I know, I know, this was really bigger news last week, when Iron Mike was initially arrested for DUI and coke possession. But I didn’t get a chance to comment on it last week, and it wasn’t until this week that we became aware he could be facing up to 71/2 years in jail.
This news has brought to light the fact that finally, after remaining a vitally important sports figure for about 15 years after his prime ended, the world has stopped caring about Mike Tyson. Can you imagine news of Tyson being arrested for coke possession eliciting so little response even as recently as two years ago? Back in ’99, when he kneed a middle-aged man in the groin following a fender bender, it caused a sensation—in large part because Tyson was still a significant heavyweight fighter at the time. Now he’s fighting exhibition bouts against half-blind sparring partners, and nobody’s watching. If he goes back to jail now, and it seems likely he will, you won’t see many boxing writers at the trial or the sentencing. It’ll just be another sad chapter in a predictably sad story—never mind that prison may actually be something of a refuge for a depressed, destitute man with drug problems.
