The Combined Report
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Medical evaluation of Michael Tyson 1998 Cover letter of Tyson report October 12, 1998 Dr. Elias Ghanam Chairman, Nevada State Athletic Commission 555 East Washington Avenue, Suite 1500 Las Vegas, Nevada 89101 Re: Michael Gerard Tyson Dear Dr. Ghanam: Enclosed is the report of our independent medical evaluation of Mr. Michael Tyson, conducted at the request of the Nevada State Athletic Commission pursuant to your letter of September 21, 1998. As you will recall from my letter of September 24, 1998, sent by facsimile to you and Dr. Homansky, we are opposed to the public disclosure of Mr. Tyson's diagnoses and the complete clinical information contained in this report. However, we have been instructed by Mr. Tyson to provide you with the enclosed clinical information. As a result, we are providing you with more clinical detail than is our practice in similar matters, and remain opposed to the dissemination of this personal information to anyone other than Commission members. The members of the evaluation team urge you to take whatever steps possible to preserve Mr. Tyson's privacy, including limiting the scope of your questions when we appear before you. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions prior to our testimony before the Commission. Yours truly, Ronald Schouten, MD, JD Courtesy Karen Franklin, PhD 1 www.karenfranklin.com Medical evaluation of Michael Tyson 1998 Independent Medical Evaluation of Michael Gerard Tyson for the Nevada State Athletic Commission September 30, 1998 Circumstances of the Evaluation: This evaluation was requested by the Nevada State Athletic Commission in order to provide medical input regarding Mr. Tyson's request for reinstatement of his boxing license. Pursuant to your letter of September 21, 1998, we have completed an evaluation by a team of psychiatrists, psychologists, and neurologists. To the extent possible, we utilized the assessment measures which you requested. Where other measures were used, the reasons for their use will be discussed. Members of the evaluation team: The following individuals took direct part in the evaluation. Thomas Deters, Ph.D, Neuropsychologist, Law and Psychiatry Service Massachusetts General Hospital and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts David Henderson, MD, Psychiatrist, Massachusetts General Hospital and Freedom Trail Clinic, Boston, Massachusetts Barry D. Jordan, MD, Neurologist, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, California David Medoff, Ph.D, Psychologist, Law and Psychiatry Service, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts Jeremy D. Schmahmann, MD, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts Ronald Schouten, MD, JD, Director, Law & Psychiatry Service, Massachusetts General Hospital Sources of Information: The following sources of information were relied upon in conducting this evaluation and in reaching the conclusions contained herein. Multiple formal interviews with Mr. Tyson over a five-day period, in addition to frequent contact wit Mr. Tyson and opportunities to observe him in the clinical setting over the course of five days. Dr. Schouten's interview time was six hours, Dr. Henderson's 1.5 hours, and Dr. Jordan's one hour. Drs. Deters and Madoff conducted additional clinical interviews as part of the testing. Neurological evaluation by Drs. Schmahmann and Jordan. Psychological testing by Dr. Medoff Neuropsychological testing by Dr. Deters Telephone conference between Dr. Schouten and Larry Curry, MSW. Courtesy Karen Franklin, PhD 2 www.karenfranklin.com Medical evaluation of Michael Tyson 1998 Telephone conference between Monica Tyson, MD and Dr. Schouten. Electroencephalogram (EEG) Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the brain (MRI) Laboratory testing including toxic screens (blood and urine) Review of the exhibits submitted to the Las Vegas Athletic Commission hearing on September 19, 1998 Review of Dr. Goldberg's letter to Attorney Fusco Review of the following videotapes: -- Holyfield-Tyson 2 -- New Jersey Athletic Commission hearing on July 29, 1998 -- Nevada Athletic Commission hearing on September 19, 1998 Warning of Limitation on Confidentiality: At the initiation of the evaluation, Mr. Tyson was informed that the contents of the evaluation would not be protected by the usual rules of confidentiality. He was further informed that he could refuse to answer any or all questions posed to him. Mr. Tyson expressed a clear understanding of these limitations and agreed to proceed. He indicated his ongoing understanding of these conditions throughout the evaluation process. Relevant history: Mr. Tyson is a 32-year-old, African-American, married man. He has four children. Mr. Tyson spent his early childhood in Brooklyn, New York, where he attended school. Due to behavioral difficulties he was placed in a school in upstate New York. He reports receiving special education services because of these behavioral problems. At approximately age 12 he was taken into the home of Cus D'Amato and Camille Ewald where he came under Mr. D'Amato's tutelage and trained as a boxer. Mr. Tyson attended Catskill High School but left school after the 10th grade. He studied for the Graduate Equivalency Diploma but failed to pass the examination by a narrow margin. Mr. Tyson became very close to Mr. D'Amato and Ms. Ewald. The relationship between these individuals and Mr. Tyson has been described by Mr. Tyson and others as a relationship between parents and a child. Mr. D'Amato died in 1985 and Mr. Tyson describes his reaction to Mr. D'Amato's death as that of a child losing a parent. He continues to maintain contact with Ms. Ewald and continues to support her. Mr. Tyson's biological parents are both deceased, as is his sister. He has one brother who lives in California. Mr. Tyson gave a history of repeated head injuries as a child, including multiple episodes of loss of consciousness as a result of being struck with objects in fights. He denied any loss of consciousness as an adult and particularly denies loss of consciousness while boxing. He has no history of serious illness, surgeries, or seizures. There is no history of headache or other neurological difficulties. He denied current substance abuse, including steroids. In 1992, Mr. Tyson's successful boxing career was interrupted by a prison sentence of six years. Mr. Tyson was released in three years due to a reduction in sentence for good behavior while incarcerated. Upon release from prison he returned to boxing. His career was once again interrupted on June 28, 1997. On that date, during a bout with Evander Holyfield, Mr. Tyson committed a major foul by biting Mr. Holyfield on the ear. After a two-point deduction, the fight resumed and Mr. Tyson again bit Mr. Holyfield. After the end of the round, Mr. Tyson was disqualified as a result of the second biting. Courtesy Karen Franklin, PhD 3 www.karenfranklin.com Medical evaluation of Michael Tyson 1998 Mike Tyson following his psychological evaluation at Massachusetts General Hospital. As part of the evaluation process, Mr. Tyson was asked about symptoms of depression and other illnesses at the time of the Holyfield fight. He reported that he was experiencing When asked about the foul, Mr. Tyson reports that he was very angry because he felt he had been the victim of head-butting from Mr. Holyfield in their previous bout and nothing had been done. His head been cut in that fight, and was cut again in Tyson-Holyfield II. After protesting the head butt and getting no response, Mr. Tyson reported that he felt that this was no longer a prize fight, but had become a street fight. He reported that when that occurred, he simply "snapped" and retaliated against Mr. Holyfield by biting him. While he did not have perfect recall for all the events that occurred during this bout, there was no evidence from Mr. Tyson's account of the incident or from the videotape that the incident occurred during a dissociative state, psychotic episode, or in any other state of loss of awareness. Review of the tape indicates that the initial bite occurred after a few blows from Mr. Holyfield and immediately after another clashing of heads. This had been preceded by at least one head butt. Mr. Tyson had his license revoked for life by the Nevada Athletic Commission after this incident. It is our understanding that he became eligible to apply for reinstatement after one year. This report is requested in connection with that application for reinstatement. Since the fight in June 1998, Mr. Tyson has asked Mr. Holyfield to forgive him, and Mr. Holyfield has written in support of Mr. Tyson's reinstatement. Mr. Tyson reported that the biting incident, and loss of his license, has ruined his career and his life. He expressed remorse about the incident, as well as great concern that he will not be able to fulfill his obligation to support his family if he cannot box. Mr. Tyson was adamant that he will never let anything like that happen again. Mr. Tyson has changed his management team since June 1997. He feels that he was betrayed by members of that team and has has a civil lawsuit pending against them for monetary damages. He noted that "people let me down. People I would have died for." According to Mr. Tyson, he underwent some psychological evaluation and some counseling as a child. The exact nature of those evaluations is unclear, and the records of the evaluations and any testing he may have had are not available at this time. Mr. Tyson reported that he has felt depressed all of his life. He received a diagnosis of Manic Depressive Illness several years ago and was placed on lithium carbonate, a mood stabilizer. He stated that this slowed him down considerably and that he stopped taking the medication after several doses. In December of 1997, Mr.