Monday, 7/7/97 Violent double standard must be eradicated from
sports Mere slap on the wrist only encourages bad behavior in
athletes
Mike Tyson was wrong for biting off part of Evander Holyfield’s
right ear. No one will try and justify Tyson’s crazed actions
during the third round of his heavy-weight title fight a week ago.
The question which remains is how can athletes get away with
illegal acts? This is not the first time that an athlete has
snapped while frustrated. "Iron Mike" never intended to bite
Holyfield’s ear off when he first got into the ring – or at least I
hope not. Tyson simply wanted redemption for a loss to Holyfield
five months earlier. The problem is that in this rematch Holyfield
used tactics deemed unfair by Tyson. These boxing tactics included
throwing a couple of punches and grabbing Tyson. However, the one
thing that truly made Tyson go berserk was the head-butting
consistently inflicted upon him by Holyfield. An act that
eventually led to a deep cut above Tyson’s right eye. Tyson felt
the only way to vindicate himself was to retaliate, and so he did.
Now, I am not saying that Tyson was right for his actions. Tyson,
who will earn $27 million for his "Hannibal the Cannibal"
impersonation, should be banned for life from boxing. If Tyson bit
off another man’s ear outside of a boxing ring, wouldn’t he be in
jail right now? I have come to the realization that there is a
double standard between athletes and people like you and me. If I
get frustrated that my editor decides not to run this story and I
bite off a piece of his ear, what do you think are the chances of
me writing for The Bruin ever again? Slim to none. An athlete can
spit at an umpire, kick a cameraman and continuously incite brawls,
without fearing a stiff penalty from the law. Moreover, unless the
Nevada boxing commission suspends Tyson for life, they will be
promoting the release of frustration through violence. During last
year’s playoffs Roberto Alomar was ejected from a baseball game for
arguing a strikeout, and he was caught on tape spitting directly at
the home-plate umpire. All that Bud Selig (Major League Baseball
commissioner) did was suspend Alomar five games at the beginning of
the next season – therefore allowing him to continue playing during
the playoffs. Needless to say the umpire’s union was enraged. The
message the league sent was crystal clear; players can be
disrespectful to umpires any way they see fit and only suffer a
minor suspension. A stricter penalty on Alomar would have solved
the entire situation, but the league would rather protect their
athletes than their umpires. Dennis Rodman, known for his circus
antics and outrageous emotional displays, constantly gets into
trouble because he thinks he can do whatever he wants. Before the
1996-97 season he had already built up his reputation as the bad
boy of the NBA and proceeded to dig a bigger hole for himself by
kicking a cameraman between the legs for no apparent reason. The
cameraman was simply doing his job when a diving Rodman crashed
into him. Rodman felt frustrated and kicked the innocent cameraman.
The league suspended him for 12 games, but Rodman never showed any
regret for his actions. Rodman has become the perfect example of
the double standard between athletes and everyday people. A final
example of ironic duality between everyday people and athletes is
presented in hockey and baseball, with their constant fights. On
the Jim Rome sports radio show, Rome discussed how brawling should
be allowed in hockey so that something uglier such as high-sticking
does not take place. Since when should one form of violence be
promoted to prevent another? Hockey is a physical sport, but you
cannot convince me that a fight will solve any differences between
the two players. Later on, the smartest baseball analyst ever, Rob
Dibble (who was also known as a "bad boy" while on the Cincinnati
Reds), said that when the San Francisco Giants hit San Diego’s
Steve Finley with a pitch after a three home-run performance it was
the right move. So I guess that going postal on the person in line
ahead of you who just bought the last concert tickets for your
favorite music group is understandable. What message is our society
sending by condoning hitting an individual in the back with an
80-mph pitch? Why are athletes allowed to use violence to release
their frustrations? Obviously violence does not solve any problems.
In all of the instances above, the athletes who used violent acts
as a form of retribution should be considered wrong no matter what
their reasoning behind their actions. In the world of sports, Tyson
is the one athlete now under fire for acts of violence. But in the
near future another athlete will strike again – whether it be in
football, basketball, hockey, baseball or boxing. It is up to the
commissioner of the appropriated sport to stand up and make stern
punishments. If not, these heinous acts will continue. Tyson’s
cannibalistic act should leave the boxing community with no other
option but to ban him from the sport forever. Boxing will struggle
to survive the loss of their most lucrative boxer, but at least the
sport will regain its dignity, which has been disgraced by Tyson’s
careless act. When the hearing ends next week and Tyson’s verdict
is made public, Tyson could lose any chance of fighting
professionally ever again. If Tyson does lose his chance to fight
again it will be a step toward erasing senseless violence in the
world of sports. Vytas Mazeika Related Links: Tyson as scholar a
greater danger, column on Tyson’s penchant for drama Holyfield vs.
Tyson, official site