If there were two sports legends that I could do without ever hearing about again, it would be O.J. Simpson and Mike Tyson. Both were extremely, extremely talented athletes who chose to let their personal lives overshadow and taint their professional athletic careers.
And now both are back in the news. You know that O.J. attempted to retrieve some of “his” possessions from a dealer in Las Vegas. He was released on $125,000 bail and is back at his home in Florida, but faces eleven charges, ten of which are felonies. He could face life in prison if convicted of the two counts of first degree kidnapping with use of a deadly weapon.
And now former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson also faces potential jail time – again. He has pleaded guilty to drug possession and driving under the influence. This all came from a traffic stop on December 29, 2006 in which Tyson was pulled over for driving erratically while in Scottsdale, AZ. He is charged with a single felony county of cocaine possession and a misdemeanor DUI count. Tyson also admitted to the officers that pulled him over that he had smoked marijuana that same day and was taking Zoloft for depression. He could face up to four years and three months in prison. But, he will not know until his sentencing on November 19th.
According to Tyson’s defense lawyer, David Chesnoff, Iron Mike had been clean and sober for eight months prior to the arrest. He had also been talking to community groups about his problem with drugs. Since the arrest, Tyson has been attending an inpatient treatment program. However, the fact that this is not his first brush with the law may work against him. He was convicted of rape in 1992, for which he served three years in prison. He also pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault charges in 1999 and served nine months for that sentence.
Simpson is a Heisman Trophy winner who inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985. Tyson started his boxing career as the youngest heavyweight champion ever at the age of 20. It is just sad to see them tarnish their own greatness with these offenses.