Mike Tyson's Rub Out

Mike Tyson is one of those rare breeds who, whatever kind of trouble they get into or bizarre allegation they have thrown at them, it's never surprising. (Ed. Note: Doesn't Simmons have a theory about this?) The latest one proves it; any other famous person on the planet accused of financing a hit on people would probably be treated with some level of shock or disbelief. Not Mike, though. The New York Post gives the details of the latest allegations:

Mike Tyson put up $50,000 for a "hit" on members of a vicious Brooklyn drug gang who allegedly shot his former bodyguard to death, a witness testified yesterday. [The witness] said the former heavyweight champ put up the money in retaliation for the June 2000 slaying of Darryl "Homicide" Baum, Tyson's ex-bodyguard and close friend.

Just two weeks after the slaying, Tyson dedicated his knockout fight against Lou Savarese to his "brother, Darryl Baum."

"I love you with all my heart . . . Oh, God, I'm mad," Tyson said at the time.

"We got word Mike Tyson and [another man] had both contributed $50,000 apiece for the murders of Cash Money Brothers," Meyers testified.

Baum was gunned down just a few months after allegedly firing nine shots at rapper 50 Cent.

As you are picking your jaws up off the floor, catching your breath and putting your socks back on your feet, realize that there might not be any truth to these allegations. Remember that Mike has not been charged with anything and he could easily continue living his post-fight career, basking in rotundity and offering psychological help to those who need it.

Tyson In Hit Bid: Witness [NY Post]