Allen Iverson Definitely Made The Right Choice With Basketball

Yesterday, a jury awarded Marlin Godfrey $260,000 as a result of the pain and suffering and medical bills he incurred after being beaten by Iverson's bodyguard Jason Kane in July 2005.

Godfrey and his friend, David Kittrell, were assaulted by Iverson's entourage after they refused to leave the VIP section that had been reserved for Iverson at the Washington nightclub, Eyebar. Iverson was included because:

"The lawsuit said Iverson was responsible for the brawl because he failed to properly supervise Kane and Williams - but it did not claim he took part in the fight. The suit also accused Kane of assault and battery for allegedly beating Godfrey with items that included a bottle."

This is the same trial that the plaintiff's legal team was going to call 50 Cent in as a character witness against the security guards involved. However, 50 argued successfully that he couldn't be called to testify since he wasn't involved in the fight or named in the lawsuit. 50 Cent as a character witness? That's a new legal strategy.

While this lawsuit has been resolved, don't confuse it with the other one from 2005 that involves four plaintiffs. They allege that Iverson hired a "security" team with people that he knew had a propensity for violence. Allegedly they were leaving "Crabber's", a restaurant/sports bar in Hampton, Va., when they were attacked by Iverson's security detail for the night, also known as "The Horsemen". Each plaintiff in that case is seeking $600,000 in damages.

Imagine if Iverson had gone the football route instead of basketball. Right now he would probably be looking at a multi-game suspension with the possibility of more games being added. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell would have already lectured him about wasting his opportunity to play pro ball, and he would be calling up PacMan to see if he could get on that suspended stars flag football team.

Instead, since he's in the NBA, there's a good chance Iverson won't miss any games next season. Looks like he did make the right choice in choosing basketball.