Allen Iverson dazzled on the court during his playing career in the NBA and became a cultural icon as well for his dressing sense, his tattoos, and a lot more.
Iverson tried his hand at rapping as well, but it didn’t go well and his debut single “40 Bars” under his rap name “Jewelz” in the summer of 2000 almost landed him in deep trouble with then-commissioner David Stern.
“It wasn’t a great relationship,” Iverson told Kevin Hart on the “Cold as Balls” show when asked about his relationship with Stern. “When I did that terrible rap album. When I did that bull****, that’s when I had a problem with David Stern. I remember going into the office and he was reading my lyrics Kev. David Stern was actually reading “40 Bars” off a piece of paper… I was trying not to laugh because I knew how serious it was. And the sh** that I was saying, obviously, you know. So to hear David Stern rapping it. It was crazy… It was not a good idea (the album), it looked so bad.”
(starts at 4:31 mark):
While there would be those who argue that Stern had some personal problems with Iverson, he was right in this instance regarding the song. It contained misogynistic and homophobic lyrics, and Stern issued a strong statement against it.
“The lyrics that have been attributed to Allen Iverson’s soon-to-be-released rap CD are coarse, offensive, and anti-social,” Stern said in a strongly worded statement. “However, I have come to understand, unfortunately, that certain rap artists regularly spew such lyrics to a wide audience at great profit to some of America’s most successful entertainment companies
“Notwithstanding the music’s wide popularity, Allen, by even recording his lyrics, has done a disservice to himself, the Philadelphia 76ers, his teammates, and perhaps all NBA players. However, I do not believe that the NBA should be in the business of regulating artistic expression, no matter how repugnant,” Stern said.
He could have fined or suspended Iverson here but chose not to in a rare showing of leniency. Iverson did change those lyrics, but we’ll never know to what extent, as the “Non-Fiction” album, which it was a part of, was scrapped, with the guard claiming he had been burned out by the controversy surrounding it.
Allen Iverson Was Also The Reason Why David Stern Implemented A Dress Code In The NBA
Iverson caused Stern plenty of headaches during his career. He wore whatever he wanted when he came to the games, and eventually, other NBA players started following his example.
Stern, however, always wanted the players to come across as professionals, so he instituted a dress code, which proved to be quite unpopular. The code has become a lot more lenient now under Adam Silver, and we have seen some outrageous clothes being worn by players these days.
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