Mike Tyson offers empathy for NBA star Kobe Bryant
( 2003-08-26 11:18) (Agencies)
Former boxing champion Mike Tyson, who served three years in prison on a rape
conviction, says he empathizes with basketball star Kobe Bryant and the sexual
assault charges faced by the Los Angeles Lakers guard.
"I've been in an ordeal like him, and I know how easy it is for a young man
to be a big shot, a big star in America's eyes and then get in another arena and
he's nobody. That means the judicial arena," Tyson, 37, said in an interview
airing Monday on the syndicated TV show "Access Hollywood."
The one-time heavyweight champion, convicted of rape in 1992 and suspended
from professional boxing for biting the ears of Evander Holyfield during a 1997
bout, said he wished Bryant "the best" and urged the NBA star to stay close to
his family.
"When it comes to the nitty-gritty, if he ever gets some (jail) time, which I
hope he doesn't, and which I don't think he is going to, he's gotta keep in
consideration who's gonna come see him, who's gonna be in touch, who's gonna be
his contact if anything happens," Tyson said. "It can happen to anybody."
Bryant, 24, has been charged with class 3 sexual assault, the equivalent of
rape under Colorado law, stemming from allegations made by a 19-year-old
Colorado woman who worked as a concierge at a resort where he was staying in
June. The athlete has denied he raped the woman, insisting their encounter was
consensual and that his only wrongdoing was adultery.
He is due back in court Oct. 9 for a preliminary hearing that will determine
whether he must stand trial. If convicted, he could face a sentence of four
years to life in prison.
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