Columnist Dean Juipe: NSAC full of blunders at Tyson's hearing

DEAN JUIPEis a Las Vegas Sun sportswriter.

NEITHER WILL ever admit it, but when the pressure was on, both Julio Cesar Chavez and the Nevada State Athletic Commission caved in and quit. They rolled over and took the easy way out rather than continue fighting back.

There was nothing disgraceful about it, yet it was disappointing in some respects. Chavez, despite his denials, made the decision to quit on his stool following the eighth round of his Friday night fight with Oscar De La Hoya at the Thomas & Mack Center, and 18 hours later the NSAC went belly up in deference to Mike Tyson.

For boxing fans it was an interesting, if inconclusive, weekend. Can't De La Hoya knock anyone out? Can't the NSAC do its homework, pay attention and ask the difficult questions?

Regarding De La Hoya, he has now gone 48 consecutive rounds in Las Vegas without a knockout and he's looking at another 12 hard rounds Nov. 21 at the T&M with Ike Quartey. As for Chavez, he was merely saving face by bowing out after eight rounds and blaming a corner he never listens to for a decision he alone made.

When it comes to admitting defeat, he has a problem.

Here's the commission's problem: A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and two of the five NSAC members embarrassed themselves at Saturday's Tyson hearing with their lack of preparation and expertise.

Remember, of course, that NSAC members are appointed by the governor and in many instances those asked to serve are major contributors and supporters of whatever governor happens to be in power. The job is seen as a perk, an honorarium, a political plum to be passed out among the governor's cronies.

That said, Glenn Carano's privileges on the panel should be permanently revoked. And Lorenzo Fertitta's should at least be temporarily suspended.

Huh?

While there were dozens of questions that needed to be asked, Carano asked Tyson this one: "How long do you train for a fight?"

And Fertitta fared little better, failing to get a response to his "Mike, why do things keep happening to you?" question and then accepting an insult from the fighter in exchange.

With those two spinning their wheels, the commission's lack of depth was never more apparent. Gov. Bob Miller, somehow named the World Boxing Council's "Man of the Year" last week, should return the trophy.

Fact is, if Dr. James Nave hadn't bulled up, the NSAC would have been steamrolled by the two vans' worth of attorneys who represented Tyson at the Cashman Center hearing. Nave, as well as Luther Mack to a lesser extent, at least dug in at times and put up a little resistance. Commission chairman Dr. Elias Ghanem was dignified although less assertive than usual, likely the result of his imperfect health.

The net result: Tyson didn't answer any question he didn't want to, he wasn't grilled like he could have been, and he'll get his boxing license back Oct. 3 when the NSAC reconvenes to finalize the issue.

Tyson's suits, led by Dale Kinsella, manipulated the commission all the way around. Kinsella and Co. were ecstatic to leave the six-plus hour hearing knowing their client only has to get through a harmless session with a therapist to be relicensed in two weeks.

If that therapist handles Tyson with the same kid gloves the NSAC did, it'll be clear sailing for the former heavyweight champion whose license was revoked 14 months ago for biting the ears of Evander Holyfield during a fight at the MGM Grand Garden.

Actually, Tyson was this close to losing his cool Saturday and Kinsella knew it. Twice in rapid order he asked for an intermission as Tyson was uneasy and stirring shortly after Nave said "I just get the feeling we're not being told everything" in regard to the glowing reports Tyson's therapists and buddies were presenting.

No one on the NSAC appeared to notice but it was audible to others when Tyson told his hired psychologist, Dr. Norman Roitman, to "Tell everybody I'm not f----- up."

Kinsella needed a timeout before his man blew a gasket and the NSAC acquiesced, just as it would all day.

Avoiding an accident

The issue of Tyson's Aug. 31 road-rage incident in which he allegedly punched one man in the face and kicked another in the groin should have been a hot topic, but Kinsella kept it from the commissioners by saying it was out of their purview due to an Oct. 2 hearing scheduled in Maryland. (Mack wasn't satisfied with that decision and later said he would have abstained from voting either yea or nay on relicensing Tyson that day because of it; the other four NSAC members said they would have voted against Tyson, although that comes across as public posturing.)

Likewise, the commissioners seemed to miss it when Kinsella said the man supposedly kicked by Tyson in the aftermath of the Maryland traffic mishap has been "offered a settlement." That would seem to indicate Tyson did something inappropriate and that the therapy he was receiving had little positive impact on him the day of the accident.

(A prediction: Kinsella gets that Oct. 2 hearing in Maryland conveniently delayed for a week while Tyson is reinstated in Las Vegas.)

Curiously -- although, here again, the NSAC failed to address it -- Tyson's previous therapist was not present and no testimony was offered on his behalf. A good guess is that he might have had something negative to say about Tyson, so Kinsella left him behind and brought in newcomers, including Roitman, who evaluates possible employees for the U.S. Postal Service.

Roitman spent two hours with Iron Mike last week and came away speaking in flowery terms. Obviously, he has never seen Tyson "go postal."

Tall tales

Much of the other pro-Tyson testimony was hopelessly stilted and inappropriate. There were laughs when one lackey presented a chart supposedly outlining Tyson's lost revenue as a result of not being licensed, saying if the chart were perfectly representative of those losses it would be "nine stories tall." Another schmoozer, Mohammed Siddeeq, appeared dangerously close to playing the race card but eventually came across as condescending to the commission as he spoke from his pulpit.

Tyson himself strained the limits of credibility when he talked of the difficulties of "feeding his children." Apparently $100 million -- which is what Tyson earned for six fights between 1995 and '97 -- doesn't go as far as it once did.

But it goes far enough to pay Kinsella his hourly rate, although most of the remodeled Team Tyson said they were there "gratis." Included in that group was Shelly Finkel, Tyson's new adviser. The NSAC let him off the hook -- although Nave appeared close to asking him about it -- for his July 21 comments exclusively in the Sun about how he didn't think Tyson could get a fair shake in Nevada.

But that would have required a tough question and the NSAC wasn't up to it.

"I think we did the right thing," Ghanem said as the meeting adjourned and the ultimate decision on Tyson was delayed until an impartial therapist can meet with the fighter.

Moments later, outside Cashman, Tyson threw his motorcycle helmet to the ground in disgust when his bike wouldn't start. (Conveniently, he also had the keys to a nearby Mercedes that was up to the task of transporting him home.)

It was hard to tell if that anger-control program he's supposedly in was working or not.

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