Mike Tyson is PO'd at Toronto reporter (live TV)

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by rubecube

Yeah, and of many of those 100s a good chunk of them have issues with the law at some point in their lives. I can turn that argument around and point to the numerous boxers who grew up in bad situations and never raped anyone. The whole "Well because the exceptions occasionally rise above severe obstacles, then those obstacles shouldn't affect anyone" argument is such a tired and privileged take.



Okay, so explain what that has to do with him raping someone? If you're going to argue that Vick should've known better, despite being constantly surrounded by people who reinforced the idea that dogfighting was okay, then surely you can't turnaround and excuse Tyson for not not knowing that rape was wrong.

Let's also not forget the fact that Vick has shown a tremendous amount of remorse, has gone on to do work for the SPCA, and consistently goes back to his hometown to advocate against dogfighting. Meanwhile, after his release, Tyson continued to act violently towards men and women, continued to use sexist, misogynistic, and homophobic language at almost every turn, and has never even attempted to get involved with any organizations that dedicate themselves to preventing domestic and sexual violence.

I'm not saying Vick is a great guy. I liked him as a QB when he played for my team, but I would never have bought his jersey and I'm glad he's gone. But if you're not seeing the parallels here then that's your own personal bias more than anything else.

Honestly I don't even know what exactly you are arguing about here and I suspect neither do you. We all get it. Tyson was convicted of rape and therefore he is dead to you. That's fine and you are entitled to your opinion. I am of the opinion that he served his time and has not raped a woman since. I'm not putting him on a pedestal or glorifying him or anything because the guy is still a thug. All I'm saying is that I am somewhat sympathetic to his plight in life as he never had a choice or a chance as he was turned into a thug at a very young age out of necessity to survive and everything he has done in his life good or bad has been a product of that.

I don't see any parallels with Tyson and Vick and you can call it bias if you want but I can argue that you are even more biased as it's pretty obvious by the way you conduct yourself on these forums you have one singular view and are steadfast with it. I got no problem with it but please don't bring out the " personal bias" card as that's pot calling the kettle black stuff.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Honestly I don't even know what exactly you are arguing about here and I suspect neither do you. We all get it. Tyson was convicted of rape and therefore he is dead to you. That's fine and you are entitled to your opinion. I am of the opinion that he served his time and has not raped a woman since. I'm not putting him on a pedestal or glorifying him or anything because the guy is still a thug. All I'm saying is that I am somewhat sympathetic to his plight in life as he never had a choice or a chance as he was turned into a thug at a very young age out of necessity to survive and everything he has done in his life good or bad has been a product of that.

I don't see any parallels with Tyson and Vick and you can call it bias if you want but I can argue that you are even more biased as it's pretty obvious by the way you conduct yourself on these forums you have one singular view and are steadfast with it. I got no problem with it but please don't bring out the " personal bias" card as that's pot calling the kettle black stuff.

Actually, if you read my post earlier, it has nothing to do with the fact that it's rape. Change it to arson if you want. The point still remains, but way dodge the question. So let me get this straight, and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong:

Tyson: Had rough childhood, grew up in a bad environment. Did something heinous, but did his time. Not responsible for his actions. Not a bad person. You have sympathy

Vick: Had rough childhood, grew up in a bad environment. Did something heinous but did his time. Continues to be a vocal activist and seeks to prevent others from committing the same types of crimes. Bad person. Zero sympathy

If that's the case fine. I'm just pointing out how hypocritical it is.

[Daradon]

Originally Posted by SHOGUN

There are many legitimate reasons why he is awesome. Go read his book and watch his documentary... instead of being judgmental and taking his interviews at face value. He has character and passion that inspires me to better myself every day.

Happy for you. I feel differently. I was very careful to say that it was an opinion of mine and some others probably wouldn't agree.

But please don't condescend to me by suggesting I may not know the situation as well as you. You don't know what I do or do not know. How interested I am/was in the man or the topic.

Lastly, you do realize HIS book and HIS documentary would be self-serving right? It's one point of view primarily. To be taken with a grain of salt.

[undercoverbrother]

A bit OT, but I didn't think individuals that were convicted of the rape were allowed into Canada.

I guees not?

[dissentowner]

For me it has not muh to do with the rape conviction, it is that people are saying Tyson is awesome when he clearly has all the traits of a psychopath. He has no remorse, no control, he does not have emotional feelings the way we do. He might seem to have more control but he really doesn't, he just does not want the repercussions of his actions to have him end up in jail again. It has nothing to do with him not wanting to punch everybody or lose his crap, he totally wants to. The real Tyson is the guy who says he wants to eat peoples children, the guy who was frustrated fighting Holyfield so he tried to bite his ear off. He is a monster, it is that simple. That being said that reporter was an a-hole, if you are going to poke a vicious dog with a stick you are damn lucky it doesn't bite you.

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by rubecube

The guy is a journalist(?) and it was a relevant question. I really don't see what was wrong with it. Risky, I'll grant you, considering Tyson's history.

It's not relevant at all. Let me know when you see Sportsnet interviewing Craig MacTavish and they ask him how being convicted and imprisoned for manslaughter in 1985 affected his latest decision as GM of the Edmonton Oilers.

It was a POS question and he deserved the backlash. It has nothing to do with Rob Ford. Perhaps if the question had something to do with substance abuse, you could twist it into a question of some validity but not this. This was a loaded question with a false premise and was simply goading and dredging up skeletons from the past regarding a situation which Tyson and many others still deny occurred.

My personal opinion is that Tyson didn't do it, many people took advantage of him to get at his money. He was never extremely intelligent and he was always vulnerable to the people around him using them for their own purposes. It's unfortunate that his trainer, Cus D'Amato (who adopted him) died when Tyson was 19 or 20 years old because he lost his role model and father figure and was subjected to the influences of greedy and power hungry people that surrounded him in the following years.

Good on him for standing up for himself on live television.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Hack&Lube

It's not relevant at all. Let me know when you see Sportsnet interviewing Craig MacTavish and they ask him how being convicted and imprisoned for manslaughter in 1985 affected his latest decision as GM of the Edmonton Oilers.

It was a POS question and he deserved the backlash. It has nothing to do with Rob Ford. Perhaps if the question had something to do with substance abuse, you could twist it into a question of some validity but not this. This was a loaded question with a false premise and was simply goading and dredging up skeletons from the past regarding a situation which Tyson and many others still deny occurred.

My personal opinion is that Tyson didn't do it, many people took advantage of him to get at his money. He was never extremely intelligent and he was always vulnerable to the people around him using them for their own purposes. It's unfortunate that his trainer, Cus D'Amato (who adopted him) died when Tyson was 19 or 20 years old because he lost his role model and father figure and was subjected to the influences of greedy and power hungry people that surrounded him in the following years.

Who are the others?

[taco.vidal]

Tyson is awesome. Bamm!

[Hack&Lube]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

Who are the others?

It's been a continuous focal point for sports writers, historians, biographers, documentary makers about Tyson or boxing, etc. IIRC, there are several books and writers out there who have written in his defence. There were also witnesses excluded from the original trial and the victim was reported to have made rape allegations several times prior to the incident. Many actually believed he would be acquitted originally. It was speculated that his aggressive/defensive behaviour (like what you saw on Toronto TV) in the courtroom probably led to his downfall.

[SHOGUN]

nm

[SHOGUN]

Originally Posted by Daradon

Happy for you. I feel differently. I was very careful to say that it was an opinion of mine and some others probably wouldn't agree.

But please don't condescend to me by suggesting I may not know the situation as well as you. You don't know what I do or do not know. How interested I am/was in the man or the topic.

Lastly, you do realize HIS book and HIS documentary would be self-serving right? It's one point of view primarily. To be taken with a grain of salt.

"No real reason why Mike Tyson is awesome".... that statement alone just shows how a little you know about him therefore I take your opinion with a grain of salt.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by SHOGUN

"No real reason why Mike Tyson is awesome".... that statement alone just shows how a little you know about him therefore I take your opinion with a grain of salt.

How much do you know about him?

[troutman]

Tyson's Rap Sheet:

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/mike-tyson-rap-sheet-1.308253

[SHOGUN]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

How much do you know about him?

Enough to say that he has positive character qualities that most people don't have.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by SHOGUN

Enough to say that he has positive character qualities that most people don't have.

How do you know him?

Do you know him personally?

What are the postive character qualities?

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by SHOGUN

Enough to say that he has positive character qualities that most people don't have.

I call b.s.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

I call b.s.

You can always tell someone's argument is probably pretty weak when the further you question them, the vaguer their responses get.

[Nage Waza]

Tyson once said he didn't rape the girl, but was guilty of many other things so his stay in jail was warranted.

[Shnabdabber]

The other side of the argument gets even weaker yet when they simply choose not to respond.

The guy made mistakes, paid his debt to society years ago, was blindsided by a reporter looking to jump on the anti Ford bandwagon on a topic that had nothing to do with why Tyson was there, and yet everyone should feel morally obligated to shun him, less they be publicly shamed themselves for liking one of the biggest sport figures of our generation.

In other words, enough of the self absorbed and self appointed moral high ground shtick that infiltrates every stinking thread on this forum that stems from nothing else than your own personal world view and is NOT representative of everyone else that participates here.

[White Out 403]

Good for Tyson. Slime ball move by the tv guy who tried to get 15 mins and likely landed himself in very hot water for Tyson dropping some profanity on live tv.