Free Iverson?

Coverage of incident has been overblown

PHILADELPHIA -- Free Allen Iverson.

Those were the words scrawled on the homemade cardboard sign Tanya Garrison held as she stood outside the downtown police station Tuesday afternoon where the Sixers' all-star guard was being arraigned.

"I love him. I don't care what he does," Garrison, 27, said as several small children frolicked around her. "When he plays ball, he brings me joy. He makes me happy."

Garrison was among a group of supporters who turned out on a hot summer day to show their love for Iverson, who turned himself in at sunrise on gun and assault charges stemming from a July 3 incident. Like many of the other dozen or so Iverson backers who whiled away the hours under a shady tree behind police barricades, she said she just wanted the media to know she thought the whole incident "overblown".

Slam dunk on that one, Tanya.

After all, this latest Iverson episode might have been the most overhyped news story since Geraldo opened Al Capone's vault. Sure, Iverson deserves to be punished if found guilty. But no matter the outcome, this case is still just a domestic dispute in which nobody got seriously hurt.

Yet somehow this rather mundane matter has exploded into the second coming of the O.J. trial. In the last few days we've heard of Escalades and escapades, broken glass and broken vows, even reports of mysterious blood inside a vehicle. Only days later did we learn that it wasn't blood at all, but perhaps some juice spilled by the kids.

Meanwhile, the scene outside Iverson's $2.4 million estate in suburban Gladwyne, Pa., became a media circus. TV news trucks lined up around the block to get film of Iverson and his pals doing sordid things like unloading groceries out of the car, bathing the dog and shooting hoops. Even his reported "house party" late Sunday night, according to witnesses, featured only a dozen or so guests and featured no loud music.

As crazy as it was, however, nothing matched the bizarre Iver-scene outside the police station Tuesday. In addition to the small group of supporters, there were kids selling lemonade and a man hawking "Free Iverson" T-shirts. A local radio station had employees walking about in circus garb.

Meanwhile a battery of some 20 camera tripods were set up in a semicircle outside the doors of the building, configured for some kind of high-tech assault. On one of the microphones, belonging to a local radio station, somebody had left a pair of panties. This was, after all, serious business.

Iverson's actions on the night of the incident were immature and possibly criminal. He'll get his day in court, and justice will be done. But let's not lose perspective. The alleged criminal acts of Kenneth Lay, Martha Stewart and some CEOs dwarf anything Iverson might have committed.

Besides, one could argue that Iverson already has been punished rather severely. In addition to having his front lawn invaded by TV news trucks and spending the last five days being watched by helicoptors, he just spent 11 hours in a jail cell on a gorgeous day during his offseason, with nothing to eat except a regulation issue cheese sandwich. The experience alone should be enough to set him straight.

Free Iverson? When it comes to the media coverage, his supporters just might have a point.

 

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