Allen Iverson was born in Hampton, Virginia and excelled at both football and basketball in high school. However, as a teenager he became involved in an altercation at a bowling alley that resulted in him being convicted of felony assault. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison but was released after 4 months. The incident and its impact on the community were later explored in a documentary. Iverson went on to attend Georgetown University on a basketball scholarship and was drafted first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1996 NBA Draft, going on to have a successful pro career.

1. THE
AN S W E R
AL L E N IVMasterO N ’s style
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B io g r a p h y

2. ALLEN EZAIL
IVERSON
THE ANSWER
Birth date: June 7, 1975
Birth place: Hampton, Virginia
Age: 37
Height: 6’0 ft
Weight: 165 lbs
Nationality: American
High school: Bethel University
Drafted: NBA Draft 1996
NBA Teams Played:
Philadelphia 76ers
Denver Nuggets
Memphis Grizzlies

3. Allen Iverson was born to his single 15-year old mother,
Ann Iverson, in Hampton, Virginia, and was given his
mother's maiden name after his father Allen Broughton left
her. Allen attended Bethel High School, where started as
quarterback for the school football team, while also playing
running back, kick returner and defensive back. and started
as point guard for the school basketball team. During his
junior year, Allen was able to lead both teams to Virginia
state championships, as well as earning The Associated
Press High School Player of the Year award in both sports.
On February 14, 1993, Iverson and several of his friends
became involved in an altercation with a group of white
teenagers at the Circle Lanes bowling alley in Hampton,
Virginia. Allegedly, Iverson's crowd was raucous and had to
be asked to quiet down several times, and eventually a
shouting duel began with another group of youths. Shortly
thereafter, a huge fight erupted, pitting the white crowd
against the blacks. During the fight, Iverson allegedly struck
a woman in the head with a chair. He, along with three of
his friends who are also black, were the only people
arrested. Iverson, who was 17 at the time, was convicted as
an adult of the felony charge of maiming by mob, a rarely
used Virginia statute that was designed to
combat lynching. Iverson and his supporters maintained
his innocence, claiming that he left the alley as soon as the
trouble began. Iverson said, "For me to be in a bowling alley
where everybody in the whole place know who I am and be
cracking' people upside the head with chairs and think
nothing' going to happen? That's crazy! And what kind of a
man would I be to hit a girl in the head with a damn chair? I
rather have them say I hit a man with a chair, not no damn
woman

4. THE A NSWE R
Iverson drew a 15-year prison sentence, with 10
years suspended. A fter Iverson spent four months at
Newport News C ity Farm, a correctional facility
in Newport News, Virginia, he was granted clemency
by Virginia G overnor Douglas Wilder, and
the Virginia C ourt of A ppeals overturned the
conviction in 1995 for insufficient evidence. This
incident and its impact on the community is explored in
the documentary film Crossover: The Trial of Allen
No
Iverson. Iverson said of his time in prison, " I had to use
the whole jail situation as something positive. G oing to
jail, someone sees something weak in you, they'll
exploit it. I never showed any weakness. I just kept
going strong until I came out.
The prison sentence forced him to complete his senior
year of high school at Richard Milburn High School, a
school for at-risk students, instead of competing in
sports at Bethel. However, the three years Iverson
spent there were enough to convince
famed eorgetown
G University C oach John
Thompson come out and meet Iverson, and offer him
to
a full scholarship to join the G eorgetown Hoyas
basketball team.

5. MOM and SON
Then and A fter