# Rapist and Thug Extrordinaire Mike Tyson is Bankrupt! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [August 4, 2003, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932 "2003-08-04T17:14:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/21 "2003-08-04T22:30:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ratty \* > …As for **Zenster’s** “setting back African-Americans” argument, I don’t really see how this is relevant at all, and it speaks of a very condescending attitude, your point about “crazy white people” notwithstanding. I don’t look at Mike Tyson and think “Oh, those poor black folks! Another fucked-up black guy!”, and I’ve never thought of Hitler as any reflection on white people, Germans, or people who wear tiny moustaches. They’re just examples of fucked-up humans. _Humans_. Period. > > But really, however bad Mike Tyson is, I almost had to laugh when you pulled out the tired old Hitler card. Can anyone actually equate the two with a straight face? No one is comparing Tyson with Hitler. If you read carefully, you’ll see the intent was that there are people of every race providing fodder for bigots of all sorts. So long as fuckwits like Al Sharpton play the race card more often than marked aces in a crooked poker game, race will remain an issue. In other news: The Smoking Gun article listed “[debts](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/tysonbank1.html) that reflect his lavish lifestyle: a limousine company ($308,749); a Las Vegas jeweler ($173,706); a New York rug store ($78,000); Ferrari of Beverly Hills ($60,603)” Oh come on now, if you don’t show up in a limousine, no one at the jeweler’s is going to take you seriously when you buy all those diamond rings for investment purposes. Plus, we all know that New York has the best rug prices. Now this one, $60,603 owed to the Ferrari dealership in Beverly Hills. Hell, what was that for, a tune up? Oh, and the $13.3 million due to the IRS? That’s what they fined Tyson for trying to deduct Evander Holyfield’s ears as a business lunch. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/22 "2003-08-04T22:34:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bad News Baboon \* > \*\*Excuse me, **Chefguy** … > before you start spouting off your ‘facts’ you should get the stpry straight. > > Batboy is a feature of _The Weekly World News_ not _The Enquirer_. > > Jesh. What kind of education did you get that you couldn’t be bothered with reading quality material? > > 😉 \*\* Hey, I just GOT to this friggin’ planet, okay? You can’t expect me to pick up on the local rantings of the bipedal hominids just like THAT…did I just say all that out loud? …D’OH!! ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/23 "2003-08-04T22:40:19Z")
Tyson bit off Batboy’s ear? ---
**Author:** ![keithnmick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90db22/32.png) [@keithnmick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keithnmick)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/24 "2003-08-05T01:13:36Z")
I wonder if this is really a true bankruptcy or an accountant induced one, in the TLC mode, to shelter him from any pending lawsuits. I’m not feeling too much pain for him, I doubt he’s sleeping in his car tonight and living on top ramen. ---
**Author:** ![Scotticher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Scotticher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scotticher)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/25 "2003-08-05T01:54:49Z")
As far as I am concerned, the man could be purple…with (naturally) green hair and six arms. He could be a Martian, from Outer Anteres or from the Moon. Doesn’t matter to me, and I wouldn’t hold it against any of the aforementioned groups that he happened to have been BORN one of them. Tyson has proven for…what, over 15 years?..that he is a roach in the bottom of a bucket of filth. (So was Hitler, in my opinon, but he is dead so he is irrelevant.) Tyson has proven time and again that where he belongs is in prison. When are we going to send him there for the rest of his life? Bankrupt? Fine. The only problem with it is that if he truly ends up on the streets, where he belongs, he will prey on the already hapless people who are unfortunate enough to live there. THEY, after all, are people. They don’t deserve having to deal with his ilk. They deserve far FAR better. Besides which, I am sure he has plenty of cash stashed all over that will allow him to continue his reign of terror over the populace as soon as this current thing dies down. I repeat…when is the man going to have to pay for his numerous crimes? He is a thug. Just because he has money, it appears he has been allowed to spend a token amount of time in jail, then he has been released to wreck havoc on anyone who is unfortunate enough to come into his sphere of “influence.” Of course, it doesn’t excuse the people…mostly women, who are star struck enough to put themself in danger just because he is a “celebrity.” I don’t excuse them, although I don’t think they “got what they deserved,” either. BUT…really. The man is a convicted rapist. He is clearly a very violent man. Is it worth risking your very LIFE to have a fling with someone like this? WHEN are we going to start treating the rich thugs the same way as we treat the POOR thugs? This whole mess makes me sick. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/26 "2003-08-05T02:36:57Z")
Bravo, **Scotti**. You have perfectly defined the “Thug” portion of this thread’s title. That _any_ state’s boxing commission allowed him to fight after snacking on Holyfield’s ears showed how money was the sole object and that the sport mattered not one whit. The moral turpitude exhibited by this ambulatory crime scene is that of a borderline (if not genuine) psychopath. The only concern I have regarding Tyson’s skin color is the remote chance that America’s remaining black population suffers misperception due to the misdeeds of him and other thugs like Don King. It is these sort of deficient “role models” that have managed to help keep alive continued glorification of the “thug life” in modern culture. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/27 "2003-08-05T02:48:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jackmannii \* > _This_ is the sort of panhandler you want to run into? Yes … preferrably while I’m going over 50MPH. ---
**Author:** ![Blonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Blonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blonde)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/28 "2003-08-05T02:54:27Z")
I am amazed that there’s a debate going on about Tyson’s lunacy - race aside, the guy’s clearly a walking timebomb. Role models are scarce, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/29 "2003-08-05T03:35:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jackmannii \* > **_This_ is the sort of panhandler you want to run into?** Cue mental image of a suit wearing Tyson, cup in one hand, other hand in a fist, walking up to me and saying “Give me fifty dollars”. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Raven\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Raven\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven_1)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/30 "2003-08-05T03:41:41Z")
Howyadoin, The disturbing thing about people like Don King and Al Sharpton is that they are considered envoys and spokesmen for the African-American community, despite their checkered pasts. A quote or two from a Don King biographical page on [topblacks.com](http://topblacks.com): > [@](#): > > When asked recently in a private meeting with Mandalay Bay hotel executives in Las Vegas about what he would like on his epitaph, King quickly responded, “He worked for the day when all people would be clothed in dignity.” This statement belies the belief that King is merely a boxing promoter. At heart, he is, foremost, a civil rights activist. > . > . > . > > King’s career as a promoter spans three decades and includes more than 500 world-championship fights, but it began as a humble plea to help save a Cleveland hospital in 1972. Facing a severe shortage of funds, Forest City Hospital was prepared to shut down. King knew the hospital served a vital function to a poor, working-class community. He sought out heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali and asked him to come and support a fundraising benefit to help turn around the hospital. The two men hit it off, and a new era began in boxing. And this from [thehistorymakers.com](http://thehistorymakers.com) on Rev. Al Sharpton: > [@](#): > > Sharpton has never hesitated to act in support of African Americans, from individuals seeking public offices to Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant brutalized by Brooklyn police in 1997. Now he is also seeking to build a national multi-cultural, multi-racial movement addressing a range of issues. To that end, in 1999 Sharpton, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and Harvard Law School professor Charles Ogletree formed “Second Chance,” a program to serve non-violent felony offenders after their release from prison. Sharpton also orchestrated a massive protest when police shot unarmed Amadou Diallo 42 times in 1999. In 2001, Sharpton protested the U.S. Navy’s bombing of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques. Attempting to fight injustice wherever he finds it, Sharpton is following in the footsteps of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. and Reverend Jesse Jackson. And from that same site… FYI: Doubleday published his autobiography, not some vanity press. > [@](#): > > \*\*Bibliography \*\* > > Sharpton, Al. Go and Tell the Pharaoh: The Autobiography of Reverend Al Sharpton. New York: Doubleday, 1996. > Sharpton, Al. Al on America. New York: Kensington Pub Corp, 2002. > Marcovitz, Hal. Al Sharpton (Black Americans of Achievement). Philadelphia: Chelsea House Pub, 2001. Did anyone else get the impression from the O.J. case that the African-American community doesn’t give a damn about the “mainstream” perception of their public figures? I’m the first to admit that as a Italian-American who doesn’t have a lot of social contact with African-Americans, I’m talking largely out of my ass. Maybe the retractions and recriminations that followed the cosmic meltdown that was the Brawley case just didn’t reflect badly on Sharpton. Maybe the Don King stories of thuggery, extortion, tax fraud, and exploitation of the young black men for whose dignity he claims to fight are fabricated by a jealous Establishment and government. Maybe I’m wrong. Oh, and while I’m on my feet… > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > **…ambulatory crime scene…** No, not a band name… but a helluva _album title…_ -Rav P.S. I hope that makes up for the horrific hijack 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Scotticher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Scotticher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scotticher)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/31 "2003-08-05T04:13:17Z")
**Zenster** I have enough faith in this board’s membership to believe that they know that this “person”'s (and I use that term loosely) race has nothing to do with his depravity. Your only mistake was to make a comment on the bad reflection this would have on the African American comunity. I know what you meant, and you are entirely correct. There ARE people in this country who will say “Yeah, well, that Tyson feller…he is BLACK, you know…” And I abhor these people also. They exist, unfortunately. To my distress, some of them exist right here in the extremely liberal state of WA. Mostly, here, they aren’t prejudiced against African Americans…they are prejudiced against Native Americans. Recently, I had dinner with people I love who are long time friends of my parents. We had a nice dinner, and then we were just sitting around talking. So, then something came up and the man said something like this. “Well, he drank like a fish. But he was a Lummi, so…” And I had to sit there and find a way to NOT upset my father and still say that this was unacceptable. Finally, I said “Art, do you KNOW how racist it is to paint ALL of the Lummi Indian Nation with that brush, or DON’T YOU?” “Well, he was a DRUNK!” said Art. “Well, fine…do you know that the REST of his family were drunks?” said the beleaguered me. “I didn’t KNOW any of the rest of his family.” Art “So…don’t you think it is a tad bit wrong to say that the man was a drunk BECAUSE he was a Native American?” sez Scotti. “BUT…they are ALL drunks!” sez Art. “REALLY? Oh, how strange. Because you know, Art, I graduated with several Lummi Indian Nation people, and they were VERY high in our class academically. Never partied, never did drugs, never did anything but study hard and try to make their lives matter. How strange, to me, that they could do all this while being drunk all the time. How strange.” sez me. I was so angry I could hardly see straight to drive home. Dad, of course, was upset. Why did I “find it necessary” to upset everyone? “Dad, is it okay to call someone a nigger?” “Don’t you EVER let me catch you calling someone that!” “So, dad, why is it okay to call everyone of Lummi Indian Nation birth a drunk?” “He didn’t MEAN that.” “Yes, he did. He SAID it.” Much discussion ensued. Well, he is 84 years old and he just wants everyone to get along. I’m a whole lot younger, and I want everyone to get along too. Eventually, we agreed that Art is an unintentional racist. He IS a racist, he just doesn’t KNOW it. A very sad place to be. Dad is going to try to get Art to see this if it comes up again, I am going to drop it unless it comes up in my presence. Once again, this whole thing makes my heart hurt. HOW can you fight racism when it is so totally unrecognized by the people who hold it? It is one thing when we have the white supremicists…it may not be perfect, but at least it is accepted that the government should root them out and deal with them. But…the regular Joe, who DOESN’T EVEN THINK HE IS RACIST? What do you DO with that? Sheesh, once again I hijack a thread. Sorry. I think I will go dye my hair. Green. ---
**Author:** ![Svt4Him](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@Svt4Him](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svt4Him)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/32 "2003-08-05T06:39:33Z")
Mike was a guy we all loved to hate. He did what he did, and he did it well. There are few other boxers that drew the crowd that Mike did, and that’s too bad. But Mike was never meant to be the guy next door, he was a puppet in a game that was bigger than he was. Throw in a few million for a title or two, and who wouldn’t act like he did, as it was expected…and we paid good money to see it. ---
**Author:** ![SkyBum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@SkyBum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkyBum)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/33 "2003-08-05T06:57:08Z")
Here is another interesting financial document of Mr. Tyson’s. > **[Tiger Eating Mike Tyson's Wallet](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/tiger-eating-mike-tysons-wallet)** > > Who knew that a tiger could be so expensive? Boxer Mike Tyson spends more than $4000-a-month caring for his ferocious pet (not to mention the grand it costs to insure the animal). That's just one of ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/34 "2003-08-05T08:09:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SkyBum \* > \*\*Here is another interesting financial document of Mr. Tyson’s. > > [http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/mtysondiv1.html](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/mtysondiv1.html) \*\* Damn right that’s interesting: “1222 American Express $28344.09 Mike American Express Platinum Card” Mike only gets a Platinum? Shit, you’d have thought he qualified for a Centurion. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/35 "2003-08-05T17:20:26Z")
[Credit](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/mtysondiv1.html) given where credit is due. At least there is a shred of humanity lurking somewhere in this person. > [@](#): > > “But along with Tyson’s outlandish expenses, there’s one payout for which he can be saluted. That’s the $13,000 he paid for the monthly home care of 96-year-old Camille Ewald, the longtime partner of late boxing trainer Cus D’Amato. Though not related, Tyson has referred to Ewald, who died last year, as his mother.” PS: **Scotti** and **The\_Raven** , neither of your are hijacking squat in this thread. All of it relates and all of it is important. Along with the hammering, there has to be some real life experience and material facts or this thread should be locked. ---
**Author:** ![Svt4Him](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@Svt4Him](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svt4Him)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/36 "2003-08-05T17:49:38Z")
Man, I’d like to be his accountant. $93,000 for three months… ---
**Author:** ![Isabelle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b5a626/32.png) [@Isabelle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isabelle)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/37 "2003-08-05T18:48:51Z")
He _was_ a good fighter when he played fair. How he could run through $300 million dollars is beyond me. I could have made a million last me a lifetime. Did you see his new tatoo on his face? It cost him $500.00 It is sooooo ugly. Who tattoos their face? Supposedly he found religion in jail but I have yet to see him behave as though he did. ---
**Author:** ![Super\_Gnat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@Super\_Gnat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Super_Gnat)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/38 "2003-08-05T19:28:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The\_Raven \* > **Did anyone else get the impression from the O.J. case that the African-American community doesn’t give a damn about the “mainstream” perception of their public figures?** Since the African-American community has complete control over all of its members :rolleyes:. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Raven\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Raven\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven_1)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/39 "2003-08-05T21:33:56Z")
Howyadoin, Who said they did? :rolleyes: What I’m saying is that there is a different set of criteria by which African-American public figures are perceived by their peers. The persona that is presented to and by the mainstream opinion-makers may appear more on the fringe of “law-abiding citizens”. That’s my perception, as I stated earlier I’m speaking as a white man looking in. I don’t see the African-American community as a monolithic bloc, as was seemingly extracted from my previous post. But when people like Sharpton and Don King and Jesse Jackson speak, they are perceived to be speaking on behalf of a segment of the African-American population that subscribes to their agenda. A segment. -Rav ---
**Author:** ![Windwalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5e9695/32.png) [@Windwalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Windwalker)\ **Post date:** [August 6, 2003, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932/40 "2003-08-06T06:04:07Z")
I see nothing wrong when people say that something will look bad for black americans, or whites, or asians. Some people do tend to look at public figures and news stories to help judge their perceptions. This is not right, but it is true. For example, my father bases his knowledge of muslims on what he’s seen on the news (terrorists). He thinks most muslims are terrorists (or support it), and even though I’ve tried to change his mind, I can tell that he still thinks this (he gets scared whenever he notices an arab). He’s not a bad person, just, well, ignorant. So people like Mike Tyson will negatively affect the image of black people. Just as John Rocker will negatively affect the image of baseball players. Or how the KKK will negatively affect the image of white americans (I actually knew a guy from Cambodia that said he had been a little afraid to come to America because his skin was pretty dark…). Image is superficial, and it is not color-blind. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rapist-and-thug-extrordinaire-mike-tyson-is-bankrupt/192932.md?page=3)