Iverson was scheduled to spend time<\/a> with 12 children battling cancer in what was meant to be a special day. Instead, families were left disappointed after waiting for hours, with little interaction or conversation with the Hall of Famer\u2014one family had even driven six hours to attend the meet and greet.<\/p>\nAt the time, Fox Sports Australia spoke with Challenge CEO David Rogers, who said Iverson \u201clet down the children\u201d with the event.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was nothing further we could have done as an organisation to improve the experience and, despite working diligently on the day to manage a challenging and at times disrespectful approach from his management team, we believe Allen Iverson ultimately let down the children and families who came to meet him.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the weeks that followed, the NBL and United worked behind the scenes to give the children and their families an experience they would never forget, inviting them as special guests to last night\u2019s Throwdown clash between Melbourne United and the South East Melbourne Phoenix.<\/p>\n
As part of the on-court experience, the Challenge children walked onto the floor, met players from both teams, took photos and shared unique pre-game moments with some of their basketball heroes.<\/p>\n
In a statement to Fox Sports Australia, David Rogers, CEO of Challenge, said the experience is something \u201cfamilies will cherish for a long time\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NBL and Melbourne United went above and beyond to give the children and their families a wonderful experience. This opportunity created memories they will cherish for a long time, and we are all very grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chris Goulding meets some of the kids and families of Challenge.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
NBL Group CEO David Stevenson said the league was eager to create a meaningful night for the families.<\/p>\n
\u201cChallenge does extraordinary work supporting children and families through one of life\u2019s toughest journeys, and we\u2019re honoured to welcome them to the Throwdown tonight,\u201d Stevenson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMoments like this show the power of basketball to bring people together and create lasting memories, and we thank Melbourne United, South East Melbourne Phoenix and their players and staff for helping make this experience so special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melbourne United CEO Nick Truelson said the club was proud to be involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know the sort of impact an experience like this can have on a young person\u2019s life, and we\u2019re proud to be a part of this initiative. Challenge does amazing work within the community and to be able to assist them in any way is fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n
Families of Challenge at John Cain Arena.Source: getty<\/p>\n
Challenge is a not-for-profit organisation<\/a> supporting children and families living with cancer year-round, providing free and immediate practical, social and emotional help, including hospital programs, camps, family assistance services and bereavement support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A month after NBA legend Allen Iverson delivered a disappointing appearance for children and families from Challenge –…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":492195,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-492194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492194","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=492194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/492194\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/492195"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=492194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=492194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=492194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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