![]() ![]() "And this is just a bowling alley brawl, in which three or four people suffered basically minor injuries. "People said this case caused more division within the community of blacks and whites than at any time since the assassination of Martin Luther King," James says. The Iverson case stirred racial tensions that James traces to Hampton's earliest history as a primary landing point for ships that brought African slaves to America. And when a black player was introduced, the black side of the gym would cheer." "When a white player was introduced," James says, "the white side would cheer. Instead, they faced each other across the school gym. The filmmaker says that at his school's pep rallies, black and white students would not sit together. Two decades before Iverson hit the court for Bethel High, James played basketball for Bethel's arch-rival, Hampton High. "Whereas many of the people in the black community, but not exclusively, felt that they were trying to make an example of this kid." Many people - mostly in the white community, but not exclusively - felt, 'You see, this is the kind of kid this guy is.' But along with that, there was this undercurrent that Allen Iverson was an arrogant athlete. Noting Iverson's success and popularity, James says, "He was hugely popular. The case shook a racial fault line that had been dormant among Hampton's community. Iverson was granted clemency and released after four months in prison, and an appeals court eventually overturned the conviction, citing insufficient evidence. An appeals court later threw out the verdict. He served four months and was granted clemency. None of the white men from the bowling alley was charged.Īllen Iverson's role in a brawl when he was a teenager brought a prison sentence of 15 years. Iverson was arrested a judge sentenced him to 15 years for his role in the fight - an incident in which no one was seriously injured. "The only facts that no one disagrees about," James says, "is that there was a fight in the bowling alley, and it was racial." ![]() Iverson and three friends said a white man used a racial epithet that man said he was minding his own business when Iverson provoked him. If we post reunion pictures here, the group can see it in one place instead of having to go to individual pages. The cause of the brawl has long been disputed. This is for the NE Reunion/Fireside Bowling Alley people to see whats going on. It includes a lot of confused yelling and shouting, with images of young men forcefully throwing chairs at other people. No Crossover includes a short camcorder clip of the melee that erupted at Hampton's Center Lanes bowling alley on Valentine's Day in 1993. "So for this athlete to so divide the community," James says, "I just thought, there must be something larger at work here than just a fight in a bowling alley, even a racial fight." Immediately after Iverson, a junior quarterback, led his football team to a Virginia state title, he vowed to do the same in basketball. That's the big thing that they're into.Excelling in both football and basketball at Bethel High School, Iverson was what James calls "transcendent" - perhaps the best athlete the town had ever seen. "Before, a lot of them would be in the senior, especially the women's leagues," she said, "But now, what are they doing? They're playing pickleball. Saint John, which once had as many as six candlepin bowling alleys, now has only two.Ĭarol Randall said young people just aren't coming to the sport like they used to, likely because there's too much competition for their attention.Īnd even seniors, who have kept some alleys going over the years, are finding other ways to fill their time, even those who live in her own apartment complex. These days, that's what candlepin bowling needs. He said he was pleased by "the amount of people who said they wanted to go candlepin bowling afterwards." Leighton said he was surprised at how the live audience reacted to shots of bowlers' near misses, similar to how they would react if they were sitting in the alley themselves.Īfter the screening, "the Q&A was popular - there was a lot of participation from the audience that felt very organic and natural," he said. The documentary went up on YouTube on Thursday, a week after Leighton held its theatrical premiere at the Alamo Theatre in Bucksport, Maine. "It's a passion project for me - it's all about getting it out to the public." ![]() Leighton said his goal has always been to make the project available to people for free. The COVID-19 lockdown caused some delays, and put an end to plans to travel to Moncton to expand the scope of the story, but he's happy with the results. Leighton started the project with a small grant from the Maine Arts Commission in 2019. ![]()
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