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mike copperESPN
Mike Tyson won’t be charged in connection with an incident on an airplane last month, the San Mateo County (California) District Attorney announced Tuesday.
“We have reviewed the police reports of the San Francisco Police Department and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and have viewed the various videos collected by law enforcement from others on the airplane,” District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said. “Our decision is that we will not file any charges against Mr. Tyson based on the circumstances surrounding the confrontation.
“These include the conduct of the victim leading up to the incident, the interaction between Mr. Tyson and the victim, as well as the requests of both the victim and Mr. Tyson that no charges be filed in this case.”
The Hall of Fame boxer, in an edited video obtained by TMZ Sports, was seen striking a passenger who was seated behind him. The passenger is later seen with blood on his forehead. A spokesperson for Tyson told ESPN that “an aggressive passenger … began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him.”
The JetBlue flight was set to depart San Francisco International Airport for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida. Both Tyson and the other passenger were apprehended by police in San Francisco and subsequently released.
The former heavyweight champion has been involved in numerous physical altercations in public. Among them: a 1989 incident in Los Angeles when Tyson was accused of striking a parking attendant with an open hand; charges were dropped.
In 1998, Tyson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor assault following a car crash in Maryland. Following a 3½-month jail stint, he was placed on probation.
One of the most famous athletes of all time, Tyson retired from boxing in 2005. He returned for an exhibition bout with Roy Jones Jr. in 2020.
Tyson, 55, now focuses on his cannabis line along with his podcast, “Hotboxin’ With Mike Tyson.” He was last seen ringside at Dmitry Bivol’s upset victory of Canelo Alvarez in Las Vegas on Saturday.
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