The Jock as Fallen Idol

Mike Tyson's six-year sentence stirs debate about the glory and excesses of America's star athletes

Of all the numbers Mike Tyson has generated -- the 36 knockouts, the half- dozen biographies, the hundreds of millions of dollars in arena and TV revenue -- the one he never wanted was 922335. For the next few years, that will be his ID as a guest of the Indiana penal system. Last week Judge Patricia Gifford sentenced Tyson to six years in prison (with parole eligibility in 1995) and fined him $30,000 on his conviction of raping Desiree Washington in July. Within minutes he had removed his Rolex watch and silver tiepin and surrendered them to one of his...

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