Tyson and Evander Holyfield

In the process of his actions, which is not a case of losing his temper, but is in fact a choice he willingly and deliberately made, the fight itself is now in jeopardy, and if I had my druthers, would not only be called off altogether, but Tyson would be banned from boxing forever. If you will remember, Tyson bit off the ear of Evander Holyfield in 1997 during a match the two of them had (shown, right). That action resulted in a $3 million fine and a one-year revocation of Tyson’s license from the Nevada Boxing Commission. What should have happened was Tyson never getting his license back. As a convicted felon, that should have sealed the deal right there – but with his so-called “celebrity status”, this guy has been given more lives than Morris the Cat.

Consider this animal’s history, for that is what Tyson is – not a man, but an animal of the lowest order. Now I do not claim to know the source of Tyson’s deep-seeded anger, but suffice it to say that if fully unleashed, it could probably destroy not only the United States, but most of Europe as well. Never, and I mean NEVER in my life have I seen a fighter with such totality of brute force.

As a child growing up, I saw Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman and other greats who would go several rounds before winning their respective matches in the ring. That was back when boxing was indeed a sport. Now it has degenerated to nothing more than a blood lust with the average match involving Tyson and the sacrificial lamb of the moment lasting on average a mere 74 seconds – if that. Sure, Tyson has lost a few, and yes, there have been times where I wish I had bet $1000 on Buster Douglas, but I don’t play Vegas, so that point is moot.

Unfortunately, Tyson’s rage was not limited to the ring, and most of his victims outside of the ring were far more often than not … you guessed it – women. Time after time, complaint after complaint came in from one woman after another about Tyson groping or otherwise sexually assaulting them, and then in 1991, 18-year old Desiree Washington, a contestant in the Miss Black America contest, filed charges that Tyson raped her in an Indianapolis hotel room. Tyson was convicted in January 1992 and sentenced to ten years in prison, of which he served three as a “guest at the Indiana Youth Center”. Yeah – right! What a crock! Bear in mind that he was 25 years old at the time of sentencing, and not 17, which would be the age of the oldest of those incarcerated at the Youth Facility.

Give me a break, folks! Had Tyson been a homeboy from the projects, he’d have drawn 20 years to life in adult prison and been thrown in with the general population. The three years behind bars obviously did Tyson absolutely no good whatsoever, for in August 1998, Tyson assaulted two motorists in a minor fender-bender near Gaithersburg, Maryland. When sentenced the following February to a year in jail by Montgomery County (Maryland) Judge Stephen P. Johnson, the judge described Tyson as a “tragic example of potentially lethal road rage.” Johnson further went on to say, “He (Tyson) repeatedly acts and speaks impulsively and violently,” and also added, “He’s almost predictable in this way.”

In an article I wrote in Right Magazine (TAP’s predecessor) three years ago called “Caging the Beast”, I outlined the chronic difficulties Tyson seemed to have staying out of trouble with the law since his release from prison in 1995. The fact of the matter is that Tyson looks for trouble and when one looks for trouble, it has a way of being found or worse yet, of finding you.

I spend two evenings a week assisting facilitators who teach classes to those who have been convicted of various forms of domestic abuse against their wives or partners. Whether it be physical, verbal, emotional, or other kinds of abuse, the abuse is real and the scars left are deeply felt by the victims and lasting. As those who attend the course come to realize the effects of their actions, they realize that they can choose not to engage in these actions and that they can change their lives for the better. Over the almost year and a half that I have been involved with this, I have seen some who have made some wonderful changes in their lives and some who just marked their time. Clearly, a program such as this is one from which Mr. Tyson could clearly benefit were he to see the need for it in his life. However, like anyone else, courses such as these can only be beneficial if the participant chooses it to be.

Mike Tyson

From what I have seen of Mike Tyson (left), he seems to have made virtually no improvement in his disposition whatsoever. His apparent, total and complete depravity for human life has reached the point to where it is only a matter of time before he kills someone – and when he does, I doubt that even Johnnie Cochran would be willing to represent him. At least O.J. Simpson had been likeable at one time; Tyson never had that quality, nor will he. While I certainly hope that Tyson does not ever kill anyone, if he does, let’s hope it’s in a state that does have the death penalty, and that the jury doesn’t buy any abuse excuse or any other conjured-up fairy tale and has the stones to put Tyson (if convicted) in the ultimate place from which he cannot remove himself.

Simply put, Tyson is an animal – an uncaged beast, and animals like that need to be put away from the population at large for their safety and that of society at large – permanently. Granted, that may be at the expense of Mr. Tyson’s rights, but we need to consider the greater good and the larger picture here and in the scheme of things, having Tyson out of the picture will allow a lot of women the ability to breather easier knowing there is one less predator out there who could make their life a living hell.

Clearly, Tyson has got to go, and nowhere has that been more clearly illustrated than now!

Timothy Rollins

• Photo of Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield courtesy of the Associated Press
• Photo of Mike Tyson courtesy of the Associated Press
• With files from FOX News

You can e-mail your comments to Timothy at tim@opinionet.com

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Copyright © 2002 by Timothy Rollins.
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-Published with permission