People who know Iverson reveal extent of attacks over his career Thanks to NBC and its local affiliate, Allen Iverson made headlines for all the wrong reasons again on Monday. During Sunday's nationally-televised game against the Indiana Pacers, Iverson was heard calling one fan a faggot and using a profanity and was seen wagging his tongue at another heckler. Iverson did express regret about using the word, saying he meant no offense to the homosexual community, but added that he felt his abrasiveness toward the heckler was "appropriate," considering what was said to him. "They called me monkey. They called me nigger. They called me jailbird," Iverson said. "NBC didn't air that." Ironically, repeated media exposure has been a part of the problem with Iverson. But that exposure often tells only one side of the story. Others, who know Iverson's situation, can fill in the other side. From Iverson's former bodyguard Terry Royster to John Thompson, his former coach at Georgetown University, from legendary Toronto Raptors coach Lenny Wilkens to numerous players, unpublicized stories abound where Iverson is concerned. No doubt, Iverson expressed as much to NBA head of security Horace Balmer during a meeting in New York yesterday. His property has been vandalized. Racial epithets have been spray-painted in the backyard of his home. Fanatics have threatened the lives of his children. "This kid has been receiving death threats since high school," Royster said. "And he's receiving more as we speak, in some shape or fashion," Thompson added when told what Royster said. The likelihood is that Iverson's troubles started from the day he was involved in a bowling alley brawl in Newport News, Va., in 1993, one that ultimately led to four months of incarceration before Virginia Gov. Douglas L. Wilder granted him clemency. That the venom appears to have escalated is bothersome to those closest to him. "During Allen's second year in the league, he had to leave a Georgetown game at the First Union Center," said Royster, who was relieved of his duties by Iverson two months ago because Iverson felt he no longer needed a bodyguard. Royster, who has earned a living for nearly 20 years chasing away frenzied fans and fanatics from the rich and the famous, recalled numerous occasions when he feared for Iverson's well-being. "There was an off-duty cop heckling Allen, saying, 'What do you have, some weed and a gun under the bench?' He was quoting Allen's expunged police record to the crowd. One of the former guards [Kevin Baker] was white, and the cop said, 'Who is that, your parole officer?' It just went on and on." Royster said that incident was one of many to follow. "During last year's playoffs versus Indiana, I got into it with some middle-age, big business-looking man that continuously berated Allen. He kept saying that Allen was born from a dog, calling his mother a German Shepherd, asking if his mother knew what neighborhood dog fathered him. I went over to the man and asked him, 'What is wrong with you? What does this have to do with basketball?' That's how insane some people are. They always get personal with Allen. "They talk about his mother, his children, anything they've read about his friends. You name it, they say it. Especially in Indiana, Utah and Miami. They're the ones that talk about the other things. They never said any of those things to me, and I wanted to fight them. That's how harsh it gets." According to Royster and Iverson's former Reebok liaison, Que Gaskins, times have gotten worse. During last season, Iverson had to leave a Phillies game because a heckler was harassing him. He tried to get in Iverson's face, tried to spit at him, telling Allen "I'll kick your ass," then waited by Iverson's car in the parking lot to start a fight. "There were 20 of us," Royster said. "But he had his wife and friends on the side, egging Allen on. It was obvious he was trying to get Allen, legally. That's what people usually do." Last spring, the author of an e-mail sent to WIP-AM (610) radio was charged with threatening to mutilate Iverson's children. Then, after the Sixers' playoff exit, vandals roamed the backyard of Iverson's home and spray-painted racial epithets on a trailer. Neither time did Iverson express a willingness to go to the authorities, according to both Royster and Gaskins. Even when the lives of his children were threatened, it was Royster, Iverson's Virginia-based lawyer Larry Woodward and the Sixers who insisted the police and the FBI be contacted. To protect his family, Iverson has moved. Matt Geiger now resides in his old home. Iverson confirmed all of Royster's claims on Tuesday. "Allen likes to show he'll withstand whatever anyone throws his way," Royster said. "He's not going to cry about it or complain about it and appear weak. He's not one to run to the authorities for anything. He wants to handle things his way. "When his family got the death threats, he didn't want to go to the police. You've got to understand, Allen has been receiving threats from white folks since high school. But Allen's not one to flinch. He refuses to fold, which is part of the problem. He doesn't respect fear from them, but they're the ones likely to cause him the most problems." Lenny Wilkens would know. Born Oct. 28, 1937, and raised in an era when retaliation for verbal abuse was virtually unheard of - when black citizens looked at "being able to use the same bathrooms as whites" as progress - Wilkens said some of today's actions by players still must be tempered because they are in the public eye. But only up to a point. "Allen is a target because he's very visible and he's very different," said Wilkens, the winningest coach in NBA history, alluding to Iverson's tattoos and cornrows. "It doesn't give people the right to make racial remarks to him. Sometimes, we are in the spotlight and we have to be careful about what we say. But he's a young guy. And it's not so much about being macho, it's just that you get tired of people saying things to you. "The term he used, faggot - I don't know if it's that bad of a term. It's what you make of it. When you're a kid, it's used a lot. It's used to describe someone as 'soft' - not a homosexual. It's not right when guys are attacked on a personal level, when people are talking about their families and loved ones. These guys today are not going to put up with that stuff. These are not the pre-civil rights days anymore." To Iverson, they might as well be.  He is one of the league's leading scorers, averaging more than 29 points per game. He has guided the Sixers to the league's best record (34-11). He is one of the league's leading road attractions, validated by numerous national TV appearances. In his fourth year in the NBA, the team he is leading is one of the favorites for the Eastern Conference crown. Yet, scrutiny awaits - from beyond, as well as in Philadelphia. "We had it rough the last time we played in Philly," Raptors forward Charles Oakley said. "They got real personal with us. They always do. They talk about your family, your parents, everything. Philly has some of the baddest fans in the NBA, but it's just part of the business. Allen just has to be mature enough to know they're going to come, and it's going to continue for the rest of his career." It started before Iverson began his NBA career. "To be very honest with you, when he first came to Georgetown, I even heard some harsh remarks from some of the parents of players that were on my team," said Thompson. "Parents who, selfishly, didn't like the number of shots he was taking or how he was playing. Allen never responded to that, nor did his mother, Ann. And the thing that was so impressive about her is that she rooted just as hard for the other players as much as she rooted for him - when insulting things were being said about him in the stands. "So Allen has got to be careful in controlling himself, because he's been taking it for a long, long time. But it comes to a point in everybody's life when you get a little fed up."		Author Stephen A Smith   Source Inquirer   Return to Articles