Thank God for Mike Tyson, Albert Belle and Dennis Rodman. Without them, I and other sports talk show hosts would be more like the Maytag man: "Hey, look, our second call this hour." Love them or hate them, they push your buttons. It's the old Howard Cosell syndrome. You listened to Howard because you agreed with what he said or you listened to see what the a**hole was going to say this time. Tyson, Belle and Rodman have cornered the market for saying and doing the bizarre. However, I find each to be different and interesting.
Mike Tyson has provided Jay Leno, David Letterman and every office jokester with enough material to last a lifetime. Have you heard, Mike Tyson gives new meaning to "bite me." Tyson has been a ticking bomb all his life. A kid off the streets, his only developed and known skills are fighting and brutality. Without a formal education and any family structure, he's truly a product of his environment. There's no distinction between what he does in the ring and out of it. Tyson is both villain and victim. Without any foundation to know the difference between right and wrong, he's allowed himself to be used his whole life. Only his early surrogate father and trainer, Cus D'Amato, cared and gave him any direction. D'Amato's death, along with Tyson's early boxing success made him chum in boxing's shark-infested waters.
When you have no education, no guidance, no moral compass, no working skills except to beat people up and you work in the "used car lot of life," your future is bleak. All Mike Tyson knows is to take what he wants. Asking for it first is not an option. Being told "no" isn't an acceptable answer. Tyson has heard "no" a lot lately. No, you don't rape a woman. No, you don't bite Evander Holyfield's ears. No, you don't box anymore. Hopefully, the latest "no" will get his attention, but don't bet on it.
If you're looking for the ultimate answer for Tyson's bizarre behavior in the Holyfield fight, then consider this: Tyson is a man with one vocation - fighting. His limited self-esteem is solely in his view of himself as a fighter. To him it's cut and dried: I win, I'm a good person. I lose, I'm not. Having lost once to Holyfield and knowing he would never be able to win or lose this fight on his boxing skills alone because of a gashed eye from a head butt, he reverted to what was natural. Losing was not acceptable, but being disqualified allowed Tyson time to regroup and eventually prepare for another opportunity at establishing his self-esteem.
Albert Belle is a dichotomy. He comes from a stable home with well-educated parents. His twin brother is affable and outgoing. So, what is Belle's problem? I suspect he too is a product of his environment - his sports environment. I've talked and interviewed him. It was during the off-season and he was pleasant, open and warm. There's no questioning Belle's talent and intensity. His problem, like Tyson's, is distinguishing between right and wrong and where the ball field ends and real life begins.
I suspect Belle's past and present are linked. His well-chronicled past drinking problem is usually an indication of a lack of discipline and a desire to escape reality. Today that lack of discipline and reality escape in his attitude. My way or no way and get out of the way. I believe that Belle likes being a villain. Aside from public and media opinion, he suffers no consequences for his actions and attitude. He still gets his millions whether he smiles or snarls. At this point, he's so far down that dark road he couldn't find his away back with a searchlight. The saddest part of Belle is he has a good side. He's talented and people want to like him. The tragedy is, Belle's destruction is self-induced.
Dennis Rodman is the most misunderstood of the three. I like him. He's smart. He's a good basketball player. And, he knows exactly what he's doing at all times. Sure he can say and do stupid and outrageous things, but he knows in advance the reaction and the benefit of what he says and does. After his comments about Mormons, he might not be selling anymore Wendy's hamburgers, but he got a gig to sell sneakers. Rodman is a basketball player, pied piper to free spirits everywhere, carnival barker and the P.T. Barnum of business.
After winning championships and leaving the Detroit Pistons, Rodman realized "outrageous" sells. He needed to reinvent Dennis Rodman in order to become a better basketball player and a more interesting person to Dennis Rodman. To him it's a game, on and off the court. He'll continue to be more outrageous until someone who can stop him tells him to stop. Rodman doesn't hurt anyone and he doesn't mind being laughed at. He understands he's a limited commodity that goes away when his career is over. So, let's make as much money as we can, when we can. If he wore a suit, had normal hair and made 20 million a year, he'd be called a very successful businessman.
In the end, when their careers are over, I worry less about Rodman than I do Tyson and Belle. Tyson and Belle will still have to deal with their demons. Rodman understands himself, where he came from and where he wants to go. Rodman will be able to walk away from it all and comfortably take a place in society without anger. And, he'll laugh all the way to the bank.
I feel better now.
I'm Ron Barr.
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