Plenty of Punch Behind Commission’s Tyson Ruling

I’m surprised at the number of people who believe the Nevada Athletic Commission was lenient with Mike Tyson.

Marc Ratner, the commission’s executive director, called last week’s decision “firm but fair.” I agree.

By revoking Tyson’s license, the commission guaranteed he will not fight in Nevada or probably any other state for at least a year.

In the unlikely event he receives permission to leave the United States from Superior Court Judge Patricia Gifford in Indiana, where he remains on probation for his rape conviction, he could fight in another country. But finding credible opponents would be problematic because they would face sanctions from Nevada if they fought an unlicensed boxer.

Even so, critics of the commission’s ruling call it a slap on the wrist, assuming Tyson’s license will be renewed when he is allowed to apply next summer.

Perhaps I’m naive, but the commissioners have done nothing to lead me to believe they will exercise anything less than due diligence whenever Tyson comes before them.

But let’s say I’m wrong, that the commission will be too concerned about the money Tyson’s absence is costing the casinos to hold him to any standard of conduct higher than keeping his name out of police reports.

In that case, you be the judge.

Watch Tyson for the next year. See whether he makes a sincere effort to reform or whether he tries to fool you with the political consultant he hired last week to doctor his image. Then decide whether he deserves another chance.

You have more power than the Nevada Athletic Commission to determine whether he remains a marketable commodity to boxing’s promoters. If you won’t pay to see him, they won’t pay him to fight.

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I haven’t seen Laker owner Jerry Buss’ 25-year lease with the proposed downtown arena, but I tend to believe his lawyer and the developers when they say he signed it. . . .

Some who have seen the lease contend there were 20 million good reasons for Buss to sign, the $11 million he already has received from the developers, King owners Philip Anschutz and Ed Roski, and the $9 million he will receive when the Lakers play their first game in the new building. . . .

The Harlem Globetrotters have begun a search for the world’s funniest basketball player. . . .

One candidate has to be Darryl Dawkins, who is rumored to be en route from Lovetron to play next week with one of the free agent teams in the Fila Summer Pro League at the Long Beach Pyramid. . . .

But Orlando’s Dennis Scott probably eliminated himself from contention when he played profane rap music, made off-color remarks and refused to sign autographs at a children’s basketball camp in Virginia over the weekend. . . .

“Don’t ask me for autographs,” he said. “Ask me about the rage that exists inside me.” . . .

Threatening to retire if the Magic doesn’t renegotiate his $3 million-a-year contract, he says he wants to play for the Lakers or Atlanta. . . .

Then there is the WNBA Phoenix Mercury’s Michele Timms. She recently wrote a letter to a Phoenix newspaper, apologizing to fans because she wasn’t able to get around to all of them who wanted autographs after a recent game. . . .

Albert Belle must hate it when other athletes steal his ideas. . . .

The Dodgers are in Denver, but Larry Walker can relax. They’ve used their left-hander. . . .

“Put a bigger belly on him, and it’s Fernando,” Brett Butler says of Dennis Reyes. . . .

Reyes so resembles Fernando Valenzuela, I expected him to wear No. 34. But the Dodgers say they have that number on hold in case they decide to retire it. . . .

They also have No. 20 in reserve, anticipating they will retire it when--if?--Don Sutton is inducted into the Hall of Fame. . . .

The NCAA awarded $5,000 post-graduate scholarships to UCLA high jumper Amy Acuff and USC swimmer Kristine Quance. . . .

Dr. Kathleen Zechmeister of Seal Beach is looking for a disadvantaged female student-athlete between the ages of 12-17 to become a spokesperson for Females Overall Committed to Unity in Sports, a group she founded to provide awareness and money for girls’ sports teams. . . .

“We do not believe that male sports should be eliminated in order to maintain Title IX requirements and our efforts help maintain gender equity,” she says. . . .

When the Tour de France began in earnest Monday, with the first of the mountain stages, organizers were confronting a serious problem. They had to crack down on riders for excessive use of cell phones while on the course.

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While wondering what the cyclists are talking about, I was thinking: probably the rage that exists inside them.