With all the hoopla happening in the United States with Allen Iverson’s documentary “Iverson” debuting last weekend on Showtime, Iverson was out traveling the world this time in China as a head coach.
According to Shams Charania of RealGM, Iverson signed an agreement to coach a Chinese tour, but was “pushed so hard to play by local promoters in Harbin, China,” that he was held in the city, with his next tour stop being delayed.
The story gets kinda weird after Iverson wins his head coaching debut on Wednesday as his team, Team Iverson defeated Lioning.
According to sources, the promoters in Harbin wanted A.I. to step out of his contract and put on a jersey. This would prevent him continuing on tour against his will.
The story gets stranger as Iverson was getting ready to depart for his 6 a.m. flight on Thursday to Xi’an, the local fans and promoters closed off transportation.
A source told RealGM, “He did everything he could to leave for his next city, and they still held him hostage. For a guy who’s beloved in China, it was ridiculous.”
Iverson’s family wanted him to be done with the tour and come back to the United States. This is definitely a strange story that you do not hear everyday especially in sports. But it is still obvious that the fans in China love them some Allen Iverson.