The NCAA yesterday restored Georgetown freshman Allen
Iverson's eligibility, citing the fact that he repaid Nike for
two free airplane tickets in July 1993. The incident in question
occurred during the summer of 1993, when Nike flew Iverson from
his home in Hampton, VA, to a Nike-sponsored basketball camp in
Indianapolis, then home to return for a felony trial, then back
to the camp for a weekend, and then back to Hampton for the
completion of the trial. "A Nike spokesman said yesterday the
reason the company gave Iverson the second set of flights [which
violated NCAA rules] was because Iverson had not been convicted
of a crime at the time and the company wanted to stand by him and
not deny him the opportunities of participating that the other
players received" (David Nakamura, WASHINGTON POST, 10/19).
AIR NIKE LITE AND PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT: A Georgetown
official valued the tickets in question at "close to $600."
Prior to yesterday's ruling, Iverson did practice with the Hoyas
in their first workout on Monday. Coach John Thompson: "This is
a formality that a player be declared ineligible. If we felt
he'd violated the rules, or the NCAA felt he violated the rules
with any malice or deceptiveness, he would not have been able to
practice with us" (Kevin Lyons, WASHINGTON TIMES, 10/19).
