Allen Iverson has often been target by the league, especially at the time of establishing the legendary “dress code”, which banned all clothing popularized from behind. But this is not the only time. One day, one of his matches was deliberately sabotaged.
Allen Iverson was a particularly spectacular player and one who was not afraid of making a place for himself among the great interiors in the racket. He attacked the basket with incredible determination and could finish close to the circle with delicacy by twisting, or powerfully by absorbing the contact of his defender. And necessarily with his small size, he found himself quite often on the free throw line.
In career, The Answer has shot 8.9 free throws per game on average, showing consistent aggressiveness. But in his eyes, as in the eyes of all players, the back was not just refereed by the men in the striped jersey. And one evening in the 2006/2007 season, after a loss on the floor of the Sixers and an expulsion, AI launched into a rather violent tirade against the assessors of the game.
Allen Iverson targeted by referees
I think I was fouled on an action, and I told the referee that he was refereeing the game in a personal and not objective way, and he sent me off. His fuse is fragile, I should have known I couldn’t tell him anything. Since I’ve been in the NBA he doesn’t like me, and tonight was the perfect opportunity for him to make me look bad.
After his remarks against the referees, Allen Iverson was obviously sanctioned by the league with a fine of $ 25,000, but this is not the most serious consequence of this media outlet. Tim Donaghy, a game assessor known for his time in prison and his match-fixing, later admitted that Allen Iverson’s statement had led to a major campaign of revenge against him. The site Basketball-Network recount :
The next game, the referees began their revenge against Iverson, in the game between the Lakers and the Nuggets. For example, a ball was whistled against the superstar, something that never happens in the NBA. Donaghy admitted that he did not whistle some obvious faults. In the end, Allen Iverson scored just 16 points in the game as he turned 28 over the season.
Referees are men first and foremost, and indeed, they may dislike some players and be harder on them. But Tim Donaghy went even further since he openly avenged himself for certain behaviors by not whistling for obvious faults. Fortunately, that didn’t stop Allen Iverson from becoming a legend.
Tim Donaghy was penalized for his attitude with a passage through the prison box and an honor never sullied. Allen Iverson can therefore take a big blow, an immense injustice has been repaired, and his feeling was good: he was indeed refereed differently.
