Mike Tyson Speaks Out On Punching An Airplane Passenger
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson is speaking out after a video of him appearing to punch a man on an April 20th flight went viral.
On his podcast Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson, the 55-year-old explained, “He was f****ng with me, man… I shouldn’t even be taking public planes. My wife gets mad that I take public planes but what am I gonna do on a f****ng plane with my friends?”
Tyson also confirmed he took a selfie with the passenger before the incident.
According to CNN, San Mateo County, California District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe declined to file misdemeanor battery charges against Tyson based on the circumstances of the confrontation, including the conduct of the alleged victim, Melvin George Townsend III, leading up to the incident.
“It is simply a case that does not belong in the criminal court,” Wagstaffe said. “If they want to sue each other, that's their business.”
The video obtained by TMZ Sports appeared to show Tyson on board the plane, bending over his seat and repeatedly hitting Townsend. Tyson’s representative released a statement at the time that he had an incident with an “aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him.”
TMZ does not show the entirety of the incident. A water bottle was not visible in the footage and Townsend III denies throwing one at Tyson.
Townsend’s attorney previously said his client is a “big Mike Tyson fan” and alleged in a statement last month that “Tyson became agitated by an overly excited fan and began to strike him.”
Wagstaffe told CNN that both men involved requested that charges not be filed in the case.
