30 FOR 30: NO CROSSOVER: THE TRIAL OF ALLEN IVERSON (TV)
Summary
One in this series of sports documentaries presented by ESPN about important figures and events in athletic history. This program explores basketball star Allen Iverson's 1993 legal troubles and their effect on the racial climate of his hometown of Hampton, Virginia. Filmmaker Steve James, who also hails from Hampton, explains that his father admired young Iverson's athletic talents despite the fact that he attended a rival school, Bethel, and Iverson's various coaches comment on his skills, exceptional particularly because of his small size, though also acknowledge that he was known for his arrogance and quick temper on the court. On Valentine's Day 1993, Iverson was involved in a fight at a bowling alley, part of which was caught on tape, in which he allegedly struck a white woman, Barbara Steele, with a chair, causing a concussion. Iverson and his friends were later arrested, though none of the whites were charged, and Iverson stated that he had quickly departed the scene to avoid jeopardizing his promising future and did not injure anyone.
Iverson grew up in the nearby town of Newport News, known to be a dangerous area, with his young mother Ann and several siblings. They eventually moved back to Hampton so that he could attend Bethel, though Iverson was frequently truant, something that his coaches often chose to overlook in part because he was caring for his young siblings. He was later charged as an adult for the bowling alley incident with a "maiming by mob," a purposefully vague term originally created to describe racist crimes against blacks, and attorney Jim Ellenson urged local activists to speak out against the unfair, biased claims. James notes that Hampton frequently sanitizes its historical involvement with slavery, and his mother Imogene describes working as a nurse at an integrated school and observing its inferior supplies and quality compared to the all-white schools. The case went to trial in July, and pro-bono lawyer Hugh Kelly waived Iverson's right to a jury trial, leaving the decision solely up to the infamously conservative Judge Nelson T. Overton. The various witnesses offered conflicting reports about who started the fight and why, and Iverson angered the prosecution by heading off to a Nike basketball camp immediately after the trial's conclusion. Melvin Stephens, charged along with Iverson, opted for a jury trial and was let off, but Iverson was sentenced to fifteen years with ten suspended, meaning that he would likely serve around ten months.
The town was strongly divided about the case and the sentence, with some comparing it to the uproar after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. Wild "conspiracy theories" began to emerge, alleging a police cover-up and even a plot by Hampton University to ensure that he was legally forced to stay in the area and give his talents to their basketball team. Others argued that Iverson had incensed Overton by dating his granddaughter. James recalls the racially-divided pep rallies at his high school, and Pastor Marcellus Harris states that race is "the elephant in the room" in Hampton. Many, including Iverson, refuse to discuss the case with James, though activist Joyce Hobson comments on the claims that the whites at the bowling alley had prompted the fight by using racial slurs, which James and others acknowledge were used casually by many in the town. Journalist Jim Spencer wrote an article in the Daily Press drawing comparisons to anti-white slurs and was harshly called out for it in a local church, and the media continued to sensationalize the case, with Sports Illustrated writing an article in Iverson's defense and Tom Brokaw interviewing Iverson during his sentence.
The case was also divided along class lines, with some "upscale" blacks siding against Iverson, and James' own parents disagreed with one another on the matter. Iverson was denied release on bond, a decision usually reserved for murder cases, though he served his time at a minimum-security facility. Michael Simmons and Samuel Wynn, the other two boys charged in the fight, were placed in a tougher prison, and protesters frequently gathered outside of the jail to show their support. Douglas Wilder, the state's first black governor, pardoned Iverson – and then, after some backlash, also Simmons and Wynn – in December, though many felt that he made the controversial decision only because his term was nearly over. Iverson was forbidden from returning to Bethel High School, but teacher Sue Lambiotte doggedly tutored him despite his disinterest, and he repeatedly praised her for helping him to acquire his diploma. Iverson went on to attend Georgetown University and was then drafted into the Philadelphia 76ers, and though many in Hampton celebrated his success, others remained frustrated at the resolution of the 1993 case. He won multiple athletic awards, though also encountered further legal troubles, and he hinted in a 2005 interview that he deserved his incarcerations.
Iverson returned to Hampton in July 2009 to host "Camp Crossover" for local kids, though some residents resented that he had never officially acknowledged their support in securing his release from jail. He emotionally spoke out about his past while presenting a young man with a college scholarship, however, and the debate about his celebrity status and personal choices endures as he continues to be both an exceptional athlete and a "coach's nightmare" with his short-lived "retirements" and team-switching. James notes that his story symbolically reflects Hampton's complicated history with race and class, and various residents offer their opinions about the town's social progress. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ESPN
- DATE: April 13, 2010 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:23:35
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 114718
- GENRE: Sports
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American Collection - Sports
- SERIES RUN: ESPN - TV series, 2009-
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CREDITS
- Gordon Quinn … Executive Producer
- Keith Clinkscales … Executive Producer
- John Dahl … Executive Producer
- Joan Lynch … Executive Producer
- Connor Schell … Executive Producer
- Bill Simmons … Executive Producer
- John Skipper … Executive Producer
- John Walsh … Executive Producer
- Emily Hart … Producer
- Adam Singer … Producer
- Arunima Dhar … Producer
- Steve James … Producer, Director, Writer
- Kristin McDowell … Associate Producer
- Mike Tollin … Consulting Producer
- Leo Sidran … Music by
- Jim Spencer … Interviewee
- Imogene James … Interviewee
- Melvin Stephens … Interviewee
- Michael Simmons … Interviewee
- Jim Ellenson … Interviewee
- Marcellus Harris … Interviewee
- Joyce Hobson … Interviewee
- Tom Brokaw
- Allen Iverson
- Herb Kelly
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Sue Lambiotte
- Nelson T. Overton
- Barbara Steele
- Douglas Wilder
- Samuel Wynn