THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 7, 1996 TAG: 9607070281
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: 86 lines
Three years after Hampton police took Allen Iverson to jail, a contingent of Hampton policemen led him on a triumphant 1.7-mile parade through his hometown Saturday.
The parade began at Aberdeen Elementary school in Iverson's old neighborhood and ended at the Hampton Coliseum, where local politicians and a crowd of about 1,000 paid tribute to the basketball star.
Hampton Mayor James L. Eason read a proclamation declaring Saturday Allen Iverson Day in Hampton.
Joyce Hobson, the Hampton woman who led Iverson's defense fund while he was in jail, then read a proclamation from Gov. George F. Allen, declaring Saturday Allen Iverson Day in Virginia.
Iverson, who led Bethel High School to football and basketball Group AAA titles and was a star at Georgetown the last two seasons, was picked No. 1 in the NBA draft last month by the Philadelphia 76ers.
That's quite a comeback from three years ago, when he was jailed for participating in a bowling alley brawl before being furloughed by then-Gov. L. Douglas Wilder. His conviction later was overturned on a technicality.
Visibly moved by Saturday's tribute, Iverson spoke only briefly to the crowd as he held Tiaara, his 1-year-old daughter.
``I didn't know there was so much love for me in Hampton,'' he said. ``I had no idea it would be like this.''
Iverson then left to sign autographs for about 700 fans who lined up to have everything from newspaper clippings and basketballs to T-shirts signed.
Most in the predominantly black crowd along the parade route and in the coliseum were willing to forgive and forget Iverson's past.
Not so for Sandra Radford and Sheila Granger, who stood on a pickup truck at the entrance to the coliseum and held a sign aloft that read: ``Millions do not make a hero. Morals do.''
As Iverson's car approached the sign Iverson's mother, Ann, urged her son to overwhelm the protesters with kindness.
``Wave at them, just wave and smile,'' she said. Her son obliged, to the cheers of his supporters.
Other parade goers weren't so kind. Many cursed and made racially derogatory comments to Radford and Granger, who are white. A few threatened to ``yank'' them off the truck.
``I knew that would happen,'' Radford said. ``But I thought it was important to make a statement. Hampton couldn't afford to have any fireworks (on July 4), and we've got the money for this?
``I don't see why we should glorify someone who's been in prison, has had a child out of wedlock and has walked away from a free college education.''
It was the only unhappy moment of what was otherwise a near-perfect weekend for Iverson, who on Friday played before an adoring crowd of 7,000 at Hampton University in a Hampton Roads Pro-Am game.
Dressed in Reebok sweats with a gold chain and a blue baseball cap, Iverson arrived for the parade Saturday morning in a black Mercedes filled with neighborhood friends.
Though he was 25 minutes late, few seemed to mind. Fans swarmed over him as he tried to make his way into the Chrysler that would serve as the lead car in the hourlong parade.
Along the way, perhaps 2,000 residents cheered, including Bobby Bowser, a Hampton native who brought his wife and daughter.
``I watched Allen play football in the Aberdeen Little League,'' Bowser said. ``I'm supportive of Allen Iverson and I hope he does well.
``We all make mistakes. But he's had a good role model the last two years in (Georgetown coach) John Thompson. I'm praying he will do well.''
Iverson appeared timid for the first half-mile but warmed up to the crowd as the parade snaked past the modest but well-kept homes of Aberdeen. On his lap sat Iiesha, his 4-year-old sister, who has suffered from seizures and for whom he says he left Georgetown two years early. His NBA salary will pay for special medical care the family previously was unable to afford for her, he said.
At the coliseum, he paid homage to her and to those who helped him emerge from jail and into the national spotlight.
``I want to thank everyone who stuck with me through the rough times,'' he said.
``I will finish school, but ... by going to the NBA, I will be able to do the things I've always wanted to do for my family, for my baby sister, for my daughter.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photos
CANDICE C. CUSIC/The Virginian-Pilot
On Allen Iverson Day in Hampton, the NBA's top draft pick was
cheered by some 2,000 fans along a 1.7-mile parade route.
GARY C. KNAPP
``I didn't know there was so much love for me in Hampton,'' said
Allen Iverson, shown holding daughter Tiaara, 1. by CNB