Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard Tyson^[1] (also known as Iron Mike,^[2] Kid Dynamite,^[2] and The Baddest Man on the Planet)^[2] (born: June 30, 1966 (1966-06-30) [age 58])^[2] is an American^[1] former heavyweight boxer. He is regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time.^[3]

Personal life

Tyson was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States to Lorna Smith Tyson and Jimmy Kirkpatrick.^[1][4]

When he was a teenager, Cus D'Amato and his partner, Camille Ewald became his legal guardians, though he wasn't officially adopted.^[5]

History

In 1986, he became the youngest ever person to win a heavyweight championship, beating Trevor Berbick.^[6]

Channel

He created his channel on January 16, 2015.^[7] On January 17, 2017, he uploaded his first video, titled "Mike Tyson - If You Show Up | Soulja Boy Diss Song (Official Video)."^[8]

Content

On his channel, he makes vlogs, as well as sports videos.

Controversies

1991 Rape

24 year old Tyson was arrested in July 1991 for the rape of 18-year-old Desiree Washington at the Canterbury Hotel in Indianapolis, Indiana. Washington, who had previously been crowned "Miss Black Rhode Island",^[9] was a contestant in the Miss Black America pageant, rehearsals for which were being held in the city. Tyson was charged with "one count of rape, two counts of criminal deviate conduct, and one count of criminal confinement—charges that carried a maximum sentence of 63 years."^[10] Tyson's rape trial at the Marion County superior court lasted from January 26 to February 10, 1992.^[11]

Washington herself testified that Tyson had "called her around 1:45 a.m. to tour the city, then picked her up in his limo, took her back to his room, and made small talk as they both sat on the bed."^[10] After propositioning her for sex, Washington stated that she firmly refused and went to use the bathroom before leaving. "After using the bathroom, she said, she noticed some discharge on her panty shield. Washington said she removed the liner and threw it away."^[10]When she came out, "Tyson then pulled her to the bed, pinned her down and raped her, she testified. 'He was mean, evil,' she said. 'I got on top and started to try to get away, but he slammed me down again.'"^[10] "Three days after the assault, Washington went to the police and accused Tyson of rape."^[9] Partial corroboration of Washington's story came via testimony from Tyson's chauffeur, Virginia Foster, who confirmed Desiree Washington's "state of shock"^[10] after the incident. Foster also testified that Tyson had previously attempted to sexually assault her, too, having "lured her to his hotel room, tried to touch her, and then exposed himself".^[10] Further testimony came from the emergency room physician, Dr. Thomas Richardson, who examined Washington after the incident and confirmed that Washington's physical condition was consistent with rape.^[12] Richardson testified that Washington had suffered "two small vaginal abrasions, consistent with 20 to 30 percent of the injuries seen in sexual assault cases",^[10] and that in approximately 20,000 cases over a period of 20 years, "only twice [...] had he ever seen such abrasions following consensual sex."^[10]

Under lead defense lawyer Vincent J. Fuller's direct examination, Tyson claimed that everything had taken place with Washington's full consent and he claimed not to have forced himself upon her. When he was cross-examined by lead prosecutor Gregory Garrison, Tyson denied claims that he had misled Washington and insisted that she wanted to have sex with him. "In a misguided attempt to show that Washington must have known that Tyson wanted sex, the defense called witness after witness to testify about their client's lewd remarks and crude behavior during his encounters with the Miss Black America contestants, and even with Washington herself."^[10] Former attorney Mark Shaw argued that Tyson's "case was mishandled, citing a jury-selection process that allowed a conservative ex-Marine to become foreman, a defense "strategy" of making Tyson look as bad as possible, and a disastrous decision to allow the defendant to testify at the grand jury hearing, the trial, and his sentencing."^[10]

Fuller had also successfully defended Tyson's manager, Don King, "against federal tax-evasion charges"^[13] in 1985, which may have been one of the reasons King chose him to represent Tyson. Tyson himself would later describe Fuller as "a horrible lawyer".^[14] According to Shaw, Fuller "never challenged obvious problems in Washington’s story. Exactly why did she remove her panty shield? How did Tyson perform oral sex on her and still keep her pinned to the bed? If Tyson is one of the strongest men in the world, where were the bruises on the 108-pound woman?"^[10] Tyson was convicted of the rape charge on February 10, 1992, after the jury deliberated for nearly 10 hours.^[15]

Alan Dershowitz, acting as Tyson's counsel, filed an appeal urging error of law in the Court's exclusion of evidence of the victim's past sexual conduct,^[16] the exclusion of three potential defense witnesses, and the lack of jury instructions on honest and reasonable mistake of fact.^[17] The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled against Tyson in a 2–1 vote.^[17] The Indiana Supreme Court let the lower court opinion stand due to a 2–2 split in its review. The tie vote was due to the fact that the Chief Justice, Randall T. Shepard, recused himself from the case. The Chief Justice later revealed he did so because of a heated argument between his wife and Dershowitz at a Yale Law School reunion concerning the case.^[18] On March 26, 1992, Tyson was sentenced to six years in prison along with four years of probation.^[19] He was assigned to the Indiana Youth Center (now Plainfield Correctional Facility) in April 1992,^[20] and he was released in March 1995 after serving less than three years of the sentence.^[21]

Due to his conviction, Tyson was required to register as a Tier II sex offender under federal law.^[22][23][24] Tyson has continued to maintain his innocence. In 1992, Erinn Cosby, the daughter of comedian and actor Bill Cosby, publicly accused Tyson of sexually assaulting her in 1989, although no charges were ever sought.^[25]

Robin Givens Abuse and Assault

Robin Givens began dating boxer Mike Tyson in 1987.^[26] According to Givens, Tyson was physically abusive before they wed on February 7, 1988.^[27][28] Tyson stated that he was just "severely traumatized by that relationship."^[29] After her miscarriage in June 1988, their marriage began to fall apart.^[30][31] Tyson claims Givens' pregnancy and miscarriage were part of a ruse to rush him into marriage, claiming that in all the time she was supposedly pregnant, Givens never gained a pound.^[32]

In a joint interview with Tyson on 20/20 in September 1988, Givens told Barbara Walters that life with him was "torture, pure hell, worse than anything I could possibly imagine," and she went on to describe his volatile temper.^[33] In October 1988, Givens filed for divorce, citing spousal abuse and was granted a temporary restraining order.^[34] Her attorney Marvin Mitchelson said, "She loves Michael Tyson, but there is continued violence, and she fears for her safety."^[35] Tyson sought an annulment, accusing her of stealing millions of dollars and manipulating the public.^[36] Givens responded by filing a $125 million libel suit for defamation.^[37] Their divorce was finalized on Valentine's Day in 1989.^[38] Givens denied that she received a reported divorce settlement of over $10 million from Tyson, stating that she "didn't receive one dime."^[39][40]

According to the 1989 biography "Fire and Fear: The Inside Story of Mike Tyson", Tyson admitted he punched Givens, stating "that was the best punch I've ever thrown in my entire life."^[41] But Tyson later claimed the book was "filled with inaccuracies."^[42] In 2009, Tyson joked about "socking" Givens on Oprah Winfrey Show, which caused laughter in the audience. Winfrey later issued an apology to Givens.^[43]

References