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The A-train

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Lauding Tyson creates false hero, sends wrong message**

Everybody needs a hero.

Welcome back, Mike Tyson?

Back in 1992, when Mike Tyson was on trial for rape, I was one of his biggest advocates. The difference in the treatment of Tyson and fellow alleged rapist William Kennedy Smith by the media and judicial system was incorrigible--and I didn't hesitate to jump on that bandwagon. Smith, of course, walked and Tyson was convicted.

But it's hard to keep a good man down--if he's an athlete in his prime, it's damn near impossible. Tyson's return has been punctuated by press conferences, front page stories and prize fights. All the attention is understandable, perhaps even warranted; Mike Tyson was and very well may be again, one of the most dynamic boxers to ever grace a ring.

As a woman, I feel a special discomfort with these praises being given to a convicted rapist. Without even considering the validity of Tyson's claim that he is innocent, I wonder what kind of message we are sending to young men. Are we saying that we understand that the situation Desiree Washington put herself into was vague? Are we saying that in certain situations women and men misunderstand each other's signals and we just have to deal with that?

I do believe that Tyson deserves to reclaim his fame and fortune; I also believe that even if he is guilty, rehabilitation warrants a second chance, forgiveness and reclamation into the community. But even those of us willing to give him a second chance must take responsibility for the way that chance is given and the messages that we are sending. A parade in his honor the moment he sets foot out of prison before he has proven himself to be a changed man, a man worthy of our acceptance, is downright ridiculous and irresponsible.

Reverend Al Sharpton, one of Tyson's biggest supporters and a coordinator of his "welcome home" rally, said, in a CNN debate, that it was unfair to ostracize Tyson. Sharpton went so far as to say that all returning convicts deserved a parade, a welcome home celebration, in their honor. Sharpton also stated that people needed to atone for what they had done; Sharpton claims that is what Tyson is doing--atoning, repaying the community. He asked how blacks could turn away a brother that wants to come home. Sharpton made reference to the biblical story of the prodigal son; when the prodigal son realized he had erred and returned home, his father threw him a party, a rally so to speak.

Contrary to Reverend Sharpton's allusions, Tyson's return parade invoked different images in my mind. I am reminded of the bible passage that talked about the Pharisee who brought his entire entourage to the synagogue every Sabbath just so everyone would see him and think he was a holy man. In actuality, the Pharisee couldn't care less about worshipping God--his weekly trip was showmanship, nothing more. Are Mike Tyson's smiles and waves showmanship?

True atonement is a private matter between you and your god, between you and the people you hurt, between you and your own conscience--not between you and half a city. Atonement takes time; so does acceptance and forgiveness. Yet Tyson is required to endure none of the waiting, none of the proving himself. Why? Because he's a celebrity? Because he was treated badly by a system that didn't give a damn? Because the black community has never been more desperate for role models and heroes?

If Mike is sincere and rehabilitating--or if he's innocent--he most definitely deserves to be welcomed back with open arms. That welcome, however, must be earned and it must not be done at the expense of young male minds easily influenced by mixed signals, irresponsible accolades and 60 second knockouts.

Tonya Matthews is an engineering senior and Editorial Page Editor of The Chronicle.