COLUMN: John L. Smith

     I was going to let it pass, cover my ears, turn the other cheek.
      But I guess I just snapped.
      Like a head butt delivered by a nation of hypocrites, the hand-wringing condemnation of Mike Tyson by the media and public is too much to let slide.
      So guard your ears. Here it comes.
      Those calling for Tyson's banishment from boxing in the wake of his ear-biting of Evander Holyfield Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden fail to appreciate a few facts about the sport as it is practiced in Las Vegas.
      First, it's not a sport. It's a racket that is heavily influenced by glib gangster Don King. On the way to the top of the heavyweight division, King was a Cleveland street hoodlum who kicked a numbers runner to death, has been accused of extorting millions from legendary heavyweights and thus far has managed to slip more government investigations than John Gotti.
      One other thing. He is a licensed Nevada boxing promoter with a gargantuan contract with the MGM Grand, a licensed Nevada casino.
      And you are fretting over a bite on the ear?
      Then there's the devil of the day, Tyson.
      His biography reads like a rap sheet. Come to think of it, it is a rap sheet. He was raised by Brownsville wolves. While other kids were learning to ride bicycles without training wheels, he was stealing hubcaps, snatching purses and pulling armed robberies.
      As an adult, he is a convicted rapist who is still on probation in Indiana. Unlike you, at least he's consistent.
      And you are fretting over a bite on the ear?
      Now, to the terrible offense in question.
      This just in: One left hook to the temple can cause temporary blindness and permanent brain damage.
      Only a rabid animal can kill you with a bite on the ear.
      Tyson has had his shots, hasn't he?
      Boxing is the felonious frolic that refuses to seriously consider the use of any form of headgear to protect participants from possible permanent injury. Although, admittedly, in Tyson's case a muzzle would have been a more appropriate piece of equipment.
      Why no headgear?
      It's not because they can slip and obscure vision; it's because they would decrease the number of crowd-pleasing knockouts. The fans don't want it.
      Then there's the governing body, the Nevada Athletic Commission. The commission is wisely moving swiftly to compel the revocation of Tyson's license and fine him as much as 10 percent of his $29.8 million purse. He is an embarrassment, but he is an earner.
      Hate to disappoint the sanctimonious sorority, but Tyson is unlikely to be banished for life. Nor should he be. The commission has repeatedly sanctioned aging George Foreman's fights and has allowed broken-down former champs with ruined retinas to make comebacks in the name of commerce and the peanut-crunching crowd.
      If you think Tyson and the heavyweight division somehow are going to remain persona non grata on the Strip, you need your head examined. With all his baggage and odd dietary practices, Tyson has a history of being good for the casino business. And there's a reason blood and money smell so much alike.
      Finally, there are the fans and reporters who have followed Tyson's every move in and out of the ring. Congratulations. You helped make him what he is today. And so did I. We created the animal, then when it bites the hand, or ear, that feeds it we feign outrage. Shame on us.
      Now for one last reality check. Boxing exists in all its sleaze and gore because it appeals to our animalistic nature. Mostly, it exists because we like to watch. It is the big-screen bloodbath and Turn 3 at Indy right in your living room.
      Tyson is a tragically tormented soul who, like his hero Sonny Liston, is well on the way to finding his talent as drained as his fortune. He deserves no sympathy, but neither does he rate a public flogging for playing out his role as the nation's ultimate athletic animal.
      So, Mike Tyson bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield's ear.
      So what?
      If you really object to Tyson's behavior, don't buy the next pay-per-view title fight. Pass on purchasing tickets to the next Fight of the Century. Ban the racket entirely, or at least send Don King into retirement.
      But you won't. After all the whining subsides, the truth is you like to watch. It's in your blood.
      So save the outrage for oil spills and crippled kiddies.
      Besides, the latest juicy rumor has it Tyson-Holyfield III will be a real killer.
     
     John L. Smith's column appears Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. He can be reached at John_L._Smith@lvrj.com.