I CAN UNDERSTAND

For years after coming out of prison Mike Tyson was known as a lose cannon whose out of the ring antics were far more newsworthy than his fights. After retiring, following a couple of loses to below par opposition, Tyson continued his Sony Liston like descent into a life that would likely end early. Tyson seemed to change and after appearing in Hangover he began to get in shape, turn his life around and put himself on track for closure. In the past couple of years Tyson has focused on paying his debts, being a good father and husband and making amends for past hurts. This preamble is what brings me to the general substance of this entry.

Tyson has been trending like nobody's business because he called a Canadian host a piece of shit. People are starting to use words like crazy and what have you since the incident occurred. The incident occurred because Tyson's past conviction for rape was brought up in an interview that was supposed to serve the purpose of promoting Mike's one man show. Personally I can understand why Tyson said what he said, I don't think it was the best way to handle it but I can understand it.

The man interviewing Tyson was talking about the Toronto mayoral race and suddenly asked Tyson if he felt that being seen with a convicted rapist would hurt the Mayor, in light of recent controversies. Tyson snapped and rightfully so. Tyson has been a free man for nearly 20 years, he blew a fortune, lost a child and did not really end his career the way most people thought he would. Assuming that he really did rape Desiree Washington, Tyson has paid a karmic price for it and then some. I say assuming he raped Washington because to this day that particular conviction is questionable. I mean let's face it if someone invites you to a party at 2 am in his hotel room you should know it's usually a party of two. Desiree Washington has since run into legal issues of her own, some of which call into question her credibility. I wasn't there so I won't say Tyson is innocent, and I won't say he is guilty either.

I think that if a man is trying to serve as an example that even the worst behaving individual can turn himself around, he shouldn't be put in a position where he is labeled at this stage, especially during a fluff piece about a one man show which should not carry a political discussion. I wouldn't have done the same thing, I would have walked away but everyone's different, still, let's understand why he snapped before we start calling him crazy.