That Time I Saw Mike Tyson at a Prison

For some reason, Mike Tyson popped in my head this morning, and I got to thinking about my one and only encounter with the former heavyweight champ. I don’t think I’ve ever told you this story. That’s about to change.

I’m gonna be really, really honest with you…this story will be lucky to just barely make it on to your “somewhat interesting” list. Don’t get your hopes up too high. It’s nothing like getting punched by the champ in a Las Vegas hotel room, but this was kinda cool to me. So here we go.

Let me just set the scene a bit for you. The year was 1994. I was a second-year freshman at the University of Southern Indiana. My roommate at the time had a buddy who had gotten in trouble with the law. So much so, that he got sent to spend some time at the Plainfield Correctional Facility just west of Indianapolis. Also at this time, my parents still lived in Indianapolis, so I would frequently make trips up that way to see them. Did I mention that my roommate was also dating my sister? That meant the three of us hung out quite a bit. That fact is kind of important to the story. In fact, if that weren’t the case, this story may never have happened.

One weekend my sister and I decided to head home to Naptown to see Big Bob (my dad) and Cool Mama G (my mom). We invited my roommate to come along with us. He asked if we could stop in Plainfield on the way up there to see his buddy (who we had also come to know). Absolutely…no problem.

So here we are in the Plainfield Correctional Facility. The visitation area was a big open room filled with a bunch of chairs and a few tables. We’re hanging out with my roommate’s buddy. I can’t help but watch as others prisoners are coming and going. I’m just trying to take it all in. Next thing I know, the door opens up and in walks “Iron” Mike Tyson. He wasn't there to visit one of the prisoners. No, he was also in Plainfield for an “extended stay.” He walked across the room, right past us, to see his visitor. I’m assuming it was his spiritual adviser, or something like that since it appeared as though they spent some time praying.

Now I’d love to say that at this point in the story, another prisoner came over and started some beef with “Iron” Mike…and then Tyson went in to "heavyweight champ mode" and laid the dude out. Alas, that did not happen. My story is essentially over. Mike had his visit, we had ours…the end.

I can tell you that Tyson looked small to me. I imagined any heavyweight champ would be a really big dude. That wasn’t the case with Tyson. He’s only about 5’ 10’ which is about five inches shorter than me…and he looked like he had lost quite a bit of weight.

And that, my friend, is the end of my story. Are you disappointed? That’s okay, I’m used to that in my life.