76ers G Allen Iverson's attorney Larry Woodward said
that Iverson "is scheduled to meet" today with the
Philadelphia-based chapter of the NAACP and President J.
Whyatt Mondesire in an "attempt to quell the furor" over the
lyrics on his recently released hip-hop song "40 Bars,"
according to Ashley McGeachy of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.
76ers President Pat Croce, on the meeting: "I think it's
great. I don't think he knew the intensity of his [lyrics].
I think it's a step in the right direction." Meanwhile, a
rally by the group Racial Unity "is planned" for tonight
outside the First Union Center, where the 76ers host the
Spurs in an exhibition game (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 10/10).
In Philadelphia, Bob Cooney writes that about 20 protesters
from the Martin Luther King Jr. Association for Non-Violence
"gathered" yesterday outside WUSL-FM and WPHI-FM "to
protest" Iverson's CD "Non-Fiction" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY
NEWS, 10/10). WUSL News Dir Loraine Ballard Morrill said
that the station "had not yet received" the album (AP,
10/9). WPHI morning DJ Bobby Holiday said that reaction to
the "cleaned-up cut" of "40 Bars" has been "mixed."
Holiday: "People either like it as a song or they don't like
it. I have only heard from one person who disagreed with
the lyrics themselves" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 10/10).
STERN ACTION? In Chicago, Ron Rapoport writes that
unlike MLB's "swift crackdown" on Braves P John Rocker, the
NBA has "yet to say a word" about Iverson. But when
Commissioner David Stern "returns to his office" today from
Sydney, one of the subjects he "is certain to discuss is
what, if anything, he should do" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 10/10).
In Indianapolis, Bill Benner is "waiting" for the NBA "to
suspend Iverson" or for Croce to "stop acting like it isn't
a team matter when one of his employees produces such
offensive trash" (INDY STAR, 10/10). In Ft. Worth, Jim
Reeves: "The NBA [hasn't] reacted at all, which is almost as
criminal as the song itself" (STAR-TELEGRAM, 10/8).
SPORTS IN SOCIETY: In Denver, Terry Frei wrote that the
reaction to Iverson's "vitriol is nowhere near the decibel
level of what we heard in the wake of Rocker's stupidity.
The Iverson story has been so underplayed" (DENVER POST,
10/9). In N.Y., Phil Mushnick: "Be assured that many of the
loudest and most visible social activists who called for
Rocker's head will provide Iverson with a look-away pass.
They already have" (N.Y. POST, 10/8). U.S. Senator Richard
Bryan (D-NV), on the CD: "The NBA, [76ers], Mr. Iverson's
record label, his coach and every fair-minded person should
condemn this kind of so-called 'entertainment' for the trash
that it is" (PHILA. DAILY NEWS, 10/7). On "The Sports
Reporters," Michael Wilbon called Iverson "disrespectful,
dismissive and self-absorbed" (ESPN, 10/8). In Detroit,
Terry Foster: "Iverson's only punishment should be public
scrutiny and low record sales" (DETROIT NEWS, 10/10). But
in Charlotte, C. Jemal Horton wrote, "The only question now
is if all those passionate First Amendment supporters who
stood and cheered for Rocker because he had the right to say
what he wished will do the same for Iverson. That definitely
won't happen" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 10/7).
