Disturbing truth about Mike Tyson we’ve ‘collectively all forgotten’
While hundreds of millions will tune into the Tyson Vs Paul fight, the former boxer should be stopped from getting in the ring altogether.
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It seems the whole world is frothing over the fact Mike Tyson is “finally” returning to the boxing ring.
But while hundreds of millions of people will be tuning into Netflix on Saturday afternoon to see him take on YouTube star Jake Paul, a growing community is calling for viewers to “boycott” the so-called “television event of the year”.
These protesters are a small group of people who “will never forget” the former world-champ’s dark and troubling past — and are understandably mad the rest of the world has seemingly let it go.
Mike Tyson is a convicted rapist
The pro-boxer, who retired from the sport in 2005, was convicted of raping 18-year-old beauty queen Desiree Washington in a hotel room in 1991.
Tyson has always maintained his innocence.
While it’s undeniable that false rape accusations ruin lives, Tyson — who is still required to register as a sex offender under federal law — was found guilty of rape and two counts of deviant sexual conduct by an Indiana jury.
His lawyers lodged several unsuccessful appeals that were denied by the Indiana Court of Appeals, NewsWeek reported.
Ultimately, after being handed a 10-year prison sentence with four years suspended, Tyson served just three years at the Indiana Youth Center and was released in March 1995.
He has since gone on to rebuild his career, becoming arguably even more famous than he was before he was locked up.
The convicted rapist was back in the ring just five months after being released from jail for his fight with Peter McNeeley, billed as “He’s Back” in August 1995.
Meanwhile his victim, who aside from giving one televised interview with Barbara Walters shortly after Tyson was jailed, has disappeared from public discourse.
In court, Ms Washington testified that Tyson had invited her to his room at the Canterbury Hotel in Indianapolis after the pair met at the Miss Black America pageant.
A day later, on July 20, 1991, she checked into the emergency room at Methodist Hospital and reported that she had been raped.
The college student and the reigning Miss Black Rhode Island told police Tyson had forced himself onto her.
Tyson exits prison, returns as a sporting ‘hero’
His return to the ring was just the start of Tyson’s comeback as a public figure.
There was also the 2008 feature film documentary Tyson, followed by a popular cameo role in the 2009 movie The Hangover – not to mention his 2013 memoir titled ‘Undisputed Truth’.
And now, almost 20 years later, the 58-year-old is set for his biggest boxing payday yet thanks to a mammoth deal with Netflix that will see his fight with Jake Paul live-streamed to its 300 million subscribers.
Another 100,000 have purchased tickets to the officially sanctioned fight at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, in Arlington, Texas.
But in a sea of praise of Tyson and his “world-class” career — it’s not uncommon to see him described as the “GOAT”, an acronym for the Greatest Of All Time — his dark past is rarely noted.
Tyson’s horror remark about rape victim
As British sports journalist Declan Warrington wrote in a piece for the Independent, “it begs the question, in 2024, seven years after the #MeToo movement grew to prominence, why does the career of the most famous convicted rapist of all continue to thrive?”
Tyson has displayed worrying amounts of anger and aggression since leaving jail almost 30 years ago – who can forget his rematch against Evander Holyfield in Las Vegas in June 1997 where Tyson famously bit off a chunk of his opponents ear.
He also disturbingly told journalist Greta Van Susteren, who was taking a look back at the circumstances of Tyson’s 1992 trial in 2003, that while he didn’t sexually assault Ms Washington, he wished he had.
“I just hate her guts. She put me in that state, where I don’t know,’’ Tyson said, according to ESPN. “I really wish I did now. But now I really do want to rape her.’’
Rape is the most under-reported crime; with 63 per cent of sexual assaults going unreported to police according to the US National Sexual Violence Resource Centre.
Only 12 per cent of child sexual abuse is reported to the authorities.
Australian data shows that less than 5 per cent of rape allegations are proven false.
While the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research report, released in May, showed that of the shockingly low number of sexual assault cases reported to officials, less than 10 per cent result in a conviction.
“I did not rape Desiree Washington,” he wrote in his memoir. “She knows it, God knows it, and the consequences of her actions are something that she’s got to live with for the rest of her life.”
Tyson’s continued denials, despite an upheld conviction, would undoubtedly put his victim through more turmoil.
Melbourne psychologist Carly Dober said for any survivor of sexual assault, the trauma could have long-lasting effects on their wellbeing.
“The effects are profound and can follow victim and survivors across their lifespan,” she told news.com.au.
“Response to sexual violence is complex and highly individualised. Some survivors experience severe and chronic psychological symptoms, whereas others experience little or no distress.
“The wide range of consequences may be attributed to assault characteristics, environmental conditions, survivor attributes, and availability of social support and resources.”
Ms Dober, who works at Melbourne’s Enriching Lives Psychology clinic, also warned that a survivor or victim seeing their perpetrator again later in life could re-traumatise them.
“This type of encounter, even if it’s only seeing the perpetrator on screen or in media, can trigger intense emotional responses,” she said.
“It may bring back painful memories, causing feelings of fear, anger, helplessness, or shame to resurface, as the survivor may be reminded of the trauma in a very visceral way.
“It can also reinforce the loss of justice in which someone has committed a crime, and their career has not suffered all that much whereas the survivor’s whole world has sometimes been turned upside down.”
As many fans and sporting experts continue to hail Tyson as a “hero”, it’s clear that not everyone thinks his crimes should be forgotten, let alone be allowed to take home a huge chunk of the $US80million prize money being offered by Netflix.
Dark Tyson truth that should end Paul fight
On X, many have been discussing the disgraced sport star’s rehabilitation ahead of his fight with Paul, with some calling for a “boycott” of the streaming provider.
“He really went to prison for being a rapist and no one cares,” one raged.
“The rehabilitation of Mike Tyson was really something. How do you come back from a six year prison sentence for rape to appearing in The Hangover and landing a major Netflix deal?” one asked.
Another lamented: “Have people collectively forgotten Mike Tyson is a convicted rapist?”
Others pointed out there are some who “believe he’s innocent”, noting debate still rages over whether there were racial undertones to the verdict.
“I knew from the start that I’d get no justice. I wasn’t being tried in New York or Los Angeles; we were in Indianapolis, Indiana, historically one of the strongholds of the Ku Klux Klan. [...] I had been found guilty by a jury of my ‘peers,’ only one of whom was Black,” the boxer himself wrote in his book.
Currently, Tyson is preparing to fight an ongoing civil lawsuit accusing him of raping a woman in a limousine more than 30 years ago.
The claim – denied by Tyson – was filed in January 2023 under New York’s Adult Survivors Act, which gives sexual assault victims a one-year window to file lawsuits over assaults that happened years or even decades ago.
The fresh veil of suspicion has done little to stop the current spectacle on the upcoming heavyweight fight, with Tyson – who famously dubbed himself the “baddest man on the planet” – set to earn himself a whole new generation of fans as a result.
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