Tyson like a jab to the chin of Chinese sport
By Joseph Christian (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-26 09:14
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When I read the article, I thought it was a joke.
Mike Tyson is coming to China as a boxing ambassador?
As I read on, I realized it wasn't a joke - it might actually happen. All I could do was sit there in disbelief. This is the last thing the Chinese sporting world needs at this time.
Truth be told, Tyson won't actually be an ambassador but, supposedly, this December he will make his way to Beijing's neighbor, Tianjin, to help scout out young Chinese boxers and give them guidance that will help them in the ring.
But what kind of guidance will he offer them? I can just picture Tyson with his high-pitched voice telling eager young Chinese boxers: "Hey guys this is how you bite a guy's ear off."
Tyson is well known in China, but, considering the tendencies of some Chinese athletes, do they really need his help? For years, Chinese football has been plagued by accusations of opponents being kicked, referees being attacked and questionable women being hooked up with.
I thought fans in Philadelphia were bad until I witnessed the actions of the crowd at a Chinese football game. Without doubt, it was the highest concentration of profanity that I have heard outside of a raunchy hip-hop song. But most shocking of all was the fans' jubilation when one of their hometown players slapped the referee because he was upset with a call.
In the past few years, basketball has offered high hopes to the Chinese public. Year by year, the Chinese national team has improved not only their playing quality but also their reputation. Just 15 years ago, China was considered a walkover in the basketball world, but not today.
As the recent world championships proved, China is capable of playing competitively with any team in the world.
Yet, sadly, during a recent "friendly" game with Brazil, Chinese athletes once again regressed into thuggery.
Please, give us a break, that is complete hogwash. Chinese athletes need to stop acting with a childish victim mentality that makes them lash out with violence to gain some warped idea of respect. In doing so, the only thing they will ever earn is a loss of face.
As I think about it, maybe that is why Tyson is being invited. He suffers from the same problematic mentality. Whenever he was losing or thought he wasn't getting the respect he deserved, he lashed out like a 2-year-old child.
Instead of using his actions to make opponents eat their words, he literally threatened to actually eat his opponents' children. Does anyone need to be listening to this guy?
At the recent press conference announcing that Tyson will come to China, a reporter asked Tyson if he had any idea of how to make Chinese boxing better.
Given the fact that Tyson has reportedly reformed his wild-man ways, I would like to give him the benefit of the doubt about the influence he could have on Chinese sport. He is, after all, one of the greatest boxers to have ever lived. But given his propensity for thoughtless comments and his inability to control himself when it matters most, he is not the man China needs to improve its boxing.
The only lesson Chinese sport should learn from Mr Tyson is that if you act like an ass, the world will treat you like an ass, even when you make an effort to change.
I am sure Chinese boxing can have a bright future, but Iron Mike Tyson doesn't need to be a part of it.
