A year ago, a deeply shamefaced Mike Tyson told the nation’s press, “I only ask that I not be penalized for life for this mistake.” The “mistake” Tyson referred to was the savage spectacle of him chomping off part of Evander Holyfield’s ear in their heavyweight championship match. The public reacted with shock and anger to the act. The Nevada Athletic Commission banned Tyson from boxing, and nailed him with a $3 million fine. On July 9, Tyson can ask the commission to reinstate him.
The commission should listen carefully to Holyfield before it decides Tyson’s fate. When asked whether he’d give Tyson a rematch, Holyfield didn’t hesitate, “I never say never, if that’s what the fans want.” He accepted Tyson’s public apology and forgave him.
There are many reasons we should do the same. In the year that Tyson has drifted in sport’s no-man’s land, he has made no attempt to defend the indefensible, and has thrown himself on the mercy of the public. He recognized his violent and socially depraved behavior. He accepted the commission’s ban and admitted that he deserved to be hit with a severe punishment to send a message that barbarous behavior has no place in boxing or any other sport. In an interview on ABC’s “20/20,” he said he felt “disgust, disdain and humiliation” every time he looks at the tape of the fight. He meant himself.
He volunteered to seek professional help. He acknowledged that Holyfield is the true champ. He publicly announced that his inflated entourage of “yes” men, laughingly called co-managers, did not serve him well, and fired them. He took the long overdue step of dumping promoter Don King, and has sued him for fraud and abuse. He hired a new accountant and lawyer to clean up the mess that was made of his finances. Other than participating in a Wrestlemania bout, he has pretty much laid low and done and said nothing to reignite public fury against him.
Tyson, however, was never the only one to blame for his misbehavior. He once told an interviewer, “If I wasn’t in boxing, I’d be breaking the law.” He was never more wrong. The sports writers and many fans have never tired of reminding anyone who’d listen that Tyson broke the law outside the ring when he was convicted and imprisoned on rape charges, and inside the ring by hacking off part of Holyfield’s ear. Yet his apology has meant nothing to hordes of sports fans, writers, boxing officials and even many African-Americans who continue to demand that the Nevada Athletic Commission ban him permanently from boxing.
But they’re all hypocrites. Tyson has long been much of America’s poster boy for perversion. Nearly everyone who jumped on the bandwagon and screamed for his head knew of his history as a street thug, bully, brute and lecher.
Tyson always seemed to me to be uncomfortable with his marquee image as America’s poster boy for greed and dysfunctionality. Every chance he got he lashed out at society for turning him into an extravagantly paid punching bag. He told one interviewer, “They pay $500 to see me. There’s so much hypocrisy in the world.” But Tyson pumped up sports fans, admirers, the media, and boxing’s money crowd as boxing’s primal force gladiator took full advantage of that hypocrisy. He believed he was “Iron Mike,” a man above the law who could do anything and get away with it. He was almost right.
Still, the frightening thing is that in an era when much of the media routinely turns the thug behavior and clownish antics of some athletes and celebrities into big bucks and ratings, Tyson’s stock will soar even higher. If the Nevada Athletic Commission gives him another chance, many of those who are now clamoring the loudest for his blood will be the ones clamoring the loudest for tickets to see him bludgeon or get bludgeoned by someone else in the ring.
So let’s stop kidding ourselves. If Tyson is a monster, he’s our monster. We made him. Now that the year is up, and he’s done his penance and dutifully performed his mea culpas, let him fight again.
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E-mail: ehutchi344@aol.com
