12/21/24
December 29, 2006
Mike Tyson's Downward Spiral Continues.: Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was arrested this morning in Scottsdale, Arizona after leaving a nightclub. Deputies stopped Tyson after he pulled out into traffic, nearly hitting a parked sheriff's cruiser. Tyson failed a field sobriety test, and a subsequent search found cocaine on him and in his car.
posted by The_Black_Hand to boxing at 07:50 AM - 41 comments
I'm not going to sit here and judge Mike Tyson or make any jokes about this. Here is a man that had it all: Millions of dollars, cars & fans worldwide. The only thing the former Heavyweight Champion never had was peace of mind. It's a shame what has happened to him these last few years but I just hope that everything works out for him in the long run and may God bless him.
posted by BornIcon at 08:24 AM on December 29, 2006
I really think the Tyson we are faced with today, with boxing not an option anymore and no way for him to make the outrageous money he became used to when he was younger, is the human being he was destined to be from the beginning. He was already on the road to becoming a lifelong criminal when he was fortunate (?) enough to have someone take him under their wing and teach him how to box. After that it became a battle for his handlers to keep enough reigns on him so everyone could use him to make money. Now that his big earning potential has gone bye-bye, he has nobody helping to look out for him and it will be arrest after arrest.
posted by dyams at 08:27 AM on December 29, 2006
I hate to say it, but a "tyson found dead" headline would not surprise me at all.
posted by louisville_slugger at 08:30 AM on December 29, 2006
Oh, Mike, you poor bastard. When will you ever learn?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 08:52 AM on December 29, 2006
...Tyson has been to the county jail before - as a guest talking to juvenile offenders about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Do as I say, not as I do. What a shame!
I still have the February 19, 1990 issue of SI that has Tyson falling to the mat after Buster Douglas knocked him out on the cover. That's when I knew that Mike Tyson would start his downward spiral. Call me silly, but every time he stepped in to the ring, I always hoped that he would clean up his act and walk the line. Sadly, I'm one of the many disappointed fans.
posted by wingnut4life at 10:19 AM on December 29, 2006
I wonder how many of Tyson's problems are caused by a career in which he's taken severe blows to the head for more than 20 years I'm thinking the blows he's been taking through his nose are more to blame.
posted by tselson at 11:22 AM on December 29, 2006
I'm sure Desiree Washington and her family feel the same way... Listen: Your're entitled to your own opinion as I am but personally, I never believed a word she said and I still don't. I stand by my statement.
posted by BornIcon at 11:45 AM on December 29, 2006
His mugshot... Is he sticking his tongue out?
posted by SummersEve at 12:52 PM on December 29, 2006
I still remember that people actually thought Mike Tyson could beat Lennox Lewis. Ha! Bubba turned Mike out when he was locked up. Straight up pulled his bitch card. Tyson could never release all of his anger in fear of releasing all of his loosened bowels.
posted by yay-yo at 03:33 PM on December 29, 2006
Oh, Mike, you poor bastard. When will you ever learn? Obviously not! Why do we find compassion and sympathy for such LOSERS because they are athletes? It amazes me how easily we can forgive and support a rapist, addict, abuser, and has been. C'mon if Mike needs compassion it is between communism and constipation in the dictionary. Sympathy will be found between shit and syphilis in the same book. He's a consummate loser, insode and outside the ring.
posted by Tokens0605 at 08:54 PM on December 29, 2006
Why do we find compassion and sympathy for such LOSERS because they are athletes? You're speaking for yourself and the mouse and your pocket when you speak of "we", of course. As to anyone else, maybe you'd be better off asking them whether and why they find compassion and sympathy for Mike Tyson, rather than telling them that they do.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:22 PM on December 29, 2006
His mugshot... Is he sticking his tongue out? I think that's Evander Holyfield's ear he's coughing up.
posted by worldcup2002 at 10:13 PM on December 29, 2006
Hahahaha, very good lil_brown_bat. But I do not have a mouse or a pocket that speaks. So I must have missed something in your translation. And I did ask why? So, why do YOU find compassion for this loser? Would it be better if I prefaced it as "WE, the people . . ."?
posted by Tokens0605 at 10:20 PM on December 29, 2006
People please, will it ever stop? This guy has been arrested 46 times with over 60 drug charges. He has stole from his family including his daughter who has cystic fibrosis. He has even lied about her being dead just to get money. But when the majority look at his story they say, "aww how sad", "horrible story", basically, poor fella or the story is ignored all together. Mike gets busted with some coke and the, How dare he, I'm better than him, clan crawls out from under the rocks to talk about how Desiree Washington's family feels. Doesn't it ever get old? If it's about bashing the people who deserve to be bashed, why is the thread I linked to only about 5 posts long?. Shouldn't that thread be about 60 posts long with things like, loser, poor bastard, etc. based on the life that guy lived? Could the Spofi community have a reputation for discussing certain athletes more than others, based on factors not just related to what is currently being linked? I guess my point is, go back and read all the posts and count how many actually discuss the issue or story being linked. Speaking of Desiree Washington. I wonder what the reaction would have been in the Duke rape case if the accuser was Desiree Washington. Before a lot of the evidence was out about that case, a lot of folks swore that they were innocent, the same way, before any of the evidence was out about Tyson's rape case, a lot of folks swore he was guilty. I saw a thread about Spofi not winning any awards for best sports blog recently. In that thread I saw a few questions from people wondering why Spofi didn't get at least an honorable mention. Well, IMO this thread and the ones like it are your answer. Well, not just the thread actually (it could have been titled "Hero to felon" and loaded with encouragement) but the majority of the posts found within the thread. When is enough, enough? It's no secret Tyson has problems, but for it to be discussed every time he does something is just a waste. It's foolishness. Honestly tell me what award you would give the Holyfield joke above? Or the "will this guy ever learn post"? How many points should be awarded for his rape conviction being mentioned every time he runs a red light? I know I know, if I don't like a thread move on right? Well, according to the title, I thought i might have an opinion about it, until I got here and found no one discussing it. I think all future Tyson threads should just read, Tyson bad....We good.
posted by Bishop at 11:40 PM on December 29, 2006
When is enough, enough? It's no secret Tyson has problems, but for it to be discussed every time he does something is just a waste. I tend to agree with you Bishop. Though I wish it were different these threads never go well and tend to attract the same cliched responses. However, I do disagree with you on a couple of things. If it's about bashing the people who deserve to be bashed, why is the thread I linked to only about 5 posts long?. Shouldn't that thread be about 60 posts long with things like, loser, poor bastard, etc. based on the life that guy lived? He was an average pitcher (being generous) that most people have never heard of. Tyson was at one time the heavy weight champion of the world and considered the baddest man on the planet. That has something to do with the discrepancy between the two links. I saw a thread about Spofi not winning any awards for best sports blog recently. In that thread I saw a few questions from people wondering why Spofi didn't get at least an honorable mention. Well, IMO this thread and the ones like it are your answer. Sounds good in theory, falls apart upon examination. Deadspin was among the finalist. You might want to check out the Tyson thread: Mike Tyson: Portrait of a Rapist With a Corky Tongue So, here's the mugshots from Iron Mike's arrest. Maybe the Special Olympics could use a boxer this year? Might want to check out the comments also.
posted by justgary at 01:22 AM on December 30, 2006
Like I care about this asshole. With Americans being killed in Iraq. Its about priorities.
posted by scotsman at 09:07 AM on December 30, 2006
I don't feel bad for Tyson at all.you have to make the right choices,and he still isn't.I'm almost willing to bet that he will be dead within three years.the writing is on the wall.
posted by mars1 at 09:43 AM on December 30, 2006
Is there anything we can put in this crackhead's drinking water to calm him down before he kills someone. Also to mars1, what kind of odds are you giving.
posted by Jedi Master at 09:47 AM on December 30, 2006
Could the Spofi community have a reputation for discussing certain athletes more than others, based on factors not just related to what is currently being linked? Mike Tyson was a heavyweight champ considered among the best ever. Sammy Stewart's an obscure pitcher. If you stopped giving this community a colonoscopy, you might regain the ability to recognize the obvious: Famous athletes are discussed more often than obscure ones.
posted by rcade at 10:01 AM on December 30, 2006
Mike Tyson is a useless human being w/no redeeming values whatsoever!He creates what happens to him just as anyone else does!And he gets released w/out bail&ordered to stay away from drugs & alcohol?Until he realizes his failed life & changes his dispicable behavior he gets no sympathy or empathy from this quarter!He's not about living but he's all about dying!!!And the sooner this danger to society is removed either by death or prison the better!By the way everyone here on this thread would still be in jail or out on an extremely high bond.He needs to be held accountable,not coddled & treated w/an "oh,poor baby" attitude!
posted by mdavidsf at 10:48 AM on December 30, 2006
You know, Bishop, you'd probably be better off just sending emails to the people who piss you off, rather than calling the entire group out as somehow prejudiced. You seem to see a lot of self-superiority, bordering on tacit racism, in just about every thread that concerns a black man doing something illegal. I don't see you stepping up to defend Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmiero, the Duke lacrosse players, but you'll leap to the defense of Allan Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, Mike Tyson, and any other Man of Color. I enjoy your input on this site, and occasionally agree with you, as I do with just about everybody on here at some point; I just wish you wouldn't imply that we're all racists without first looking in the mirror and recognizing your own prejudices. Are there neanderthals here? Sure. Are there racists here? Likely, to be sure. You know what that means? This community, like all others, is a microcosm of society. Good, bad; smart, stupid; tolerant, racist; nice guy, asshole. That's life everywhere you go in this great big world, my friend. It's sometimes ugly and infuriating, but it's all we got.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 01:56 PM on December 30, 2006
A 20 year old heavyweight champion of the world and he's had problems ever since he does have my sympathy but not much
posted by luther70 at 02:59 PM on December 30, 2006
Mike Tyson is the reason Abortion should be kept legal.
posted by Jedi Master at 04:41 PM on December 30, 2006
You're the reason moccasins still exist. Try walking in someone else's.
posted by yerfatma at 05:02 PM on December 30, 2006
Mike Tyson's celebrity persona no doubt, generates many responses pro or con (mostly con). Here is a man, who at one time was at the top of his profession,with many adoring fans. This heavyweight boxer stood at the brink of unparrelled comparison (only to Ali). Tyson chose to go another way. One shoudn"t lament how or why this has happened. A fair analogy has already been offered up in a previous post: I'm thinking the blows he's been taking through his nose are more to blame.
posted by sterlingsilver at 05:40 PM on December 30, 2006
TBH, I don't recall mentioning race in my post. Maybe that was your interpretation of what I said. I simply implied that this shit is getting old, and the same shit is discussed over and over every time someone like Tyson does something wrong. I don't recall the last pete rose thread here but I have been known to come to his defense as well on other boards. I don't invoke race much unless it has already been invoked by another. Is there a problem with defending your race when you feel like someone is insulting it? I don't fault you for linking the story. I tend to have issues with more of the posts that tend to follow a link about Tyson, Rose, Owens, etc. I think 2 or 3 out of approx. 35 posts actually addressed the story. Everything else is scumbag, bastard, bum, is the reason abortion should be legal, he'll be dead soon stuff. I also followed the link Gary offered and found mostly jokes and off topic stuff. There were no where near as many scumbag, pos, I hope he dies soon posts there. Mike Tyson was great, that's why he is often discussed here. But then again, he wasn't that great, but he is fun to talk about. Read just a few of these posts created just 2 short months ago. Please read the entire link above, and this one posted only 4 days later to get a feel for why I claimed this was getting old. As far as defending my race, Can anyone honestly say that there is more discussion about, White athlete (former or current) does wrong, then Black athlete (former or current) does wrong? Case in point. If the thread about the White baseball pitcher using his daughters illness to get crack money, was pertaining to some Black athlete (Clarett/OJ/Tyson/Iverson/Owens/Irvin/Marcuss Vick/former Negro leaguer/Black kid at some college you never heard of) it's safe to say it probably would have been 40-50 posts longer and instead of seeing things like "poor guy" or "sad story", we would have seen words/phrases like scum/thug/piece of shit/worthless/reason abortion is legal/crackhead etc. Evidence? Take a peek at the NY-Denver "brawl" thread discussing the Anthony "sucker punch". Then locate the thread about the NHL player who sucker punched another from behind and left him lay on the ice a few days later. That punch led to a mini rumble with several other players. There was 1 suspension for 9 games. It might be safe to assume there are more NHL fans here than NBA fans (or at least an equal amount). So, where was the thread? There wasn't 1, but let "insert black athlete here" steal a cell phone from walmart and watch the out pouring of anger flow in a 60 post thread discussing what a danger to society he has become. I'm not saying these threads occur often, I'm saying they occur far more often than the others. Rcade, I'll stop the community colonoscopy when you start the community enema.
posted by Bishop at 01:19 AM on December 31, 2006
i could care less with what he does with him self now. but in his prime he was the best and nobody could argue that!
posted by BigPete at 02:32 AM on December 31, 2006
From what I've seen the NHL fans here seem to be among the more educated posters, than some of the riff raff that often come through the site. See bishop one thing you need to understand is that there is a disparity of quality among the posters on this site. SpoFi is lucky enough to have a well educated community, but as you have demonstrated, one idiot can bring down an entire thread. In the Carmelo Anthony thread you got going on your rant in a response to a comment made by vito938. Looking at his past contributions, I can't really understand why he was worth your time. One thing that should be learned on SpoFi is just to ignore the stupid comments and not to waste your time on them. Like TBH said, there are all sorts of people here. It's unfair to lump every single person in with the racists and Mike Tyson is a scumbag sort of folks. Looking at the comments from some of the users whose imput I value; I notice that dyams and wingnut (this thread) and chico, bdaddy, and atheist (other thread) all had intelligent things to say. Yet, the moment some stupid comment sets you off you're ready to lump everyone in as the hypocritical SportsFilter community. I tend to have issues with more of the posts that tend to follow a link about Tyson, Rose, Owens, etc. I think 2 or 3 out of approx. 35 posts actually addressed the story. That is because these are the posts where the lower echelon of SportsFilter tends to rear its ugly head. Like I said before, just ignore them and continue the conversation with the people who can actually make a rational comment.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 07:26 AM on December 31, 2006
but as you have demonstrated, one idiot can bring down an entire thread. Here is the second problem that tends to follow threads like this. A child begins to name call thus totally eliminating anything remotely valuable he/she had to say, all in the hopes of an "ata boy" from some of the more prominent members he looks up to. That is because these are the posts where the lower echelon of SportsFilter tends to rear its ugly head. There are thousands of people who read the posts here who are not even members. Do you think they can discern who the "valued members" are from reading 1 or 2 threads? No they can't. You can use whatever means you wish to determine who is worth reading and responding to and who is not. Like it or not, people like vito938 are members of this community and their posts are read as are everyone else's. People who stumble across Spofi while surfing the sports blogs scene don't have the benefit of your all knowing calculations. Maybe another Wingnut/Bdaddy/BornIcon/Chicobangs has read certain threads with foolishness posted by the likes of vito938 and have decided to move on to different sites when they see the likes of vito938 posting ignorance unchallenged. As for lumping everyone in, as members of the community we are all responsible for what is posted on this website, including vito938. Do you actually believe that he doesn't have the right to say what he feels just because you or I might not agree? He has the right to his opinion and i have the right to agree or disagree. For you to argue that certain members of this website do not deserve to be responded to because they don't fall into your group of people worthy of a response is just foolishness and stunts the growth of the community itself. A triple digit membership number does not a genius make. In actuality are you doing what you're demanding I not do by responding to me? See my point? Who's to say where it starts and where it stops? You? People will say what they feel, it will affect others in different ways. For you to say I shouldn't be moved to a response by what I read is like saying all posters in threads will agree, and if by chance you disagree, don't post because the person you disagree with is not worth it (according to a predetermined pie chart based on Spofi membership numbers, and/or a determination of their worth based on YYM's opinion of them). If your suggestions are followed and the "lower echelon" and/or some new members of Spofi are ignored where will we get the next Grum/JerseyGirl/Weedy/Chico/Yerfatma/LBB? You never know what you might bring out of someone when you challenge them to see a different view point.
posted by Bishop at 02:31 PM on December 31, 2006
Bishop: You're talking too much about SportsFilter and too little about the subject of this post. If you have something to say about the community and how it operates, take it to the Locker Room.
posted by rcade at 02:41 PM on December 31, 2006
If it is neccesary for you to resort to age immediately in order to further your arguement, then your argument is based on a very flimsy foundation. There are thousands of people who read the posts here who are not even members. Do you think they can discern who the "valued members" are from reading 1 or 2 threads? I think it is quite easy. A valued member is one who makes a on-topic comment, not some lump of mispelled, terrible grammer, and uneducated shit. That is the reason for the guidelines and the reason people moderate the site. To prevent potential members from reading the crap. It is up to us members to not fuel the fire by starting on rants about the idiots, racists, hypocrits on SpoFi because that seems like it would turn people away as well. There was no name calling going on, simply an example. I can guarantee you that I could go through any number of threads and pull out similar comments. Vito's happened to be the one that set you off on your anti-SpoFi rant. Basically though, you missed my point. You go off on rants about SpoFi based on comments that do not neccesarily reflect the majority, yet that doesn't seem to matter to you. Don't even start with stunting the growth of the community, not when you write your novels of how SportsFilter is a community of hypocrites. Great leaders lead by example. Staying on topic is a mighty fine example to set, one that starts with responding to other comments that were on topic, not those made by those who really don't put thoughts into their comments. Before you call me out, try to recognize the hypocrisy of your own posts.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 06:24 PM on December 31, 2006
A child begins to name call The last time you tried this "child" foolishness with Yang, you got egg on your face. Do you like the look so much that you needed to add some more? You were so eager to take offense that you completely missed the fact that Yang wasn't even talking about you when he spoke of "one idiot". TBH and Yang both have the right of it here, Bishop: unless SpoFi holds every single post for approval, and that's not about to happen, you are going to have racist yahoos coming out of the woodwork. We work hard to try to make this a place that's not congenial to that element, but some of them are still gonna try to get a rise out of whoever they can. I don't even care if you blow a gasket at each and every one of them -- the place would be pleasanter if you didn't, but whatever -- but when you always and forever have to turn it into a rant about how "SportsFilter" goes to town when a black athlete misbehaves and how "SportsFilter" says nothing when a white athlete misbehaves, I say heed your own words: this shit is getting old.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:57 PM on December 31, 2006
There was a time when I felt truly sorry for Tyson. His upbringing was hellish to say the least and he was used up and discarded by the boxing industry. I am usually one of the first to defend someone who was brought up on drug charges. I could go into my whole "it's a sickenss, yadda, yadda, yadda" speech, but frankly I don't think there is any rational defense for Mike Tyson. My dim view of him has nothing to do with colour but with his previous rape conviction. From what I've seen the NHL fans here seem to be among the more educated posters, than some of the riff raff that often come through the site. I think hockey has less casual fans, so most posters are pretty hardcore in their knowledge of all things hockey. The worst post are usually some jack off saying go back to Canada or any post made by me.
posted by HATER 187 at 07:53 PM on December 31, 2006
See bishop one thing you need to understand is that there is a disparity of quality among the posters on this site. SpoFi is lucky enough to have a well educated community, but as you have demonstrated, one idiot can bring down an entire thread. LBB, read this a little slower. He was not referring to Vito bringing down the thread, he was referring to me. If I would have ignored Vito, the thread would not have been brought down by "my rant". Get it? Either way I figured it would be you with the "ata boy". I'll move onto to the next thread, at least until Marcus Vick gets pulled over for speeding. BTW, remember, Tyson bad, We good.
posted by Bishop at 02:16 AM on January 01, 2007
I was referring to vito Bishop, not you. I can see how it may not have been perfectly clear, so I'll fix it up a bit. but as you have Bishop has demonstrated, one idiot can vito was able to bring down an entire thread. The thread was brought down with your rant in response to him.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 07:14 AM on January 01, 2007
I also followed the link Gary offered and found mostly jokes and off topic stuff. There were no where near as many scumbag, pos, I hope he dies soon posts there. As I said before bishop, I think you bring up valid points, but you come blazing with both guns and there's no compromise with you, no meeting half way. Check out the way TBH worded the post, compare it with deadspin. See a difference? Read the comments leading up to your first rant in this thread about why spofi didn't win an award. I see quite a few comments supporting tyson, some not, and one loser comment, but nothing like the horrors you seem to be claiming, and though it's not going to win any awards, a much better discussion than at deadspin. Yet you're willing to give deadspin (admittingly, a different style site) a free pass because it's just "jokes". If Mike Tyson gets arrested again tomorrow it will be on every sports site/community on the internet, yet it's only sportsfilter you'll condemn. I really don't understand why you participate in a site you seem to hate, and make no secret of it. I can think of only two reasons: 1. Despite your complaints you do enjoy the site but think it could be better. or 2. You enjoy busting our balls and know that you'll get away with it. You constantly complain about the site and the way it's run and for the most part you're allowed to. That wouldn't happen at most sites. Regardless, I agree with rcade. If you disagree with sportsfilter policy, or the way its administered, the locker room is where it belongs. Too many of these threads turn into discussions about bishop, and that's not a good thing.
posted by justgary at 09:24 AM on January 01, 2007
LBB, read this a little slower. He was not referring to Vito bringing down the thread, he was referring to me. Guess I was right after all. If you want to continue this, let's do so in the Locker Room.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 06:53 AM on January 02, 2007
>>The only thing the former Heavyweight Champion never had was peace of mind. Then maybe he should have spent a little time working on that. He's mentally and morally deficient, and the sooner he drops from the public's radar, the better.
posted by rushmc at 07:55 AM on January 02, 2007
Enough already! Damn people, Bishop read what he read and took it the way he took it because of the way YYM wrote what he wrote...(Did that make any sense?) One thing we need to understand is that most people in this SpoFi community that have anything intelligent to say will actually listen to another individual with something intelligent to say as well. When I first started to blog on here, there were some things that were said and I took offense to that. I may have reacted the same exact way as Bishop did but felt as if I was justified in doing so but there were a few people on here that helped me in making me feel at ease. There are many people on whose opinions I look forward to reading with YYM, Bishop and LLB (to name a few) being among them. No one meant any harm and things may have gotten a little out of hand but we're all good people. Some may be or come across as being a little rough around the edges but when it all comes down to it, we're all good people with something intelligent to say. So for the love of humanity, please stop and continue with the subject at hand. He's mentally and morally deficient And this is according to you? When you bring in a young, 19 year old kid into the limelight at such an early age, and said individual never really had someone that took care of him (mentally and morally) how is he to respond? People always felt that something was off with Mike Tyson but as long as he kept knocking people out, no one stepped in to truly look after Tyson's best interest...just their own. No one should be kicked to the curb, not even "Iron" Mike. Everybody has problems, ours are just not as magnified as a person as such as Tyson's.
posted by BornIcon at 07:40 AM on January 04, 2007
Well, Mike Tyson is the best example of what fame and money can do when they go uncontrolled. Poor chap... from being the most prodigious talent to a almost a vagabond... what a great this is...
posted by venus at 12:13 AM on January 05, 2007
I wonder how many of Tyson's problems are caused by a career in which he's taken severe blows to the head for more than 20 years. It's not hard to imagine that it could cause significant mental impairment.