By Ian S Palmer
It seems that no matter how far and how fast you run you can never escape your past even though people may perceive you to be a different or changed person. Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson recently found that out when he learned he has been banned from entering Great Britain. Tyson, who hails from Brooklyn, New York, was convicted of rape in the past and sentenced to six years in prison. This has caused a problem with British authorities since the nation’s immigration rules were changed last year.
Tyson had hoped to land in England to embark on a promotional tour in London and to sign copies of his new autobiography which is titled Undisputed Truth. He was also going to take part in a question-and-answer session with fans. But he’s not allowed in the United Kingdom these days because he was sentenced to more than four years in prison. He served just three years, but was sentenced to half a dozen and according to new British laws, anybody who was sentenced to more than four years is banned.
The 47-year-old former boxer was sentenced back in the 1990s after he was found guilty of raping a teenaged beauty queen in America. He also has convictions for driving under the influence, cocaine possession and assault, but it’s the rape conviction that’s keeping him out of the country. Tyson, who now makes appearances in Hollywood movies and has gone on the road with a one-man Broadway show, is well known all over the world for biting the ear of Evander Holyfield during a bout and spitting it out into the ring.
HarperCollins, Publishers of Tyson’s book, were still promoting his tour to England on December 6, and Tyson posted a message on his Twitter account which read, “So, UK fans, who is brave enough to get in the ring and ask me a question?” However, the publishers were reminded that immigration laws were changed in Britain in December of 2012 and this meant the promotional tour of England had to be called off and Tyson will now head to Paris, France instead.
Tyson was also planning on taking his Broadway show to Britain next year for a series of dates in March, but it looks like they’ll have to be canceled as well. Many activists have petitioned the UK government in the past asking them to ban Tyson from the nation due to his rape conviction. But some people feel he’s no longer a threat and don’t agree with the new law when it comes to Tyson’s specific case.
The British Home Office said it doesn’t make any comments on individual cases and added, “We reserve the right to refuse entry to the UK to anyone who is convicted of serious criminal offences. In December 2012 we toughened up the rules on entering the UK, replacing the previous discretionary approach with a clearer, stronger framework including mandatory refusals based on the length of, and time since, sentence.”
