Allen Iverson was so popular in prison that those in the facility were happy to see him receive clemency just so they wouldn’t have to deal with all the extra attention.
I recently watched “Iverson,” the documentary about the former NBA MVP that aired on Showtime last month, and it spent a considerable amount of time discussing the point guard’s roots. They explained the racial issues within his Virginia community and how that played a huge role in Iverson being sentenced to an absurd 15 years in prison for his alleged role in a bowling alley brawl when he was 17.
Iverson and his three friends spent four months locked up before finally being released after the state governor granted them clemency. Iverson credits NBC’s Tom Brokaw for helping him get out because a feature the reporter did on the athlete helped drum up public support regarding the injustice.
“I got a lot of love for NBC, Tom Brokaw,” Iverson says in the documentary. “He did a lot for me and I appreciate him and I owe a lot to him for that.”
There is no doubt that Iverson and his friends were completely screwed by the system in that matter. It seems like a lot of the issue was racially-driven. I would like to think that they would not be able to get away with such harsh sentences if something similar were to happen today.
Though everything surrounding Iverson and his friends being jailed for such a long period of time was pretty awful, there was one amusing nugget to come out of it. Clips of a prison official speaking were shown during the documentary, and the man kept talking about how many women were sending Iverson their panties.
“Mr. Iverson received a sack-load of mail by himself. Ladies were sending him their unmentionables, and they were sending him money, and they were sending him gifts. Interviews were requested,” the prison official said.
He was pretty happy Iverson received clemency because it took the pressure and attention off the jail finally.
“I think it was a relief for the officers because the news media would be gone, the calls would be gone, all the mail we received would be gone, and hopefully no more women’s underwear.”
Whether he was locked up or a free man, Iverson was always popular with the ladies. After hearing this story, I don’t even want to know what this list looks like.
Photo: Instagram/Allen Iverson
