“No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson” (2010) is an
80-minute documentary by Steve James for ESPN Films’s “30 for 30” series, a
biography of the youth and early career of Philadelphia 76er’s basketball
player Allen Iverson. The original film, from Kartemquim, was shown at SXSW in
Austin.
The centerpiece of the film is Iverson’s arrest and
conviction for assault in a fight or brawl in a bowling alley in Hampton VA,
one of the major Virginia Tidewater cities at the mouth of the James (20 miles
from Williamsburg) in February 1993. The
fight was said to be racially motivated, as was the prosecution and original
stiff sentence of 15 years in prison, most of it suspended for parole. Iverson
would serve four months before being pardoned by Virginia governor Doug
Wilder.
The film contains footage of the fight, based on video shot
with technology of the time. There was
some question as to whether identification of the participants in the brawl was
accurate.
I am familiar with the Hampton Roads area, as I was stationed at Fort Eustis, in Newport News, VA for about 16 months, mostly in 1969.
The official site is here. The film is available from Netflix on DVD or Instant Play.
Another ESPN “30 for 30” film, “Broke”, is reviewed on the
TV blog, April 5, 2013.
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