Steve Lott visits Tyson in prison

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Happier times ​

Nearly every day, for months on end, Steve Lott would sit down and compose a brief letter, in longhand, to his old friend. The content of the letters varied - small talk about the sport of boxing, updates on mutual acquaintances - but always they ended the same way with Lott, a cornerman for Mike Tyson in the glorious early days, expressing his desire to visit the fighter. This was no small undertaking seeing as how Tyson at the time, was an intensely famous and reluctant guest of the Indiana State Department of Corrections. One could not simply show up, unannounced, knock at the front gate, and expect to be granted an audience with an inmate of one's choosing. There were rules to be followed, protocol to guide one guide one through the process. (Kevin Rooney, Tyson's former trainer-and a man who had worked as a prison boxing instructor and thus knew a little somthing about the regulations regarding such matters - discovered this when he drove to the Indiana Youth Center on a whim, only to find that his name had not been included on a list of approved visitors; Rooney was turned away and never did get a chance to see Tyson behind bars.)
Inmates have rights, too, and if Inmate Number 922335, Michael Gerald Tyson, did not feel like sitting down in an interview room and chatting amiably with ghosts from a previous life, that was his prerogative. Anyway, Don King had made certain that Tyson would have no shortage of visitors. Rory Holloway and John Horne were still on the payroll ( at salaries of $20, 000 per month), and part of their job description included the nurturing of a friendship with Tyson, which they dutifully fulfilled. (Indeed, so convincing and reliable were Holloway and Horne that on August 16, 1994, while still in prison, Tyson would sign a contract making the pair his official co-managers.) There were other visitors as well, many of them famous -actors, fighters, politicians, musicians, writers (especially writers - who doesn't like a good morality tale?) - so it wasn't like Tyson was so lonely or starved for conversation that he need to reach into the past and dredge up up the anger and regret that would likely accompany a visit from a character member of Team Tyson.

But Lott persisted. He kept writing, asking for permission. He heard nothing in response. Finally Lott turned to a friend for advice. The friend had some, shall we say, familiarity with the penal system ( he was an ex-con), so he advised Lott to try a different approach: Write a letter to the warden requesting a special visitor's permit. The request ultimately would have to be approved by Tyson, of course, but at least this way it would have be communicated through formal channels, and therefore somewhat more difficult to ignore. Sure enough, Lott's request was approved, and before long he found himself siting in a sterile room at the Indiana Youth Center, a 'high-medium security' facility near the Indianapolis International Airport, waiting for Tyson to walk through the door. Several years had passed since they'd spoken, so Lot wasn't sure what to expect, but the reunion proved less awkward then he' expected. Tyson entered the room with a smile on his face and the two men immediately fell into a warm embrace. They talked for nearly three hours about anything and everything, Lott occasionally lapsing from 'friend' mode into 'big brother' mode, scolding Tyson for the things he had said in the press about Jimmy Jacobs and Bill Cayton, or advising the fighter to get his own lawyers and stop relying on King to fight his battles..

and to stop trusting King for Christ's sake! ​

Generally, though, the mood was light, and it remained that way on Lott's two subsequent visits.

'For me, each time, it was sad,' Lott recalled. 'Mike isn't that emotional, but I am. Even now, when I watch visdeos of Mike, I have to walk away from the room sometimes. But I knew I had to compose myself. I knew I had to show him strength because, I mean..he's in prison. I could leave anytime. So just for today I thought, suck it up. And when you leave you can cry or do whatever you want. Just don't make him feel worse than he already does.'

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Not until thet had hugged and parted and Lott was safely behind the wheel of his car , with the prison walls and razor wire in his rearview mirror, did he allow the tears to fall​