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Man Claims Allen Iverson’s Bodyguard Broke His Ribs

NBA Hall-of-Famer Allen Iverson’s bodyguard threw a man out of a Houston strip club and kicked him so hard he broke four ribs, the injured man claims in a lawsuit.

HOUSTON (CN) – NBA Hall-of-Famer Allen Iverson’s bodyguard threw a man out of a Houston strip club and kicked him so hard he broke four ribs, the injured man claims in a lawsuit.

Derrik Blackmon sued Iverson, his bodyguard Carl Anthony James Jr. and Trumps Inc. dba Club Onyx on Monday in Harris County Court.

The lawsuit does not explicitly say Iverson was at the club on April 6, 2016 when James allegedly grabbed Blackmon and threw him outside as the club’s bouncers looked on.

“Once outside, plaintiff was thrown to the ground. Defendant James then kicked plaintiff while he was on the ground, breaking multiple ribs and injuring plaintiff. … He was diagnosed with 6th through 9th rib fractures and back pain,” the complaint states.

Blackmon’s attorney declined to provide further details Tuesday, saying he would be more inclined to do so at a later stage in the case.

Blackmon seeks payment for medical bills and punitive damages for negligence and gross negligence.

He is represented by Blaine Tucker in Houston.

Club Onyx did not return a phone message seeking comment Tuesday.

Another Iverson bodyguard reportedly hit a man with a bottle at a Washington, D.C. nightclub in 2005 because the man refused to vacate the club’s VIP section for Iverson’s entourage.

The alleged victim sued Iverson for not calling off his bodyguard and a jury ordered Iverson to pay the man $260,000. The D.C. Circuit upheld the judgment in 2007.

Iverson reportedly had a weakness for strip clubs during his playing days.

Golden State Warriors forward Matt Barnes told Sports Illustrated in April 2015 that Iverson’s strip-club spending shocked him during Barnes’ early days in the NBA, while he and Iverson were teammates on the Philadelphia 76ers.

“Allen was the first guy that showed me how NBA players spend money in strip clubs. That guy went hard. He’d throw so much money, and this was when I was first in the league, that I used to take my foot and scoop the shit under my chair and either re-throw it or put some in my pocket. He’d throw $30,000, $40,000 every time we went. I’m like, ‘You realize what I can do with this money?’” Barnes told Sports Illustrated.

Known for his lightning-quick crossover and fearless drives into the lane, the 6-foot, 165-pound Iverson is the shortest player ever to be picked No. 1 in the NBA draft. The Sixers drafted him out of Georgetown University in 1996.

Blessed with a 6-foot 3-inch wingspan, Iverson slashed through defenders and seemed to score at will, averaging 26.2 points and leading the league in scoring four seasons in a 15-year career.

He won the MVP award after leading the Sixers to the 2001 NBA Finals. After stints with the Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons and Memphis Grizzlies, and for a Turkish professional team, he went full circle, returning to the Sixers and retiring in October 2013.

The Sixers retired his No. 3 jersey in March 2014 and he was inducted in the NBA Hall of Fame in 2016.

Iverson’s distinctive style — baggy jersey, cornrows and body covered in tattoos — made him marketing gold for companies looking to capitalize on the confluence of the NBA and hip-hop culture, and Reebok signed him to a lifetime marketing contract in 2001.

Controversy followed Iverson throughout his career. A star point guard and quarterback at Bethel High School in Hampton, Virginia, Iverson, then 17, was charged with hitting a woman with a chair during a brawl at a Hampton bowling alley and sentenced to 5 years in prison and 10 years probation.

He served four months before Gov. Douglas Wilder granted him clemency and an appeals court threw out his conviction in 1995, citing insufficient evidence.

“Not a Game,” an Iverson biography written by Washington Post sportswriter Kent Babb and published in 2015, details how Iverson blew more than $150 million of his NBA pay and was in debt when his wife filed for divorce in 2010.

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Categories / Personal Injury

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