No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson

No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson
Directed by Steve James
Produced by Steve James
Gordon Quinn
Emily Hart
Adam Singer
Arunima Dhar
Music by Leo Sidran
Cinematography Keith Walker
Edited by Steve James
Release dates
  • March 2010 (2010-03) (SXSW)
Running time
 80 minutes
Country United States
Language English

No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson is a 2010 documentary film produced by Kartemquin Films for ESPN's 30 for 30 series and directed by Steve James. No Crossover details a 1993 brawl involving then-high school basketball player and future NBA star Allen Iverson, and how the incident – and the subsequent trial and eventual conviction of Iverson – divided the town of Hampton, Virginia, where Iverson attended Bethel High School.

The documentary features camcorder footage from the February 14, 1993 altercation at a Hampton bowling alley, where Iverson and his young friends were accused of attacking adults with chairs. The incident allegedly stemmed from racial epithets said by the white adult high school students from neighboring Poquoson to Iverson and his friends. Iverson was specifically accused of striking a white woman. While vital to the prosecution, the videotape of the incident is unclear and it is difficult to make out any of the individuals involved. Despite punches thrown by both parties involved, only Iverson and his friends Melvin Stephens, Samuel Wynn and Michael Simmons, were charged in the incident. Iverson was sentenced to 15 years in prison, but after four months at Newport News City Farm correctional facility, Iverson was pardoned by Governor Doug Wilder and was released from custody.[1][2][3]

Director Steve James, a Hampton native, takes a personal look at how the Iverson incident and the ensuing aftermath highlighted the community's existing racial tension and put the town's problems of race relations front and center in the daily papers. The film introduces multiple Hampton natives, both black and white, as they reflect on how the incident affected the town. While Allen Iverson refused to participate in the documentary, multiple friends, neighbors and former coaches provided insight into the life of the young Allen Iverson.[4]

Premiering at the 2010 SXSW Festival in Austin, No Crossover would make its television premiere on ESPN's on April 13, 2010.[5] On the night of ESPN's No Crossover premiere, the phrase 'Allen Iverson' was the sixth most popular trending topic across all forms of social media and by the end of the broadcast, reached number one as the most popular phrase according to the Brizzly platform that measures Facebook and Twitter activity.[6]

On January 15, 2011, the United States Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs chose No Crossover as one of eighteen documentaries represented in the American Documentary Showcase. As an official selection of the American Documentary Showcase, No Crossover will be sent to more than twenty countries around the world to help cultivate a global understanding of American social issues.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Commonwealth of Virginia v Simmons, 1804-93-1". Virginia: Court of Appeals. June 20, 1995. Archived from the original on August 3, 2007. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  2. ↑ Iverson Answers the Call Sielski, Mike. ESPN.com. March 4, 2007. Retrieved January 21, 2011. Archived November 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson. Tobias, Scott. AV Club. April 13, 2010. Retrieved January 21, 2011. Archived September 10, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson. ESPN's 30 for 30. ESPN.com. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  5. ↑ SXSW Festival Genius - No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson. Slated.com. March 2010. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
  6. ↑ No Crossover Is A Slam Dunk On ESPN And Twitter Kartemquin.com. April 14, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  7. ↑ "U.S. Department of State Announces 2011 Line Up for American Documentary Showcase". U.S. State Department. January 15, 2011. Archived from the original on January 20, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
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