Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson responded to a video that went viral last month that showed him punching a passenger on an airplane, saying that the man who he hit had “f***ing with” him.
Tyson’s remarks come after TMZ released a video last month showing the April 20th incident in San Francisco.
“He was f—— with me, man. I took pictures with this n—-,” Tyson said during a podcast episode that aired late last week. “I shouldn’t even be taking public planes. My wife gets mad that I take public planes, but what am I gonna do on a f—— plane with my friends and [a bodyguard] he’s supposed to watch me?”
Tyson said that the event “triggered” him and that he was happy that he was not facing charges from the incident.
“I just don’t f— with people because from my experience I know anybody is capable of killing you,” Tyson later added.
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said that the decision to not charge Tyson was due in-part to the behavior of the other passenger.
“We have reviewed the police reports of the San Francisco Police Department and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and have viewed the various videos collected by law enforcement from others on the airplane,” Wagstaffe said. “Our decision is that we will not file any charges against Mr. Tyson based on the circumstances surrounding the confrontation.”
“These include the conduct of the victim leading up to the incident, the interaction between Mr. Tyson and the victim, as well as the requests of both the victim and Mr. Tyson that no charges be filed in this case.”
TMZ reported at the time that witnesses said that Tyson had told the other passenger to cool it with his behavior and that Tyson lashed out when the man did not stop.
“Video we obtained shows Tyson throwing a flurry of blows at the man, which you can see bloodied the passenger’s forehead,” TMZ added. “The witness says Mike walked off the plane just seconds later.”
A representative for Tyson told a local news station at the time that the man was harassing Tyson and threw a water bottle at him.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat,” Tyson’s representative said.