconds and open twofer!

He's just, pound for pound,
one of the greatest

that's ever played
professional sports.

The steal by Iverson
posting in!

- Wow!
- He won the game!

He won the game!

After Michael Jordan,
he's, like, the biggest
NBA star in China.

He's big in France.
He's big in Europe.

He crossed race,
religion, gender.
Women loved him.

Guys loved him.

Some people get scared
of who you are, man.

When you got the effect
on a whole generation,

then all they want to do
is dig up some dirt on you.

We need to get
to the bottom of this,

and the league does as well.

This could ultimately impact
his big picture legacy.

We're sitting here.
I'm supposed to be
the franchise player,

and we're in here
talking about practice.

He's got the reputation
for what might diplomatically

be called
ungentlemanly behavior,

and she's talking about
decorum and everything else.

Listen.
We're talking about practice.

Jalen Rose: When you're
becoming a cultural icon,

you're making a lot
of people upset.

Man: It suggests that success,
wealth, all that,

is tied into this gangster
prison attitude.

You get paid to get on that mic
and talk shit, don't you?

Man: Yes.
Don't you get paid?

Allen Iverson in trouble
with the law again.

He could be headed to jail.

Gangsta rap glorifies
a violent lifestyle.

Still calling us hoes.
It's calling us niggers.

It scared the son of God
because of his reputation.

You're not gonna sign him
because of all the stuff

he's bringing in his locker room
that you don't know about.

I go through it, man,
like, I really--

I really go through it.
It's like--

Stephen A. Smith:
Go through what, exactly?

Hell.

Iverson: I wish it didn't
have to be like that,

to have to go
through the things

that I went through in my life.

But I can't cry about that.
This is what it is.

[Run DMC performing
"It's All That"]
Huh!

[police siren blaring]

[dog barks]

♪ Money is the key
to end all your woes... ♪

Iverson: It was tough
being from the projects.

Sometimes there was no food.

Most of the time we didn't
have lights or water,

and those things were hard,
but I didn't look at it

like it was something odd.

It was natural, like, I felt
like this is what we come from.

My mom, she had to do
what she had to do,

to try to help us
get out of the ghetto.

She had different odd jobs.
She would stay in bingo,

thinking she was going
to win the world.

She told me
that I could be anything,

so whenever I kind of fell down,
I always got back up.

[baby cooing]
[indistinct voices on TV]

[laughter]

Iverson: I don't know
my biological father,

but I had somebody took care
of me since I was three months.

My dad was in and out
of jail most of my life.

I actually seen him
get arrested.

I was, like, 13 years old,
and I ran outside

when I see them arresting him.
I was hurt because I felt like

you going back to jail again.

You just came out, you know.

We miss you.
We come visit you.
We see you.

And it's tough
when we gotta walk away,

when the visiting hours are
over, and then for you to do it

all over again, you know,
it was kind of disappointing.

[♪♪]

It was just tough,
you know, just trying

to stay out of trouble and
just stay on a positive path,

seeing like most of the negative
things that were going on

in my neighborhood
was the right thing to do.

I was just running
in the streets,

hanging with guys
that were 12 and 13 years old,

sniffing cocaine
right by the dumpster.

I'll never forget it.
Then they say to me, like,

"Here, Chuck.
Hit that. Hit that."

And I'd be, like,
"No, man. I'm gonna be

an NBA basketball player.

I'm gonna be
a professional football player."

My mom not being there
all the time,

and my dad not being there
all of the time, it was tough,

but I have friends there,
you know, and I saw

a lot of things that made me
the person that I am now.

[dog barking]

Jamie Rogers:
I was seven when we moved

into Stuart Gardens.

Bubba-Chuck, he was nine.

The first time
I ever met Bubba-Chuck,

he asked me
did I play football,

and I told him I didn't know
anything about football.

Then he said, "Put the ball
like this and just throw it,"

and I just threw
a perfect spiral.

He could teach anybody.
He just wanted you to be good.

Iverson: Jamie was cool.
He was my little man,

the only white boy
in an all-black neighborhood.

He used to get
picked on a lot,
or whatever,

and I used to just
look out for him,

make sure he was all right.

Rogers: Bubba made it
a lot easier for me,

'cause me and him,
we was just best friends.

Linda Rogers:
Bubba took Jamie under
his wing and taught him

a lot about sports, and Bubba
spent the night with us a lot.

Iverson: I remember one time,
I was getting waves in my hair,
whatever.

I was, like,
"You know, what you do, man,

"you take--
You wash your hair in soap,

"and then you just keep
brushing it all the time, man,

and you'll get waves
or whatever."

And I remember one day just
having him in the tub, like,

had his head down in the tub,
washing his hair and then,

you know, put grease in his hair
and brush his hair trying...

Trying to get white boy waves.

[laughing]

That was
my little partner though.

They got so used to Jamie being
one of them after so many years,

that they'd be playing
a ball game in the backyard,

and they'd be calling him
a nigger, too,

because that's how the black
kids talked to each other.

Iverson: His mom,
she was the best.

When my mom wasn't home,
or I couldn't get in the house,

something like that, you know,
she was right there for me.

Cooked for me
all the time, you know.

I fried a lot of fish and
chicken and pork chops, too.

He was always a real
good kid.

He always cared
about the younger ones.

He always looked out for them.

When I was with Bubba,
that's what I always saw.

She loved me to death,
and vice-versa.

[♪♪]

Gary Moore:
This is where it all started,

the back of Aberdeen
Elementary School.

This was my father's field.

My dad was one of the people

that started the Aberdeen
Fathers League.

They were guys
who dedicated their lives

to helping young boys grow
to be responsible young men

through football.

A lot of what
Allen knows today

was learned on this field.

Iverson: Mo meant a lot
in our lives coming up.

A lot of guys just wanted
to get off the streets

and get up under him
to feel like

they were doing
something positive.

Moore: Allen and some of
the other kids needed me

to do things
that fathers would normally do.

I never had a biological son,

but I felt that sort
of connection with him.

Pick it up, Bubba-Chuck!

From the moment I met Al,
I knew that he was special.

He was special to me.
Most kids his age
would not have been able

to handle the things
that he's been able to endure.

I'm talking about the time
that he spent on the streets,

the times that he had
to feed himself.
I felt like God sent me

you know, to him, and when
I saw that he looked up to me,

I wanted to use that
in a positive way.

I used to tell him,
"You're going to mean to people

"what people like Martin
Luther King meant to people,

what Malcolm X
meant to people."

Iverson: I just respected him
so much for how he went

about his life. He went
to work, had a real job.

I saw how he treated
his only daughter.

I just believed in him,

and it was easy for me
to listen to him.

[♪♪]

Moore: From day one,
he actually wanted

to jump right in
and play.

He wanted
to be my star player,

and that aggression
and that enthusiasm

is what I admired most
about him.

And when I saw him
dance and move,

completely reverse his feel
all the way back around

and not allow any of
those kids to touch him,

that's when I really said,
"Wow. This boy is somethin'."

Bob Barefield:
When he was about six years old,

I saw him steal an inbound play

and shoot a shot
behind his head, and it fell

right down the basket.
He kept running.
He never turned around.

I said, "This young guy
has a future in basketball."

Iverson: Barefield was,
you know, tough on me at times.

When I got in the van
in the morning,

he always made me
and my friends comb our hair.

After not combing it for days.

Barefield: He was several steps
ahead of his age group

at that time,
and you could tell that.

Chuck was always a competitor,
you know, hate to lose.

When he lost, I had
to give him that eye,

you know what I'm talking about,
and say, "All right now."

But he never
was disrespectful.

Never could you say that
he was a disrespectful kid.

Jamie Rogers:
He'd be at my house
at 6:30 in the morning,

knocking on the door.

"Come on, man. Let's go
to the basketball court."

I'm like, "Bubba,
it's 7:00 in the morning."

He committed himself to sports.

He worked at it,
and he worked at it

because he knew that was
going to be his way out.

Johnson: When he was
in the 7th grade,

the high schools had what
we call a turf war over him.

Every high school
in the two cities

wanted Chuck to come
to their school.

Iverson: But then
I failed the 8th grade.

I failed the 8th grade, man.

That was the most
humiliating thing, ever.

I just wasn't getting it done,
not coming to school

till the last period,

so I could play
in a game that night.

I didn't like school.

I especially
didn't like the hours.

You know, Mo saw
the potential that I had,

and he saw that
I was ruining my life.

There were so many dangers
of being young,

and being at the wrong place
at the wrong time

could very easily
cost you your life.

Iverson: And I was
headed down that path,

just fighting
all the time and, you know,

just doing negative things.

Moore: I knew that
it was time for me

to be more than a coach to him.

Iverson: And he came and got me,

took me to Hampton,
and I lived with him.

[♪♪]

We went from the projects
to a real house.

[chuckles]
It was a big difference.

Moore: I told Al back then,

"You're gonna always
have a room in my house."

That metal window,
that was Al's room.

We sat up together all night
watching football games,

watching basketball games,
eating popcorn, watching movies,

you know, doing stuff together.
Mo just didn't never have
no money.

My dad and my mom
would give me $100 at a time.

I asked Mo for some money,
it would be $5, $10,

maybe $20 at the most.

And Christmastime,
he used to shop for my clothes.

Oh, man. It was just--
It was rough.

But he would feed me.
He would take me to practice.

He would take me to school.
He would talk to my teachers

when they was talking
about suspending me.

He would go to the school
and talk to the people

and make sure I got detention
instead of them suspending me.

I remember getting hugged,
and then I remember

almost getting thrown
through a car windshield

when I missed
69 days at school.

Moore: He was just about
to lose it all, academically.

Mo said, "I'm a show you
how serious I am about this."

When he grabbed me and threw me
on the car, first of all,

I was just shocked.
And then you got
your friends around,

and it happened.
It's embarrassing,

and it hurts that much more.

A light went off in my head,

and I knew
how serious he was

because he never
got that mad at me.

Moore:
He knew that I was willing

to go through
that windshield with him,

to help him get the message.

I felt that he loved me,
and he wasn't my blood.

I wasn't going
to allow him to fail.

[♪♪]

Janet Baily:
Our kids laugh at us

and call this the Allen shrine.

We have our own collection
of bobbleheads.

We were lucky enough to be
at his MVP ceremony for the NBA.

That was the highlight
of our life.

[crowd cheering]

And Iverson
cans both free throws.

You see Mike Bailey
coaching from the sideline.

Iverson: He was
my basketball coach,

and she was
one of my teachers,

so I couldn't escape
neither one.

[laughing]

My name's Allen Iverson.

I'm a member of
[indistinct] High School.

Janet: He was definitely
the class clown kind of kid.

He was a kid
that would sing on the bus.
He was the kind of--

But not in class.
He was quiet in class.

Respectful.

But you know,
when he got with his peers,

he was a jokester.

He was a singer.
He was... He was Allen.

Most people who really knew him
way back when

call him
Bubba-Chuck or Bubba.

I called him Bubby one time,

and he said,
"Ms. Bailey, now you've got

everybody in the world
calling me Bubby."

"It just won't work."

Iverson: Bethel was one of
the best times in my life.

I met my best friend, my wife.

For me that was, like,

love at first sight.

She was the girl that I always

wanted to meet, and I wanted
to be a part of her life.

Mike: I've said this many,
many times to people that,

when I really realized
how to coach Allen was,

I learned how to coach
with my heart,

not try to outmaneuver him,
outsmart him,

because that was
never gonna work.

Good hustle by Iverson.
Boy, he's fast.

Iverson:
I played JV in 8th grade,
and that transition was easy.

I scored a lot.

Janet: I asked Mike if he was
gonna play Allen as a freshman.

He didn't usually do
that kind of thing, and he said,

"I'd play him as an 8th grader
if it were legal."

Iverson: My 9th grade year
going up to the varsity,

I broke my ankle that year,

and I didn't do
what I wanted to do,

but once I got to 10th grade,

that's when everything clicked,
football and basketball.

[♪♪]

Iverson, always elusive,

gets away from another would-be
tackler, and turns it on!

Still wants to throw, now does,

and he's got Terrell
inside the 10!

He was first team all-state
as a quarterback and safety

and the best player
in the state.

Iverson will take it
all at one hop,

trying to get a block
on the sideline, and he does.

He's down the sideline
looking for one block.

- He may go! He will!
- Oh!

Moore: He played quarterback,
ran back punts,

ran back kickoffs and played
in the defensive backfield.

And if it wasn't
for Allen Iverson,

it would've been
a touchdown.

He's the best football player

I've ever seen play the game.

A loose ball inside.
Green has it stolen by Iverson.

Iverson, with nobody there...

[cheering]

Look at the crowd!

People would stand
in line for hours

to get to see him play.

Bubba-Chuck, and a trade.

He looks like he's on ice!

He just glides in there. Oh!

Stolen! Look out, Fox!

Oh! Showtime!

Once I started getting
national notoriety,

that felt good to, just,
looking in those magazines

and seeing myself
at number one in the country.

This is Iverson
on the naked bootleg.

Racing for the corner...

Touchdown!

Iverson: My junior year,
won in state in football

and won it in basketball.

The lob... Slam dunk!

The alley-oop! It's over!

It's over!

Mike: Right after
the state championship in 1993,

Allen comes running,
and I come running.

I say, "I love you, Allen."
He says, "I love you, Coach."

Very special moment
in both of our lives.

We wanted this, man.
First one. Feel good.

Congratulations
on two state championships!

All right.

Iverson: It was a day
that I'll never forget.

It was one of the greatest
times of my life.

The Bruins have done it!

Iverson: And then
they threw me in jail.

Female reporter 1: 18-year-old
Allen Iverson may end up

spending the next
several years behind bars.

Female reporter 2:
Star football and basketball
athlete from Bethel High,

Allen Iverson faces
three felony counts...

Female reporter 3:
One of the top high school
athletes in the country

to go on trial.

A fight started
in a bowling alley.

And it's white people
fighting black people.

Female reporter:
A chair-throwing brawl,

which injured half a dozen
people at this bowling alley...

But it was far more black people
than it was white people.

I had friends hiding
under chairs, you know.

Stuff like that
kind of scares me.

Man 1: Is the green light on?

Man 2: It's on.

Yeah. You're taping me!

Man 1:
I'm taping right now.

February 14th, 1993.

It was approximately
midnight--

myself, Allen,
Michael Simmons

and my cousin
Dwayne Campbell,

we went bowling, and we're
just having a good time.

Mike: All three students
at Bethel,

friends of Allen,
lifetime friends.

Allen had lots of friends,
black and white.

I mean, I taught at Bethel
for a long time,

and he had as many white friends
as he did black friends.

Iverson [with high voice]:
How you doing, little guys?

Little buddies?

[normal voice]
See you all later.

That's just the type
of person he is,

with a real great
sense of humor.

He was pretty much
trash-talker out of the crew.

Dwayne Campbell:
We was bowling, I mean, before,

hour, hour and a half
before everything happened.

We was on, like, lanes 8 and 9.

The incidents took place
around lane 32, 33,

totally on the other end
of the bowling alley,

where the concession
stand was at.

I don't even know
how the incident got started,

'cause at the time,
I was on the lane bowling,

and I just-- I hate to admit it
again, but I threw a gutter ball

and happened to slip at
the time, and I was getting up

off the ground,
and I hear somebody say,

"Who was that guy
in Allen's face?"

Iverson:
They white guys from Poquoson,

and if you're from Virginia,

you know that
some people from Poquoson

don't like black people.

The guys were trying to--
They were messing with him,

try to get in his head.

I remember at times,
I had to grab him.

"All right, look, man.

There ain't gonna be
none of this, man."

Simmons:
That scene was, you know,

guy about my height
at the time, white guy,

so I just started
jogging down there.

We was there among friends,
and friends protect friends

when something go down.

Everybody knew that Allen
had the most potential,

so nobody really wants
anything to happen to him.

You don't need this, man.

These guys wanna
bring you down with them.

I see the chair swinging,
and instincts just took over.

The protection came in.

Iverson: I don't remember
exactly how it started.

All I remember
was just fighting,

like, just everywhere.

[people shouting]

Iverson: While it was going on,
I stopped and stood there

and just looked around
everywhere,

and it actually scared me,
like, I actually was, like,

"Man, I'm outta here."

First thing,
I see chairs flying,

bowling alley pins.

My friend Dwayne was like,
"Let's go, let's go!"

And somehow or another,
we end up getting out of there.

We all just got in the car
and just went

and got something to eat
'cause we was hungry.

I remember calling Mo and said,
"Mo, I was at the bowling alley,

and this is what happened."

And right then, he'd tell me
today, he knew I was in trouble.

From the moment
that he told me that,

I knew that there
were going to be problems,

and I knew at that point
that we needed a lawyer.

I didn't have a lot
of money, and number two,

I needed an attorney
that was a household name.

I was working at Hampton
University, and Herb Kelly

was one of the attorneys
that worked for the university.

I thought that
if I could get Herb Kelly,

then this case
could quickly go away.

I was sadly mistaken.

Iverson: One day, he told me
the detective called him

and told him, if I didn't
come down there

and take these pictures
that night,

they was gonna arrest me
off the floor of the coliseum,

'cause we had a game that night.

Moore: That was
a Hampton-Bethel game.

That was a game that was going
to be attended by more people

that had ever come to see
a high school basketball game

in the state of Virginia.

And he was, like, they're gonna
come get me off the floor.

So I go down there, me and Mo.

I looked at the pictures
of these guys.

I'm 17, these guys
are 25 and 30 years old.

Plus, people know who I am.
I said, "Look, if I don't take

these pictures,
what's gonna happen?"

And they said they was gonna
arrest me and charge me with it.

So, my lawyer, he said,
"They're gonna arrest you.

Just take the picture."
So I took the picture.

They waited, like, I think,
eight months or maybe longer,

just so they could try me
as an adult.

Moore: We were pretty optimistic
that the truth was gonna

come out and
put this thing behind us,

but it was that first day
in court that led me to believe

that this thing
was far from over,

that these white folks

was not gonna allow this
to be over.

[gavel strikes]

Iverson:
In the preliminary hearing,

my lawyer asked the detective,

"Did you tell him, if he
didn't take these pictures,

you were going to arrest him?"
And this is the lead detective.

And the detective said,
"No, he didn't say that."

And right then, me and Mo knew
something was gonna happen.

You know, this is
the lead detective,

and he lied right there
on the stand.

Female reporter 1:
Allen Iverson is charged
with three counts of maiming,

stemming from a brawl
at a bowling alley.

Female reporter 2:
One guy said Iverson
threw a chair at him,

breaking his glasses.
Other people said that Iverson

broke their arm.
One person said
he broke a thumb,

and one Poquoson resident said

she received a gash
in her head.

70-some people
in a bowling alley,

how do you pick
four individuals?

Everyone should've been
charged for their current--

We asked to press charges.
It didn't happen.

I'm the only one
that everybody in there knew.

Had he not been basically
a star at Bethel High,

had he not been
as well-known as him,

then he may not have been
identified by anyone.

He may have been like the other
20 people who were involved

that were not charged.

They found out
from family members

that there was a tape.

And actually,
I think they thought

that would
exonerate because they knew

that Allen hadn't been
directly involved in this.

If you knew what Allen
had on that night,

you saw him leave in that tape.

As everything
was still going on,

and people were
still fighting, and things

were still being thrown,
Allen was on his way

right out the door,
right in front of the camera,

but of course that
never got brought up.

Male reporter:
Iverson's on trial
for participating in a mob

that maimed three people
last February.

It was portrayed to be like
we was acting like a mob

of some sort, like we were
some organized team that go in

and just beat up white people
in a bowling alley that night.

By definition,
there was no mob.

A mob is an assembled group,

assembled before
they get to the scene,

for a specific purpose.

It was just a fight
between individuals

that happened to be blown up
into something that it wasn't.

At 17, to be tried as an adult

for a fight in a bowling alley,

you'd have to think
there was a plan.

People wanted to make
an example of Allen.

Janet: I testified and tried
to make them understand

that he was a good kid,
and he didn't cause us trouble,

and I didn't think
anybody listened to me.

I didn't think anybody cared,
and I came out of there

feeling like he doesn't value

someone who's taught 25 years

as an expert in this field.

Moore: I strongly believe
that there was a conspiracy

to destroy the future of
a young, gifted black person.

This morning, the Bethel
High School basketball guard

was found guilty of maiming
and being a member of a mob.

The verdict was read, and you
could just hear a big, "Aw!"

Just like, "No time left
on the clock,

you just missed
the free throw to win the game."

We just got, you know,
the raw end of the stick.

The question now is,

how much time could Iverson
spend in jail?

He now faces up to 20 years
on each maiming charge.

Up to 60 years on three counts
of maiming by mob.

Iverson:
I didn't think I was, you know,

going to go to jail
or anything like that.

I didn't even think
I would get probation.

I was in the wrong place
at the wrong time.

Simmons: Me and Dwayne,
we was at Allen's house,

and we was just talking,
and I was just, like,

"Yo, I feel we goin'
to jail, Chuck."

He was like,
"No, we're not going to jail."

Iverson: We don't deserve
to go to jail, man.

I'm tired of worrying
about what's gonna happen.

And hearing different people
tell me what can happen.

Like, do this
and that.

Yeah.
You shoulda
this and that.

All these people trying
to tell me what to do and shit.

Those were kids, man.
They had no idea.

They didn't know
racial prejudice.

They didn't know these bigots.

If he asks me,
I'm gonna be, like,

I'm like, you know,
"First of all, I want to...

"I want to thank
my family and friends

"for sticking behind me,
people in the [indistinct]

"I want to thank
all the little kids--"

No, no. Let me say...

"Then again,
I want to apologize

to my family and friends..."

Moore: They did not know
that these people were about

to lynch their ass.
These people were about
to railroad you.

If I really did all the stuff,
like they say, you know,

if I would've came
with you all, shit like that,

you know what I'm saying,
the real deal,
came with you all,

hit the girl in the head
with the chair, hit him,

I understand
why that shit happen.

Well, you know damn well
I ain't coming with you all...

You know, I really thought
that I was being railroaded.

Man, this shit can ruin
everybody's lives.

This could turn us
to hardcore criminals.

That judge could tear
four black people down

right now, just like that,
if she want to.

Don't worry,
motherfucker got some pull.

Female reporter 1:
Security was very tight here

this morning
at Hampton Circuit Court.

Several deputies
and police were on guard.

Simmons:
We're seeing all the police
they had in the courtroom,

and I knew right then
what was about to happen.

Female reporter 2:
Only Iverson had anything
to say before sentencing.

I did feel bad for what
happened to the people

that night at the bowling alley
so I wouldn't want that

to happen to nobody
in any situation.

Judge Nelson Overton sentenced
Iverson to 15 years behind bars

but suspended all but five.

His co-defendant
Michael Simmons

received 17.5 years,
and he suspended

all but five of that as well.

Fifteen years,
ten years suspended

for an incident like that,

you know,
when people do a lot worse.

The air just totally went
out of the courtroom,

and then just everyone began
to look around.

Some people was crying,

but it was just
real weird and awkward.

It just didn't seem like
a real-life story right then.

It didn't seem real at all.

I never thought I'd see the day

where adults would do something
so drastically wrong to kids.

It's pretty sad.

[♪♪]

Woman 1: Do you think
they treated you differently

because you're a star?
How do you feel?

Woman 2:
You'll be all right.
You'll be all right.

You'll be all right.

Back up, back up.

Woman 2:
That don't make no sense.

It was a nightmare, you know.
It was really a nightmare.

Woman 2: What did he get?

[overlapping voices]

Female reporter:
Ann Iverson said she'd like

to see her son
finish high school.

I don't want him
to be in jail that long.

I want him to get out,
and I want him to go to school.

I think they can be
rehabilitated in jail also.

I mean, there are
programs available.

There's a GED program there.

Iverson could finish
his education.

They have
recreational facilities.

I don't think
he'd be any worse off.

I just couldn't believe
that people were this mean.

The judge decided that
he would not grant a bond

pending the appeal,
at this point,

because he wanted them,
very frankly,

to go ahead and to start
accumulating credit

for the time that they
would go ahead and serve.

In all the years
that I've been doing this,

the only defendants
that are not given a bond

are capital murderers.

Uh, capital murderers.

That's people that are going
to the electric chair.

That was true injustice,
and that's why it hurt so much,

because it was truly unjust.

The guy got what he deserved,
and I hope he does

every bit of time
that he's given.

Moore: He was unjustly
tried and convicted

and sentenced to time

in a prison facility
for grown men.

Iverson: I remember
telling my grandma, like,

"Nana, if I didn't do
what these people said I did,

why is God letting this
happen to me?"

And she told me,
and I never did it since then,

"Never question God."

[♪♪]

Iverson:
I had my life, my family,

and a game
that I loved so much

taken away from me.

I think I just learned
so much from it.

It taught me a lot
at an early age.

Ted Hudson: Mr. Iverson
would be awakened at 4:00.

He would shower and shave
or whatever he needed to do

to prepare for that day.

This is a working camp.

You are here to work.

We cut all the grass
for 27 miles.

Anything green
and not moving, we cut it.

Oh, it used to kill me, man.

[bird squawks]

You know,
I had to be up at 6:00;

here he come waking me up
at 4:00 in the morning.

Hudson: I would come in, and
he knew it would irritate me,

he would sing
a cop killer song.

I put my life
on the line for anybody here,

and to belittle the killing
of a police officer,

it made me think, "Just
another punk from the streets."

He made it
extremely hard for me.

Moore:
People would pass notes to him,

saying that
"I wish you were dead."

"I hope your black ass
rot in prison."

The jailers would bring him
a doll with a noose,

and written on that doll
was "Allen Iverson."

Iverson: I had lawyers.

Every single day that
I was talking to them,

they were telling me that
"You're getting out tomorrow."

And then tomorrow would come,
and they'd say,

"You're getting out tomorrow."

I remember
just being frustrated,

and one of my friends
came up, and he said

some of the best advice
that someone could ever give me:

"You're not getting out of here,
so stop thinking about it.

"And do what you gotta do,
handle what you gotta handle,

and get back
to what you love to do."

It made it so much easier
for me to do the time

because I had in my mind
that I wasn't going nowhere.

Female reporter:
Hampton residents have formed

what they call
the Swift Legal Defense Fund.

There was a very vocal
support for those kids.

It didn't do any good,
but there were marches.

Mr. Iverson received
a sackload of mail by himself.

People, ladies, were sending
him their unmentionables,

and they were sending him money.
They were sending him gifts.

Interviews were requested.

I know Mr. Tom Brokaw
was allowed to interview him.

Tonight, we have the story
of what has happened

to a young man who was headed
for a million-dollar future,

but now he's in jail.

It was one of
those classic cases.

Here's a kid with the gift
of the gods, as an athlete,

and a community where
they'd still not worked out

all the racial issues,
obviously.

I'm preparing myself
for the worst.

If I have to do
this whole time here,

I just have to deal with it.

Brokaw: I thought the sentence
was surprisingly harsh,

and I think that our story
had something to do with people

looking at the case
in a slightly different way

because it got
national attention.

Iverson: I got
a lot of love for NBC.

Tom Brokaw, I mean,
he did a lot for me,

and I appreciate him.
I owe a lot to him for that.

Allen Iverson
is tasting freedom tonight

for the first time in months.

Male reporter: The high school
standout has been handed

conditional clemency
by Governor Doug Wilder.

Our Governor
pardoned Allen, you know.

His rule was
he couldn't play sports.

Who cared?
He could go to school.

I think it was a relief
for the officers

because the news media
would be gone.

The calls would be gone.
All the mail that we received

would be gone, and hopefully
no more women's underwear.

[overlapping voices]

Man: Hey, Allen,
how do you feel?

How do you feel,
Allen?

No comment.

Are you glad
it's over?

Governor Wilder gave me
another shot at life.

You know, if it wasn't for his
signature, I might not be here.

Female reporter:
As for the other three
young men, Governor Wilder

is considering clemency
for them as well. Ed?

[clamoring]

We was out, and there was was
hugs and dapping each other up,

and, "Let's go to the mall.
I need some new clothes."

[♪♪]

Iverson:
After I was incarcerated,

I never even thought
about dwelling on that night,

ever again, honestly,

because...

the damage to me
was already done.

Moore: I've got
so many bags of letters,

from football and basketball
coaches all over the country,

but when this happened to him
they stopped calling.

Iverson: All I thought about
was getting a second chance.

That was it.

Moore: It was almost like
no one expected him

to ever amount to anything.

I knew that
there would be somebody.

There would be some school
that would come to him,

and all I needed was one.

[♪♪]

I never recruited Allen at all.
They recruited me.

I was a little reluctant
in the beginning.

And his mother asked
the people to leave the room.

And she and I talked,

and she was concerned
for his life, and she said

that I certainly, being a parent
myself, could connect with that.

Being an African-American,
I could connect with that.

This is my son.
They call him--

What do they
call you?

Chuck.

The other thing.
Honey Man.

Honey Man.

John: She, more than anybody,
convinced me

that if there was
any possibility of getting him

in school, that I ought
to take a shot at it.

Iverson:
Coach Thompson saved my life.

I just came home from jail.

I had to come home
and get my school thing together

and graduate and whatever,
then I went straight there.

'Cause I was worried.
Certainly, you worry, you know.

You have a responsibility
to protect the university,

protect your program,
and you were taking a chance.

I respected the path
he's had to take in life,

which has been
a very tough path.

Moore: The Georgetown years,
I really just took a step back

because I knew John Thompson
would come in and take over.

Where I left off,
he would come in and take over.

Iverson: My idol, my hero,
my father figure away from home.

He kept people away from me,

and he let me be
a college student.

I didn't necessarily agree
with everything about him,

and I'm certain
he didn't about me,

but I like to think that
we both respected one another.

Iverson: He never was the type
of guy to jump on me,

especially in front
of people, never did that,

but when I messed up in school,
and he put himself on the line

for me to come there and be
successful, when we got alone,

he got in my ass.
"This what you want
out of your life, huh?

"Wanna go back down down there
to that 'hood?
You want your mom

"to struggle her whole life,
don't you? You want your sisters

"to stay in that sewer,
that hell hole.

"That's what you want
out of your life, huh?"

[gunshot]
And automatically, man,

I would just--
I would shape up.

[hip hop music playing]

John: Once I saw
how he acted in school,

how he acted
with his teammates,

I was very, very glad
that I had rolled the dice.

Iverson: He was like that
force field I had around me

when everybody was coming at me
with all the negative things.

John: People did things.
Folks said things

that you wouldn't want to hear
about his being incarcerated.

Those weren't things
that bothered him outwardly.

I'm certain he heard 'em,
but I knew that this

was a tough kid, mentally,
and that's the same thing

that happened
when he played.

What's my name?

Michael Jordan.

It is scout night, as they take
a look at two of the very best

in the country,
in Ray Allen and Allen Iverson.

John: You don't look at somebody
that's flyweight like Allen,

and associate that
with strength,

but he's proven that theory
totally wrong.

Brad Kessler:
There's that One-Two,
One-One pressure.

Iverson.

Dick Vitale: Allen Iverson,
right out of the gate!

Kessler:
Here we go. Length of the
court, right the other way!

Vitale: When he gets to
the basket, he's so explosive.

Give a little daylight!

Kessler: Now Iverson around
the trap, inside now!

Vitale:
Oh, what a big-time move!

Super, scintillating,
sensational!

- Thirteen--
- Vitale:
Oh, nobody's stopping--

- Iverson!
- Vitale: Oh, up, up and away!

Jam city! Nobody stopped
the ball, Brad Kessler!

Nobody stopped the ball!

Kessler: Again,
another steal by Iverson.

Vitale:
And he throws it away.

Allen Iverson
with a one-hander.

Kessler:
Now it's Iverson alone.

Vitale:
We got a good shot right here.
We got a good shot right here!

[cheering]

Vitale: Congratulations, Alec.
Congratulations John Thompson.

Great performance tonight.

Iverson: Coach Thompson
meant everything to me.

He's a big-time reason for
all the success that I've had.

After carefully weighing
my options with Coach Thompson,

my family, I've decided
to enter the NBA.

I felt like there was
no reason for me

not to be able to take care
of the people that I love.

My immediate family

requires me
to leave Georgetown.

No, when he left, I didn't think
it was a wise decision,

but I supported him with it.

I never,
under any circumstances,

worried about his ability
to play basketball.

I worried about
the other 22 hours in the day.

I was in the NBA.
I know the kinds of things

you're exposed to.
I worried for him, in terms

of whether he was mature
enough or old enough

to deal with it
and to handle it.

Please welcome
The Answer, Allen Iverson!

[crowd cheering]
[hip hop music playing]

You got criticized
for leaving school early.

I had to leave. My sister
was suffering from seizures,

and she needed a personal
specialist,

so I thought about a lot of
that before I made my decision,

and my coach stuck with me.
I mean, he said,

"Go take care of your family,"
and that's how I look at

the thing with this, man.

You know, I was bugged, too.
I always think they pick on

the basketball players
when they leave school

'cause they're black,
'cause Tiger Woods

ain't going to school,
nobody gives a fuck about that.

[laughter]

Todd Krinsky: When we had
the chance to sign Allen in '96,

we thought this could be big.
This could be really
something different.

I'll never forget the famous
boardroom meeting we had,

where the head of the company
said, "Well, isn't there going

to be another Allen Iverson
another five years from now?"

And I remember a couple of us
looking at him and saying no.

He walked in the room, and he
had this incredible confidence,

like he knew he could play
at this level, and he knew

he was going to be something
special in the league,

and you could just feel it
without him saying anything.

This is an exciting, exciting
time for me in my life...

My birthday.

[laughter]

The draft is a couple
of weeks away.

I've just joined
the Reebok family.

[cheering]

But most important, I just feel
that this is my planet.

[cheering]

In sports,
it's D-Day for the NBA.

The league is holding
its annual draft tonight,

with Philadelphia owning
the #1 pick.

Pat Croce:
Everyone in Philadelphia
wanted me to pick Iverson

with that #1 pick. Truthfully,
I wanted A.I. because

he was a scorer.
He was just a warrior.
I love warriors.

With the first pick
in the 1996 NBA draft,

the Philadelphia 76ers
select Allen Iverson

from Georgetown University.

♪ Dreams come true

Iverson: To be the first pick,
it meant something to me

because all of them
used to laugh.
Like, whatever, man.

Ain't nobody make it
from Newport News to the NBA.

Draft day, we had
this party at the Spectrum,

and it was packed, mobbed,

And when we made
the announcement,

"The 76ers with their #1 pick,
pick Allen Iverson,"

the place went berserk.

It was like someone
stepped on a detonator,

and all the explosion
of energy and pride

came back into the city
and into that franchise,

just with that one pick.

♪ I can't stop

♪ Who's gonna stop me?

♪ Who's gonna stop me now?

♪ Who's gonna stop me?

Iverson: Making it to the NBA
was a dream come true.

Being from where I come from,
every day is a good day for me.

Allen!
Allen!

We've gone through so much.

Time to get down.

Moore: All through the years,
and all of the things

that he had to overcome,
when I hear:

"And finally, a 6-foot guard
from Georgetown, Allen Iverson,"

it bring tears to my eyes, man,

because that is the
culmination of everything.

I remember saying to him,
"Allen, this is up to you and I.

We've got to resurrect
this franchise."

Craig Sager:
Is there anybody that
can stop you one-on-one?

I don't know. I hope not.
I don't think so.

Iverson. This is going
to be something!

He scores for two!

I do not believe it!

Behind the back, got
the layup, and he's fouled!

Oh, my! Take that!

Croce: Allen Iverson brought
a lunch box mentality:

dive on the floor,
sweat, cry, bleed.

Philadelphia loves that.

I had a bet with
my cousin how many times

you were gonna hit
the floor tonight.

- That was only one.
- That was the first time.

- That's it.
- I got three.

[announcers screaming]

Oh, my goodness!

And you are helpless
when AI has it going on!

I don't believe
what I just saw!

You're The Answer.
You're The Ankle Breaker.

Iverson crosses over,
gets two!

One time you guys
played the Knicks,

and Charlie Ward was
stapling his sneakers on.

Chik-chik-chik.

Iverson: I proved what
I could do, so I won my respect,

just like everybody else
in the league.

Rock:
The baddest move you ever made
was the one against Jordan.

That was incredible.

The best crossover
was against Michael Jordan.

Did you see when
he crossed Michael Jordan up?

He was a rookie that year.

Iverson: My crossover
is my patented move,

a move that's hard
for people to stop.

My first step is kinda quick,
and people respect it,

so when I take the hard jab
in one direction,

either you gotta let me
get by you, or you gotta try

to beat me to the spot.
That's when I take it
out of the way.

When I grabbed the ball,

I heard Phil Jackson yell,
"Michael!"

Jackson: Michael,
get up on him.

Iverson:
Once he came out there,

I was gonna
put my move to the test.

I gave my little cross
to see, would he bite on it?

I let him stay on his feet,

and then I stepped it
back again.

Oh, my God.

I lost my shorts
when he did that.
I jumped in the air.

I'm high-five--
The whole place went wild.

We said to ourselves,
"He's here. He's arrived."

Iverson: The best player I'd
ever seen was Michael Jordan.

The best player right now,

in my eyes, is myself.

[laughter]

♪ I go to work

Male reporter:
Allen Iverson is the 1997
NBA Rookie of the Year.

He's the first Philly player
to win the award.

Iverson: To be able
to come in this league

and do some things that
not too many people have done,

it was a great feeling.

Introducing the head coach
to the Philadelphia 76ers,

Larry Brown. Yeah!

Croce: For the team to win,
we needed this all-star coach

and this all-star player,
both of them highly talented,

highly sensitive,
highly headstrong individuals

that come from
two different worlds.

Doo-wop vs. hip-hop.

[hip hop beats playing]

Man: Here we go.
Here we go.

Larry Brown: I'm a white,
Jewish coach from Brooklyn.

There's no similarities,
but I think

I'm every bit
as competitive as Allen.

Iverson: Being with Coach Brown
and being so young.

You know, a lot of
the rifts that we got into,

99% of them
were my fault, honestly.

The first time I met him,
I saw him acting silly,

as a player during a game,

and I said, "You don't need
to be like that."

And he kinda looked at me.

Croce: Allen craved discipline
because he was brought up

in a chaotic atmosphere.
He would stir up chaos

on the court
and off the court.

Being rebellious
is just trying to fight.

If you go one way,
I'm gonna go the other way.

Brown: I just thought
he was a young kid

that had a special gift

and really didn't know
how to use it.

Iverson: Both of us
wanted the same thing

as far as winning,
but he wanted me to do things

different than I wanted
to do 'em.

Brown: Every time I ever
took him out of the game,

he would walk
by the bench

and mumble something
under his breath,

that if I was in the park
I'd have to fight him.

I didn't even put nothing
over my mouth.

That's the young immaturity.

I knew he didn't mean
anything by it.

That was just
his competitive nature.

Iverson: We clashed at times,
but the love was always there

because I knew
he cared about me.

Brown: For Allen to trust
is not as easy as it would be

for anybody else.
That's always
been an issue with him

because of who he is
and where he's from

and what
he had to go through.

Croce: To get into his circle,
you have to earn that right.

It probably took me five years
to earn that right,

but he has to realize
that you're telling the truth.

With Allen, there were
issues all the time.

Croce: When he missed practice,
I was the one that suspended him

in Miami and in Boston.
Now Larry Brown doesn't like

to be the bad guy.
And I walked in. He goes,

"Take care of your kid.
He missed practice."

I'm thinking, "Oh, no."

He might break your heart,
in terms of coming to practice

every day on time, but when
you know every single night,

whether he's hurt or not,
he's going to lay it on the line

for you, that's the thing
that's most special for me.

Things that happen,
being involved with him,

nobody trains you
for that.

It's a growing process.

All of us,
we're getting better.

We've been poor
for 20 years-plus,

and I mean, I finally
came into some money now.

You know, I want to live
a little bit now.

Oh, you're living, baby.
You're living.

[laughs]

[♪♪]

The whole world
wondering how much
Bubba took to the bank.

The world will keep on wondering
'cause I ain't telling 'em shit.

If you oughta know,
it ain't no joke.
My pockets ain't playing.

You believe what I say
and what I tell you.

Iverson:

Thompson: I knew
that he had been deprived

of a lot of things
in his life.

I just hoped that he would
mature and get to the point

that he wouldn't be hurt
by that.

We don't train these kids
to handle

the responsibilities
they have.

You put anybody
in their position,

they're not all going
to handle it the right way,
right off the bat.

Female reporter:
A promising young pro
basketball player

is facing legal problems
this morning.

Police say
Philadelphia's Allen Iverson,

the NBA Rookie of the Year
last season,

has been charged with marijuana
and firearms possession.

Iverson: There is a lot
of negative things in my life

that I tried to get rid of,
but they always stick around,

like, it's like
you can hide from the devil,

but he gonna always
find you.

He was in a car
that had pot and a gun,

and the driver was speeding.

He wasn't speeding.
He was in shotgun.

But he got arrested,
and they put him on probation.

Todd: Allen is loyal.
If you're down with him,

he'll do anything for you, and
sometimes I think the loyalty

had him keep people around
that maybe he shouldn't have.

Now you just said
they judge you

because of who
you hang around with.

Is it your posse that's ill?

They've been through a lot
of things in their life.

I can curse, can't I?
- Yeah.

They fucked up just
like everybody else, you know?

[audience cheering]

They've made mistakes,
you know what I'm saying?

[♪♪]

Brown: He didn't come out
of Georgetown, appealing

to the hip-hop culture.
This is just what evolved.

Croce: He wasn't all
tattooed up like he is now.

He didn't have
the corn rows then.

Todd: The tattoos,
the corn rows, were things

that basketball players
wanted to do

but didn't think they could.

Iverson: To me,
how you look is how you play.

I used to make myself up
to look not only

just like a basketball player
but look like a superhero--

a skinny one, but a superhero.

You know, nobody would do this.

Nobody would do that.
That's how I used to
come up with it.

Moore: We were extremely close,
but there was an extreme

difference in ages.
And those were
some of the things

that I had to become
accustomed to.

Male interviewer:
You have 21 tattoos.

Tell us why.
What do they represent to you?

Iverson: Everything
that means something--

Strength, loyalty,

prayer hands, my kids.

It's my life.

Todd: Back then when he
was doing it, it was like,

Oh, my God. What's an NBA player
going to look like with tattoos

on the court?
'Cause it just
didn't really exist,

but it's okay to do it now
because he did it.

♪ Y'all gonna make me
lose my mind ♪

♪ Up in here, up in here

Brokaw: I think Allen's tats
are a statement.

He's a rebel with a cause,
and the cause is Allen.

Moore: I used to tell him that
you're going to influence

the minds of others,
like Martin Luther King did,

and Malcolm X,
and I lived it, and I saw it.

Iverson! Right here!
Right here, right here!

Hey, I love you, baby.
You are so fine!

Scoop Jackson:
Allen Iverson is one
of the true representatives

of what hip-hop stands for and
what it's about in this country.

Be unapologetic. Be who you are.

Iverson: I just express myself,
and you know, hopefully,

the generation that comes after
me can be able to do the same.

[humming]
♪ Can't you see

♪ Sometimes your words
just hypnotize me ♪

♪ And I just love yo--
Daddy, what time is it?

♪ Biggie, Biggie, Biggie,
can't you see? ♪

Carmelo Anthony:
He came in his style, his way.

Anybody won't find nobody
like that, besides myself.

Dwyane Wade:
He made hip-hop and basketball

really come together.
He was the bridge.

Scoop: We take where we're from,
and now we have outlets.

The television
becomes an outlet.

Magazine covers
become the outlets,
and now it's out to the world.

[♪♪]

Iverson:
Over here just seemed different.
It seemed like

everything was so positive.
I thought it was just

the basketball part of it,
but I'm finding out

people love who I am
off the basketball court.

[cheering]

I didn't know I had
this many fans here.

I can't explain it.

[cheering]

Allen Iverson!

My lovely friends, Yao Ming.

[cheering]

The people embraced me,
the way I handle myself,

my style, and my look.

Man, that was great.

I just wish my wife and kids
could've been there to see it,

but I'm pretty sure we have
some video footage for 'em,

and I'm pretty sure
you're gonna hook us up.

Brown: I've never coached an
athlete that I think more people

wanted to know about,
loved than Allen.

Little kids all over the place,
would always come up to me

and say, "You're
Allen Iverson's coach,"

you know.
"I want to be like Allen."

Okay. I got all the sneakers
and everything.

He's my favorite player, and
he's the best player ever to me.

Allen was a role model.
Good or bad,
he was a role model.

Todd: He was a person
that was so real,

the tats, the corn rows.
Like, this whole thing was

just like, "This is who I am,"
and people loved him for that.

But it's a gift
and a curse.

Moore: The way Allen carried
himself, the way he dressed,

some people liked it,
some didn't.

It's important that the players
take their end of it,

get out of the prison garb
and kill the thuggery aspect

of basketball that has come
along with the hip-hop music.

Iverson: When everybody
started looking like I looked,

the corn rows and tattoos
and baggy clothes,

that was just a great, great
feeling, but it was bittersweet

because I had to take
the whooping for it.

Robin Givhan writes
in the "Washington Post" today.

She said, "That's the body
language of a thug,

"and he's got the reputation
for what might diplomatically

be called ungentlemanly
behavior," and she's talking

about the corn rows
and everything else.

It suggests that your
success, wealth, all that,

is tied into this
gangster prison attitude,

and I just think it's
a negative, poisonous message.

If he wants to express himself
with tattoos or with hairdos

that are different
from you would like to wear,

or wear jewelry that maybe
you wouldn't wear,

or wear outfits
that you wouldn't wear,

that doesn't make him bad.
It just makes him different.

'Cause he's from
the 'hood.

Yeah.
He keep it gangsta, he do.
He keep it gangsta.

He's aware. He's truly aware.
You've got to love him.

He's awesome.
He's awesome.

He's cute!

'Cause he's cute!

Moore: I clearly thought
that they looked at him

and decided that's not
where they wanted to be.

Something had to be done

if you're looking nine,
ten years down the road.

When commissioner David Stern
instilled that dress code,

I'm thinking, "Uh-oh.
This isn't going to fly
with Bubba."

Female reporter:
Under this new policy
off court, in public,

the pros are expected
to wear businesslike attire.

No more chains,
pendants, medallions,

headbands or headgear
of any kind.

Iverson: I think
they're just targeting guys

that look hip-hop,
guys that dress like me.

Brown: Maybe it's unfair,
but I don't think

he truly understood the effect
and the impact he had

on so many young kids.

If he knew that, I think

he would've done things
differently in a lot of ways.

Todd: He got into a period
where he was larger than life,

and he was kind of hard
to control, you know.

He wasn't showing up for things.
He was really late for things.

He wasn't really respecting
the relationship.

Man: And action!

Todd: We were in Coney Island
one time, shooting this spot.

We had two scenes left.
It was kind of chilly out.

It was around 6:00,
and then he's like, "Yo."

And I'm like, "What's up?"
And he's like, "Yo, I'm out."

I'm, like, what the fuck
you mean you're out?

Like, we've got an hour and
a half left, and we're gonna

finish this great
commercial that's gonna
be a great look for you.

This product looks great.
What are we talking about?

And he's like, "I'm out,"
and then he literally calls

to one of his boys,
and he leaves.

And this is not a,
"Like, okay, everyone.
Come back tomorrow morning."

This is permanent.
This is a crew.

This is money.
This is a big problem, right?

He's got a great soul,
and he's a great person,

but he was just
in the space where, like,

he didn't give a shit
about any obligations.

Magic had a bad TV show.

Shaq did a genie movie.

How are you going
to embarrass yourself?

[laughter and applause]

You have to be tolerant up to
a point, then you begin to ask:

When is it doing
more harm than good?

When is more than just
a personal statement?

♪ Man enough to pull a gun,
be man enough to cheese it... ♪

Iverson: Somebody could do
a rap album like the rap album

that I made, and you wouldn't
hear nothing about it.

♪ I'm a bastard case,
What's up? ♪

♪ Your fucking hands
put my gas in your face ♪

But Allen Iverson can't do it.

I was disappointed
in the lyrics

because of his power
to promote a positive message.

I was disgusted with the lyrics
because they didn't

look positive to me,
and we had a conversation,

and he didn't understand
exactly what I was saying

until the backlash from
everywhere else came upon him.

This offends me as a black
woman, still calling us hoes,

bitches and sluts.
It's calling us niggers.

The album is weak.
The lyrics are just whack.

He needs to stay in basketball.
Rap is not his thing.

I'm not interested
in legislation.

I'm not interested
in regulation.

I'm not interested
in starting a boycott.

I just want them to stop.

John Thompson better call
but speak to Allen.

I think he needs
to speak to him, brother.

Iverson: I was early 20s.

I never looked
at how much of impact

that I have on people.
Kids that love everything

about Allen Iverson
were going to listen to it,

but back then, you know,
I didn't look at it that way.

If you're a hardcore
hip-hop fan,

then this album is for you.
If you don't care

about hardcore gangsta rap,
just don't buy it.

♪ Yo, yo, yo...

2001 was a very special season,
because before,

in the summertime, he was going
to get traded, and I called him.

I said, "Bubba, I got a call
from Larry Brown and Billy King.

They're gonna trade you.
I want to tell you

you're gonna get traded."

He's,
"Pat, no, man. No, listen."

I said, "Well, listen.
I can't defend you anymore.

I can't--
If you're not gonna live
the talk, I can't defend you.

If you're not gonna be
on practice on time

and strength train and lead the
team, and not curse the coach--

If you're not gonna
do all this..."

"Pat, I promise. I promise.
I want, so much so,

I want to be captain.
I want to be captain
with Eric Snow."

I said, "Listen, if you do
half of what you just said,

we'll be champions."
I called Larry Brown and said,

"You're not gonna believe it.
I want to tell you exactly
what he just said."

Now, the trade didn't go down
for other reasons,

but thank goodness
the trade didn't go down.

Iverson: I always looked
at basketball as just a game.

I never looked at it
as business,

and I found out the hard way,
but, you know, at least

I did recognize it
before it was too late.

It started off
with a 10-0 beginning.

I think we won
our first 10 games.
We were going great.

Everyone and their mother was
wearing Allen Iverson jerseys.

P.A. announcer:
From the Philadelphia 76ers,

Allen Iverson!

Scoop: The all-star game is when
I lost all my professionalism

'cause I lost my mind.

[indistinct]
Intercepted by Iverson.

Three on two.

Iverson, to the reverse!

A little pass to himself.
[laughing]

We've seen two spectacular
plays by Allen Iverson,

already playing off the ball.

Iverson! Allen Iverson
beginning to heat up.

Scoop: They were down like,
by I think 22
going into the 4th quarter.

He willed that victory.

It's only a 7-point game
with four and a half to go.

Iverson, does he get
the continuation?
Yes, he does!

He never gave up, constantly
stealing and making people work.

Iverson for three!

And I'm up there, yelling,
"That's what I'm talking about!"

Down to three...

Marbury. Trying
to get to Bryant.

Duncan came up short,
and it's over!

The East comes from 21 down!

This is why you love
this cat, 'cause he can
do stuff like this.

Marv, that's one of the best
all-star games I've ever seen,

just the big plays,
getting back in the game.

Every time I come
in this gym, in this arena,

I hear my favorite song,
you know, all your voices.

Brown: I can't imagine a player
having a better year than Allen.

It just seemed like everything
was just going the right way.

Female reporter:
The NBA had to wait
for the final night

of the regular season
to crown a scoring champion.

Philadelphia's Allen Iverson
scored the season's average

of 26.8, a half point more
than Shaquille O'Neal.

Everybody says to me, "Well,
Allen took a lot of shots,

and he was selfish."
I want him to shoot
40 times a game.

That's the only way
we could win.

Croce:
It is my pride and pleasure

to introduce to you
the NBA's Most Valuable Player,

our answer and now
the world's, Allen Iverson.

[applause]

I wanted the relationship
that Michael Jackson--

Michael Jordan, I'm sorry.

[laughter]

So I'll let you all know I've
been talking for 10 minutes,

and I'm still a bit nervous.

I wanted the same
relationship with him, like,

with Phil Jackson
and Michael Jordan had.

Croce: Allen Iverson proves to
people that dreams do come true.

Here's a guy who was in prison,
who ends up the MVP of the NBA,

the best player on the
basketball court in the world.

Tell me dreams don't come true.

Now, you know, my goal
every day is just working

to get what he got, what he's
holding right now, you know.

All I care about
is the championship trophy.

Are you going to dethrone
to the Los Angeles Lakers?

Hopefully. That's the way
I draw it up in my dreams.

Croce: It was wonderful. It was
wonderful to see and believe

and expect that
we were going to win it all.

That's marketing.
That's perfect marketing.

He's talking smack,
I'm talking smack.
They market that.

[humming NBA theme]

[laughter]

Albert: They are ready for
the start of the NBA Finals.

The Lakers coming in
with 19 straight wins,

going against a Sixer team

that was taken to the limit
by the Bucks.

Iverson: You know, everybody
already counted us out.

We're just gonna keep
playing hard,

and whatever happens happens.

Look at Shaq,
just towering!

Kobe for three!
[cheering]

The Lakers in the midst
of a 14-0 run.

Shaquille O'Neal
is possessed right now.

Kobe Bryant is
an all-league defender,

knocks that ball loose.

Terrific defense that time
by the Lakers.

Iverson: All the things
that I had to endure in my life,

all the obstacles
I was faced with,

whatever it is,
I fight through it.

A weak person would break.
They'd give up.

That's just not me.

Where I'm from,
only the strong survive.

♪ Get along!

♪ Get along!

♪ Get along!

♪ Get along!
I said I feel... ♪

Two-hander by Iverson,
behind the back.

And the finish!

Iverson. Yes!

This guy has such courage.

Iverson... again!

He is fearless.

Allen Iverson!

He is so fast
out in the open court.

He just turned on the burners
and ran right past him.

Allen Iverson on fire!

Amazing!

The 76ers with the ball,
down by one.
Iverson for three.

Yes!

Iverson, bothered by Lue.

Iverson. Yes!

How about that?

He just steps over Tyronn Lue!

♪ Get along!
I said I feel... ♪

And the 76ers pulling off
a stunner in Game 1 here.

Iverson finished with 48...

I believed we were going
to have that parade.

Well, when we didn't win it all,
obviously it was disappointing.

Brown: We never would've
had a chance,

had it not been for Allen.

Nobody had a better year
than that kid that year.

A negative story about
Allen Iverson is going
to sell, regardless.

I hear those things,
and I will be lying to you

if I tell you it doesn't
bother me.

But if I know, and the people
that's close to me know,

why do I have to explain myself?

[♪♪]

Moore: Allen Iverson's life
is a book that he has always

refused to open, and by
refusing to open that book,

I think people just say,
"How dare you?"

And as crazy as it may sound,
and as untrue as it might be,

as long as it sells newspapers
and gets people to look

at my television station,
we're going to say

just about what the hell
we want to say about you.

Trouble of a different sort
tonight for one of

the National Basketball
Association's biggest stars.

Male reporter 1:
Allen Iverson in trouble
with the law again.

Male reporter 2:
He could be headed to jail.

Facing the possibility
of some years behind bars.

I got in an argument with my
wife, cussing each other out,

all kinds of stuff that
ain't none of y'all business,

but you know what it is
if you're in a relationship
with somebody.

According to police 911 tapes,
Iverson threw her

out of their suburban home
the night of July 3rd.

Man, they even said
I threw my wife out naked.

She was not dressed
at the time.

Why would I expect somebody
to look at me as a man

if I did that to my wife?

Philadelphia police say the
27-year-old basketball player

burst into
his cousin's apartment.

Pulling out guns and stuff.
Uh-uh. Can't have that.

He did have a gun.
They said it on the news.

Both: He was armed with a gun.

Iverson: They come looking
for a gun, five days later,

like the gun still gonna be
in the house if I had one.

Man: Were guns found or guns
used in this alleged crime?

No, I don't first-hand--
I don't have that information.

Male reporter:
It seems as though
Iverson didn't necessarily

brandish the gun,
but he perhaps

had a gun in his waistband.

They got helicopters
flying over my house all day.

They got media people
in front of my house,

with lawn chairs,
and cooking out with cameras.

Girl, get out of my face
with that crazy stuff!

That's only hearsay!

That's rumors.
Where'd you get that from?

'Cause somebody told it to you?
Did Tawanna tell you that?

Woman: I'm asking you.

Don't ask me nothing.
Did Tawanna tell you that?

I haven't spoken
with Tawanna.

All right then.
Don't go there with me.

Don't go there with me.
You want to keep it real,

you keep it real with me 'cause
I ain't playing no games, okay?

Well, okay.

Dog, they love you right now.
they love you right now,

but please believe me,
the first incident,

the first time
something happen,
they are waiting, man.

They're waiting, man.
They're waiting.
They're waiting, man.

We're sitting here,
I'm supposed to be
the franchise player,

and we're in here
talking about practice.

The media builds you up
to break you down.

Bottom-line, that's
the nature of the game.

If anybody tells you
any different, they're lying.

We're talking
about practice, man.
I mean, how silly is that?

I've never heard anybody
interpret that honestly.

I know it's important.
I do, I honestly do,

but we're talking about
practice, man.

What are we talking about?
Practice?

That's that sound bite
that's going to define him.

That, for Allen Iverson,
was his "I Have a Dream"
speech with Dr. King.

They used that
to portray him as a person

who didn't like practice.
That was not what he was saying.

You're entire being now,
your whole character,

is going to be this.

[people chattering]

Man: Hang on a second.
He's starting right now.

Iverson: I fight
to represent Philadelphia.

That's how I became a household
name, and every single year,

after every season, you know,
I've got to hear trade rumors,

stuff like that
about getting me out of there.

I just came from a meeting with
those people, and I was upset.

It was bad advice, and it was
a stupid decision that I made.

This is what happens
when you lose, you know.

You go to the finals,
and then the next year

you're out in the first round.

This is what happens, you know.

I went in and talked to Coach,

and I wasn't going anywhere.

That's what I thought
the press conference
was going to be about.

Man: Allen, could you
address what Coach

is concerned about,
your practicing habits.

We don't get a chance
to see you practicing.

Can you clear the air
about all that?

Anybody tell you
that I missed practice,

if Coach say I missed practice,
and you all hear it,

then that's that.

Every question came,

they were talking
about missing practice,

or not missing practice,
how many practices did I miss.

Man: So you and Coach Brown
then settled the issue

that he brought up
on Saturday about practicing?

And my response was,
"We're talking about practice.

Why are we talking
about practice?"

Listen. We're talking
about practice.

Not a game, not a game,
not a game.

We're talking about practice.

What, in fact,
he was saying is,

"We're spending the time in this
interview to discuss practice."

He was not saying that
practice is unimportant.

There's no way I could be
an all-star, I could be an MVP,

you know, if I didn't practice.

You see me play,
don't you?
Man: Absolutely.

You see me give
everything I got, right?
Absolutely.

But we're talking about
practice right now.

But it's an issue
that your coach felt
the need to raise!

I was already gone,
but I happened to be watching

the news, and I see him
saying, "Practice! Practice!"

And you kept saying,
like it's only practice.

I ain't saying that.
I'm not saying that.

I'm saying that's why we're
in here having this talk,

because of practice.

They knew what he meant.
You're getting all over me

for practice,
and how about the game?

But I would've grabbed him

and took
the hook right off there,

and made sure he got
right off that dais.

Woman: Okay, guys...

You know, I ain't going nowhere.
I'm not going nowhere.

Yes, it was great for the press,
but no, it wasn't good for him.

Nobody looks at the whole
comment that Allen made

and what he was talking about
when he made that comment.

I'm upset. I'm upset
for one reason, man.

'Cause I'm in here.

I lost.

I lost my best friend.

He was talking
about his boy dying.

Moore: Rah was a very close
friend of Al's,

who died a very vicious
and violent death.

Of all of the people
that died in Allen's life,

I think it hit him
hardest with Rah.

I lost him,
and I lost this year.

Everything's going downhill
for me, as far as just that,

as far as my life,
and then I'm dealing with this

right here.

I don't want
to deal with this, man.

I don't want to go
through this shit.

"My boy just died
the other day,

and you all are talking
to me about practice."

That's the whole comment.
Go back and listen

to the press conference.

That's what he's talking about.

Try to deal with what
I go through in my life.

My best friend, dead.

Dead, and we lost.

That's the entire--
But did anybody? No.

No, not at all,
and that's the crest

of how the media looks at
and treats Allen Iverson.

Thompson: Because of his candor,
because of the aggressive way

in which he will
really express himself,

people can conveniently turn.
That's what I worried about.

You're all talking about
what's going to make me

a better basketball player?
When you understand that,

that people are human just like
you, then that would make you
a better person.

I'm trying to get better.
You need to also.

It's something that
my teammates joke with me now,

and other guys on other teams,
soon as you're missing practice,

the first thing
a guy would say is,

"We're talking
about practice?"

"We're talking about practice,"

to quote the great
Allen Iverson. "Practice."

If somebody else, you know,
one of the quote, unquote,

"good guys" would've said
something like that,

it wouldn't have been
a big thing, but it's me.

We're talking about practice.

They will not play
that full track.

They'll play the sound bite.

Allen Iverson could've been
the most popular athlete

the NBA has ever had.
And I think sometimes

his pride got
in the way of that.

If you don't want to go through
what I go through right now,

as far as being the bad guy
in the NBA and all that,

be fake then-- basically,
that's all I'm telling you.

Just be fake.
- But you're not fake!

And I'm not going to do it.
I'd rather not be in the NBA.

Moore: Before you can have true
honor, there must be humility.

Allen played the game with
a tremendous amount of honor

and loyalty, but you haven't
seen all of the humility.

Male reporter: Allen Iverson
has worn out his welcome

in the city of brotherly love.
The Sixers decided

they're better off without
the #2 scorer in the league.

I want to be a Sixer.
I've said that since day one,

but, you know,
if I'm not wanted,

then I definitely
don't want to be a Sixer.

And I'm willing
to start my career all over.

I just wanted to go somewhere,
where I could feel appreciated

for what I do out there
on the basketball court.

Man: Happy to be to Denver?

Definitely happy.
It took a while, but I'm happy.

- Happy to be here, huh?
- Definitely.

He is a passionate kid
that wants to win,

understands team,
has good leadership skills.

One, two, three.
All: Nuggets!

Get down, baby.

Iverson:
I'm just looking forward
to be able to just concentrate

solely on trying
to win a championship,

and I want to win right now.

[cheering]

P.A. announcer: Number three,
The Answer, Allen Iverson!

Moore: I clearly felt Denver
would be the place

that it would all conclude.

Allen would win a world
championship, one day retire,

raise his family
and live happily ever after,

but that wasn't the case.

Denver had decided

that they would not offer
Allen an extension.

Does that make the team bad?

No, that's business,
but had we known more

about the business part
of the game, I think that

this story would have turned out
a whole lot differently.

Allen Iverson, one of the
game's best scorers in history,

is headed to Detroit.

Moore: He goes to Detroit.

He was told that
he would never be asked

to come off the bench
because of who he was.

They didn't go there
suggesting that.
He was told that.

Male reporter 1:
Allen Iverson not playing
for the third straight game

because of a back issue.
When, if he comes back,

he's coming off the bench.

How well can he handle
that role?

I don't know
any franchise players

that come off
their own bench.

I don't know of any Olympian
that come off the bench.

I don't know any all-star
that come off the bench.

I don't know any former MVP
that come off the bench.

I don't know any 3-time scoring
champion come off the bench.

I mean, I don't know
any first team All-NBA

that come off the bench.
Why Allen Iverson?

Male reporter 2:
It was a hero's welcome
for Allen Iverson in Memphis.

Iverson: I just felt
that this would be

the best situation for me
in my career.

Just three games
into the season,

unhappy coming off the bench
for the lowly Grizzlies.

Iverson asks for and is
granted a leave of absence.

Waived by the Grizzlies,
the league's 6th all-time

leading scorer in points per
game is left looking for work.

[babbling]

Man: Everybody this way.

Turn around,
little man.

That's great right there.
I love that.

Iverson: Basketball
has done so much for me.

It helped me provide
for my family,

made me a household name,
but I got frustrated

with the process
of being a free agent.

Every time God opened my eyes,
I was waking up and asking,

like, what's going on?

Like, you know,
"We get any calls?"

"No, no calls today," you know,
and it was wearing at me,

like, it was
actually killing me

'cause I'm waking up
every morning, you know,

thinking about that,
like, every single morning.

There was virtually zero market
for Iverson this off-season.

The corn rows, the do-rags,
the tattoos.

When you're becoming
a cultural icon,

you're making
a lot of people upset,

and a lot of people can't wait
for you to fall down,

so now they can step over you.

I'm frustrated,
so if I'm frustrated,

then obviously
my wife is frustrated

because
she have to deal with me

being frustrated, you know.
My kids frustrated because,
you know,

the things that
they usually get away with,

can't get away
with them no more.

I just snap
automatically, you know.

"Daddy, why you so mad?
Why you so mad?" I'm not mad,

you know, but this is
the situation, whatever.

And I wasn't being fair
to them, 'cause I was taking

my frustrations out

on the people that love me
more than anybody.

So, that frustration led me
to the retirement thing.

Male reporter: Nationally
syndicated radio host

and "Philadelphia Inquirer"
columnist Stephen A. Smith

reporting he's been told by
Allen Iverson's representatives

that Iverson intends
to retire from the NBA.

I gotta kiss you.
I gotta kiss you.

I gotta kiss you.
I've got to.

I thought to myself, "Man,
I can do anything that I want

"to do with my kids every
single day, not leave

"for weeks at a time
and be frustrated

because I miss them
so much."

Man, look. I need
to take him to get him

a basketball, 'cause
he's driving me crazy.

How much are they?
Man: Twelve bucks.

- Twelve dollars?
- Yep.

I need some money.

[laughter]

I'm thinking to myself,
I can be happy as hell

If I just leave this alone
and be a full-time,

24/7 husband and father.

I'd like to kiss you.

But then, when this opportunity
came, the first one was my wife,

and she said, "You gotta
take that opportunity."

[♪♪]

Man: Allen Iverson has spent
the bulk of his career--

His identity
was Philadelphia 76ers.

They need Allen Iverson,
and Allen Iverson needs them.

Moore: He goes back to Philly,
trying to recover,

and the only tools that he had
was his passion for the game.

You know,
when I had the opportunity to...

When I had the opportunity
to come back here,

you know, it's just something
I couldn't turn down.

I'm just...

I'm just ha...

I'm just happy.

The last couple of years
have been hell because,

you know, all I want to do
is play basketball,

and, you know, help
the guys that I play with.

[♪♪]

With the mistakes that I made
in my life, you know,

I created a picture of me
that is not me.

You know, I did a lot
of things when I was young

that I'm not proud of,
but I think, you know,

those things helped me
to be the man that I am now.

P.A. announcer:
Allen Iverson!

I always dreamed about
coming back to Philadelphia.

It was a blessing
from God, you know,

being able
to come back here

and see that people wanted me
as bad as they did.

Male reporter:
Allen Iverson will not be back
with the 76ers this season.

The 4-time NBA scoring champ
and his family

are dealing with
an undisclosed illness

of his 4-year-old
daughter, Messiah.

Team President Ed Stefanski
said Tuesday that Iverson

no longer wanted to be
a distraction to his teammates.

Female reporter:
According to a report
from "Basket Magazine,"

Turkey may possibly
be Iverson's next home.

Iverson:
I never would've thought

that this situation would occur,

but it is here.

I had a great time
playing in the NBA,

and who knows if I ever will
again, but I'm looking forward

to making the best
out of this situation.

[team singing
in foreign language]

I promise you,
it is a happy day for me.

You know, I really thought

that this day
would be a tough day for me,

but it's a happy day.

I gave everything I had
to basketball.

Iverson: Every time I come
in this gym, in this arena,

I hear my favorite song,
you know, all your voices.

You know, the passion
is still there.

The desire to play
is just not.

People ask me all the time,
do I have any regrets?

I don't have any, you know.
If I can go back

and do it all over again,
would I change anything?

No. I'm proud to be able
to say that I changed a lot

in this culture
and in this game,

looking the way I looked
and dressing the way I dressed.

It was a blessing just to play
one NBA basketball game.

I've done a lot in this league,

being 160 pounds coming
from Newport News, Virginia,

and my family is taken care of
for the rest of their life.

I mean,
what do you mean, regrets?

What more can you ask for?

[cheering]

I'm going to always
be a Sixer, till I die.

When you think of
Philadelphia basketball,

you think of Allen Iverson,
and I fought for that.

I earned that.

P.A. announcer:
Finally, the 6-foot guard

from Georgetown,

number 3, Allen Iverson!

[cheering]

I love you, Philadelphia...

[cheering]

For accepting me
and letting me be me,

letting me make my mistakes,
letting me be human,

let me learn from 'em,
just embracing me

and making this
my home forever.

[cheering]

I love you, Philadelphia,
the best fans in the world.

The best fans
in the world.

[cheering]

Moore: I saw a kid grow up
from absolutely nothing

to just about everything.

Took all the bumps

and the bruises and achieved
even with the mistakes,

and to go through it
with him, it gives you

a bit of gratification
and satisfaction

that God did not have
to allow us to have.

Iverson:
I don't care about being
misunderstood by the media,

but, hopefully, you know,
my people, hopefully,

I'm not misunderstood by them.

I just want them to say

I was a fighter, man,
that's it, and a survivor,

and willing to get knocked down

to be able to get back up.

[Jay-Z performing
"I Made It"]

Jay-Z:
Told you, Miss Carter.

Here we are.

♪ Momma, I made it

♪ Ya'll know how I do
when the Doc do it ♪

♪ I fly thru it

♪ That's how I operated
Momma, I made it ♪

♪ Ghetto like the grease when
you gettin' your hair braided ♪

♪ Sweeter than
your sister Kool Aid is ♪

♪ Hooray is the underdog

♪ Now my feet under desk

♪ It's
the presidential favorite ♪

♪ Can't believe I got away
with my earlier stages ♪

♪ Being on stages...

You ever seen a--
What does it say?

Man: "You ever watch."
- Ah, you ever watch, okay.

You ever watch a big game
and say to yourself,

No, no.
"Can I see some ID?" Okay.

You ever watch a big game
and see--

[groans]

What does it say?

Ah, okay, okay.
Come on, Al.

You ever watch a big game,
and see somebody

do a nice move
and say to yourself,

I wish I could do that?
It all boils down

to one word: Practice.
Practice. Practice.

[♪♪]

♪ Dreams come true
yesterday, now ♪

♪ Yes, they do,
yes, they do... ♪

♪ Don't you ever
stop dreamin' ♪

♪ Just keep believing...

Iverson:
Let me say about dreamin'.

Let me say about dreamin'.

David Stern: 2001 NBA MVP,
Allen Iverson!

Iverson:
Let me say about dreamin'.

Let me say about dreamin'.

[♪♪]

Let me say about dreamin'.

♪ Just keep believing

♪ Mm-mmm

Iverson:
Let me say about dreamin'.

Let me say about dreamin'.

Man: Now is... time to party.

[crowd cheering]