On the latest episode of the Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson podcast, the boxer addressed his filmed altercation with a passenger on a JetBlue flight in April.
While speaking with guests Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, Tyson described how the passenger, later identified by TMZ as Melvin Townsend III, “triggered” him before the former heavyweight champion turned around to punch the man in the face multiple times. Townsend, who could be seen with a bloodied face, received medical attention following the incident.
“He was fucking with me, man,” Tyson said of Townsend, adding, “I took pictures with this n***a.”
“I shouldn’t even be taking public planes,” he continued. “My wife gets mad that I take public planes but what am I gonna do on a fucking plane with my friends?”
Tyson went on to question how people expected him to react in a scenario such as the one that went down in April.
“What am I going to do on a fucking plane with my friends and [a bodyguard who’s] supposed to watch me?” Tyson said.
He added, “A bodyguard and a fucking yes man. What am I gonna do on a plane?”
As previously reported, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office announced on May 11 that charges will not be pursued against Tyson “based on the circumstances surrounding the confrontation.”
According to D.A. Stephen Wagstaffe, those circumstances “include the conduct of the victim leading up to the incident, the interaction between Mr. Tyson and the victim, as well as the requests of both the victim and Mr. Tyson that no charges be filed in this case.”
“We thank San Mateo District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe, the San Mateo County Sheriff, and all law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation for their careful, diligent, and professional work,” Tyson’s attorneys wrote in an official statement.
