This was published 2 years ago
Mike Tyson caught on video punching a man in the face on a plane
By Timothy Bella
Washington: It was April 20, National Cannabis Day, in San Francisco, and nothing could stop Mike Tyson from having a great time. The legendary boxer-turned-cannabis businessman was eating edibles on the annual marijuana holiday and telling the thousands gathered in Robin Williams Meadow in Golden Gate Park that they were taking the good vibes “to another level in life”.
But as Tyson was about to fly back to Florida on Wednesday night, a JetBlue passenger sitting behind him in first class seemingly ruined his high. After the man reportedly kept harassing him, video from TMZ Sports shows Tyson appearing to repeatedly punch the man and bloodying his face.
“My boy just got beat up by Mike Tyson,” a man is heard saying on one of the videos posted to TMZ.
The passenger whom Tyson appeared to punch, who is identified as “George” by a witness filming an interaction, sported three or four bloody cuts on the right side of his head moments after the encounter.
It was not immediately clear whether Tyson was arrested or faces charges stemming from the incident. Federal law prohibits passengers from assaulting other passengers or crew members. Passengers are subject to civil penalties for any misconduct that “can threaten the safety of the flight by disrupting or distracting cabin crew from their safety duties,” according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
A spokesperson with the San Francisco Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. When asked about the incident, Doug Yakel, a spokesman with San Francisco International Airport, directed all questions to JetBlue. A spokesperson for JetBlue has yet to respond to a request for comment.
Mike Tyson at a celebrity golf tournament in 2019.Credit: Invision
Jo Mignano, a representative for Tyson, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the years since his boxing career and personal life careened off the rails, Tyson has reshaped himself into a humanitarian, family man and unlikely redemption story.
“I’m capable of helping a lot of people less fortunate than myself - that’s what I’m capable of doing, all over the world,” Tyson said during a post-fight news conference after his 2020 exhibition match against Roy Jones jnr that ended in a draw. “In a perfect world, I’m a missionary, in a perfect world. What I’m doing in the ring, I realise, is a gift not only for myself.
“Before it was all about me and the hot chick and the nice car and plane and the boats. It doesn’t do it for me anymore, so I want another way. I help somebody else, I guess, right, because I don’t get into that no more. I like my pigeons and my fancy clothes, but other than that, I don’t want anything. I have a life.”
On Wednesday, Californian time, Tyson appeared at the 420 Hippie Hill festival in San Francisco to promote his cannabis brand and present Eve Meyer, who headed up the nonprofit San Francisco Suicide Prevention for 30 years, with the festival’s inaugural community and compassion award, according to SFGATE.
“Listen, we’re going to take this to another level in life,” said Tyson, whom one person described as being in “the best mood”.
“I’m the world champion, and now I’m the world champion of cannabis, and we can’t be stopped.”
Hours later, Tyson’s mood on his red-eye flight to Fort Lauderdale was ruined by a passenger who appeared to talk his ear off, TMZ reported. After Tyson took a selfie with him, the man is shown saying something to the former boxer. Tyson appears unimpressed and bothered.
“He over here rapping with Tyson,” said the witness in one of the two videos posted to TMZ. The witness said of his friend, “He don’t know how to act.”
Another video shows Tyson and the passenger in the middle of the altercation, with Tyson swinging at the man’s chest as the passenger tried to stave him off.
“Hey, hey, hey, hey!” one man is heard yelling in the video. “Hey, Mike! Mike, c’mon!”
It’s not the first time in recent weeks that someone has badgered Tyson in a public setting. While he was attending a comedy show in Hollywood last month, a rowdy spectator interrupted the comedian to challenge Tyson to a fight. Tyson remained calm and eventually hugged the man, but the scene turned dangerous when the man pulled out a loaded gun from his waistband, causing audience members to scramble under their tables.
The Washington Post