Allen Iverson has been called out for a supposed low-energy meet and greet with sick children in Melbourne, Australia.
As reported by Australia’s 10 News, several sick children, including cancer patient Eli Stevenson, were left disappointed after their recent meet and greet with the NBA legend. "He’s a jerk," Stevenson claimed in an interview about the experience with Iverson, who was in Melbourne for media commitments.
"We were all told that we could get the chance to get stuff signed. So I brought one of my jerseys, a basketball, my sister brought her basketball," said Stevenson. "Basically everyone brought heaps of stuff to get signed and none of it got signed… There was heaps of other kids from Challenge, too…. His management said we could take a photo and then we had to get out. He didn't say anything. They said he wasn't in the mood for it that day. Pretty disappointed."
Stevenson’s mom said they were told by Challenge, a non-profit in Australia that supports children with cancer, that they would get between 20 to 40 minutes with Iverson. They were promised that he would sign some things for them, and that they’d get to speak with him and ask questions. Ultimately, though, Iverson allegedly didn’t speak to the kids at all and only took a photo with them. "Iverson ultimately let down the children and families who came to meet him," said Challenge CEO David Rogers, per TMZ.
Seemingly responding to the claims, Iverson spoke about the difficulties of adjusting to the time difference in another interview. "It's tough, man. I've been here 10 days and the adjustment has been tough on me," he said. "You know, the time changes. We've been here, we've been on the plane like four times. So, you know, it's a different time from, you know, at home."
Former NBA player Andrew Bogut, who is Australian, also called out Iverson after the story went viral. "Current/former NBA player did a tour of Australia and treated people poorly and didn’t fulfill appointments and obligations," he wrote in a post on X. "In other news the sky is blue. Absolute shit human. No excuses for this. If anyone knows this family pls reach out."
Iverson has yet to directly address the backlash.