The racial profiling of Allen Iverson
By Monica Moorehead
"I want to be in Philadelphia, but I'm scared now to be in
Philadelphia. I've heard about police officers toasting to
Allen Iverson's next felony conviction... It scares me because
I know that if there's any crooked cops out there, they can do
anything... Allen Iverson can end up dead tomorrow if a crooked
cop wants him dead. It's as simple as that.
"I have news cameras following me everywhere, following my
wife, following my kids, following my friends, just to see what
type of activity is going on. It really scares me, man."
(philly.com, Nov. 19, 2002)
These quotes are taken from a recent interview with Allen
Iverson, the 27-year-old brilliant basketball player with the
National Basketball Association's Philadelphia 76ers. Iverson
has been heavily scrutinized by the big business media, the
Philadelphia police and courts ever since he was drafted by the
76ers in 1996.
Iverson was charged with several felonies this past July by
the Philadelphia criminal justice system over alleged domestic
abuse. All the charges were dropped. His wife, Tawanna Iverson,
said in the same interview that they did argue, but denied that
her husband had hit her.
The charge of domestic violence is very serious. But there
is a racist double standard in how the media portray a Black
athlete who stands accused of spousal abuse. The media
soft-pedaled their treatment of a legendary white football
coach like Joe Paterno at Penn State, who publicly bragged
about how he systematically beat his wife.
Racism on and off the courts
Even though the NBA players are over 80 percent African
American, no player has been demonized more than Iverson. He is
young, heavily tattooed and wears braids. More than any other
player, he is identified with the African American-inspired
hip-hop culture that has reached over the racial divide and
affected diverse social strata, especially among young
people.
The press has called Iverson a "thug" on more than one
occasion because of his anti-establishment image among Black
and white youth.
Who is Allen Iverson?
Iverson grew up poor in Hampton, Va., where he became a
basketball star at Bethel High School. He then played
basketball at prestigious Georgetown University until his
talent drew the attention of the 76ers.
What has made Iverson such an outstanding basketball player
is not only his talent but his tenacity and fearlessness. He is
a six-foot guard playing in a game where being seven feet tall
has become the norm. In 2001, he won the "Most Valuable Player"
award as he led his team to the NBA finals, where they lost to
the Los Angeles Lakers.
Professional basketball, like most sports under capitalism,
is viewed as blood and guts entertainment. On the court, the
players are looked upon by those who can afford the best seats
as gladiators who are handsomely paid to run up and down the
court to make spectacular dunks and cause a skirmish or
two.
Basketball arenas are usually located in the white and
wealth-dominated suburbs while the players originate from
oppressed, working class neighborhoods.
Off the court, this social relationship can change
dramatically. Black basketball players, notwithstanding their
multi-million-dollar salaries, are just as likely to be targets
of racial profiling as Black people in general. This is
especially true of Iverson, who dresses in the tradition of
hip-hop youth.
Recently, Iverson's hip-hop CD came under fire for its
anti-woman and anti-gay message. Iverson made a public apology,
stating that he did not mean to offend anyone and reportedly
met with the NAACP and representatives of the gay and lesbian
movement. This meeting got far less air time and press
coverage.
Once again, the media took advantage of an unfortunate
situation in an attempt to paint a broad, reactionary brush
against all hip-hop music. Where is the coverage of the
politically conscious hip-hop artists who use their music to
demand no blood for oil and an end to police misconduct, or
call for the freedom of Mumia Abu-Jamal, a political prisoner
and victim of a police frame-up?
From 1986 until 1991, 580 complaints of abuse were made
against off-duty officers. Out of the cases brought to court,
only two were found guilty. Until the Los Angeles police
scandals erupted a few years ago, only the Philadelphia police
department had come under investigation by the federal
government--because of its heinous record of police brutality
during the tenure of Mayor Frank Rizzo.
Philadelphia has seen the police murders of Erin Forbes,
Charles Matthews, Moises DeJesus, Donta Dawson, Kenneth Griffin
and Phillip McCall. The police involved in these killings have
never been brought to justice.
The press is either denouncing or dismissing the fear
Iverson feels for himself and his family regarding the police.
Reviewing the record of the Philadelphia police over the
decades shows that Iverson's fear is more than justified.
Reprinted from the Dec. 5, 2002, issue of
Workers World newspaper
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