teddy atlas..

What, beyond the fact that he basically put a gun to Tyson's head and told him to cut the ****?

 

Atlas was his trainer when he was about 12. Atlas didnt like D'Mato letting him off with everything he did wrong and Tyson eventually touched Atlas's wifes teenage sister. Atlas held a gun to Tysons head and then left the gym. Atlas blames Tyson for his break up with Cus

 

Tyson didnt make any one point a gun, but I guess Atlas can blame him for the ridiculous action as an attempt to justify it..

Wasnt Tyson like 14 at the time?

 

Atlas pointed the gun at Tyson because he touched his sister in law

 

Before Tyson's first amateur fight he was filled with fear. Atlas held the weeping Tyson and comforted him, just like he had done for Mane. After all, Tyson was one of his kids.

Years passed and Atlas and Tyson became very close, like brothers. When Tyson was released from the correctional center he moved into the D'Amato home with everyone else. Atlas left years later when he met and married his wife Elaine and moved into a small apartment nearby.

Atlas didn?t like it when D'Amato allowed minor transgressions on Tyson's part, but D'Amato didn't want to hear it. Tyson was a kid but he was a street-smart kid that knew he was D'Amato's ticket and that D'Amato would not support Atlas when Tyson got out of line. This began to erode the relationship between Atlas and D'Amato.

One day Atlas walked into his apartment and found his wife holding her eleven- year old sister, who was sobbing. What was about to unfold would cause three men to make decisions that would affect the rest of their lives. A sixteen-year old Tyson had tried to force himself sexually on Atlas' eleven-year old sister in law.

An enraged Atlas went to a friend, got a gun and went looking for Tyson. He found Tyson pulling up to the gym in a cab. Atlas grabbed him by the head and pulled him into an alley and rammed the gun into Tyson's ear.

"If you ever put your hands on my family again I will kill you! Do you understand this?" Atlas screamed at him.

It was a chilling confrontation, and if Tyson had so much as smirked, Atlas would be rotting in a jail cell and Evander Holyfield would still have his entire ear on the right side of his head. Atlas fired the gun in the air and left.

This was an unforgivable transgression and D'Amato would have no choice but to banish Tyson forever. This was not about Tyson getting to the gym late because he was playing with pigeons. This was an eleven-year-old girl, and she was part of Atlas' family. Atlas knew when Rooney found out what Tyson had done, Atlas would have to stop Rooney from killing Tyson himself. Again, this was an eleven-year-old girl.

None of that happened.

Instead, D'Amato and Rooney, who could never look Atlas in the eye and tell him they were breaking the sacred code, sent an emissary to Atlas with a deal. Atlas would get 5% of everything Tyson earned throughout his entire career, but he had to leave the Catskills.

Atlas realized a number of things in a split second as Toto pulled back the curtain. D'Amato wasn't the Wizard of Oz after all. He was just an old man with a bunch of bells and whistles who was not willing to pass up the chance to have his precious champion regardless of what he did to a member of Atlas' family. And he didn't care that she was just an eleven-year-old girl. The poetic justice? He died first.

And Rooney, the guy who traveled down the yellow brick road with him to find this phony wizard was not going to walk away from this cash cow. This was his shot and he was not willing to give up his opportunity to kiss Tyson on his mouth and yell "It's for Cus, It's for Cus," on HBO before Tyson knocked out Michael Spinks in 91 seconds and claimed his tainted crown, regardless of what evil Tyson had done to Atlas' sister-in-law. The irony? Tyson kicked him to the curb shortly thereafter.

He also realized that the only man he ever knew that would follow the code D'Amato preached but could not follow, was still making house calls on Staten Island.

Atlas rejected the deal but left the Catskills anyway.

There are many people that think Atlas was stupid for not taking that deal. After all, he was walking away from millions of dollars, and he knew it. A lot of people think maybe he took too many punches. That's a lot of money and it would have changed his life. He would have been able to do a lot more for his family. He certainly wouldn't be doing what he's doing now. He wouldn't be flying around the country week after week using his expertise to try and implement some reform into a sport in dire need of it. He wouldn't be doing that. But Joey, who works at Ronnie's Auto Body Shop, knows why Atlas didn't take that deal. So does Ritchie, who sweeps the halls at the North Middle School. Atlas didn't take that deal because it would have disgraced his honor.

 

**** Teddy Atlas

 

What Atlas did was completely called for in my opinion. Tyson hurt his family, and he made sure nothing bad happened to him or his family with Mike again.

I don't understand why people don't like Teddy. He says it how he sees it, and he isn't afraid to stand up to the people ruining boxing. He's one of the true good guys in the sport.

 

I like Teddy Atlas and his princples.

Mike Tyson was under developed as a person/man, that is why he needed someone like Teddy Atlas.

oh well..

 

Are you trying to justify Mike?:huh

 

i like Atlas and after reading his book am really impressed with him as a man.

he has had a hard life and could have become another thug but changed his life. also his family life has been difficult as his broher has difficulties.

 

I have heard this story before ,but you have dotted the i's and crossed the T's.Tyson was a **** from the beginning and Cayton and Jacobs had to pay off other girls.Atlas comes out of this with his integrity intact ,Tyson never had any to lose.Maybe a great fighter but a misererable human being ,imo.

 

I consider his brother shooting/killing his grandmother more than "difficulties."

 

Tyson had it rough as a child, he did what he had to do to survive. I'm not saying that gives him a free pass in life, but you when you have live through certain **** as a kid, trust me it will effect you as you get older.

I dont think Tyson's all that bad of a guy, no worse than the ones with fake nice guy personas like Holyfield and Foreman. Tyson's been to jail, he's paid his dues. Mike might not be an angel, but at least he made something of his life, something 95% of people from where he grew up can't say.