Saudi Arabia Grants Mike Tyson Citizenship After Mere ‘Hours’ in the Country Amid Sportswashing Accusations

He was a teenager who made a habit of becoming a state guest now and then. But boxing proved the last glimmer of hope for Mike Tyson. The journey began on March 6, 1985, when he was three months short of his nineteenth birthday. And it ended on June 11, 2005, when he was about to turn thirty-nine. It wasn’t that his twenty-year journey was a bed of roses. The greater part of his active years went on managing a stormy personal life, coupled with professional setbacks. Only towards the later part of this century’s first decade did Iron Mike find ‘peace and prosperity’.

Now he is a popular podcaster and a successful entrepreneur. Additionally, Tyson enjoys the role of a globe-trotting boxing elder. A recipient of the Central State University, Ohio’s Doctorate of Humane Letters, Mike Tyson received numerous rewards and recognitions.

Surprise, surprise: Mike Tyson catches his audience off guard

When he talked about the peculiarities of a few honors, it took the guests at his show Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson utterly by surprise. The show celebrated its fourth anniversary on January 15, with comedian and actor Bill Bellamy as the guest. Post the thirty-minute mark, the actor expressed his curiosity to understand how Mike Tyson dealt with all the media attention at his peak. Tyson said that initially it was difficult, but later, he ‘learned to accept it.’

Then as the trio started talking about the media’s entry into every aspect of modern life, Tyson said, “Listen, this is my life, you know; I go to certain countries, they give me um citizenship, yes. they gave my citizenship.” Shocked to hear the revelation, Bellamy asked, “What? How do you give just citizenship?”

Read More: Despite Being the Baddest Man on the Planet, the ‘Scariest’ Dressing Room Didn’t Belong to Mike Tyson

Iron Mike expressed his cluelessness and mentioned that he might have been to that place for barely a few hours! However, Bellamy soon interjected that despite being so popular, he had never been to a country like Saudi Arabia. And Tyson continued, “and I’ am a citizen now.”

The veracity of Mike Tyson’s statement about whether the citizenship offer he received was from Saudi Arabia or any other country or, for that matter, his acceptance of the same needs a revisit.

Accusations of sportswashing against many countries are making news. Hence talks on Tyson’s citizenship of the country, if such a thing even exists, might come in the wake of recent events.

The ever-present phenomenon that is sportswashing

Sportswashing, simply put, occurs when an individual, group, corporation, or even government uses sports to rectify a negative public image. Arranging sporting events, investing in or endorsing sports teams, or even taking part in said activities are a few steps through which it could be carried out. 

For instance, some six months ago, “talkSPORT,” shared an article titled, “BILLIONS The staggering numbers behind Saudi Arabia attracting boxing, WWE, golf, F1, tennis and buying Newcastle United.” It basically spoke about the Middle Eastern nation utilizing sports to dodge domestic issues. Citing “The Guardian,” the “talkSPORT” article said, “Saudi has spent £1.2 billion on sportswashing with various sports coming to the country for one-off events.”

Further, the article explained that as part of its development program to diversify the economy, the country looks to improve its public service industries. And it considers sports as a significant vehicle for realizing its vision. 

However, an article published on the website “playthegame.org” titled “The Saudis in sport: Ambitions much larger than sportswashing” clearly stated, “Firstly, there is no broad agreement on how sportswashing should be defined and what it covers, and therefore it is used quite differently by different media and stakeholders in sport.”

“Secondly, the repeated use of the term by journalists, opinion leaders and politicians give the impression that only authoritarian political regimes use sport for political purposes, which is far from the truth. More democratic-minded nations also understand the power of sport.”

Lest it’s forgotten, to disseminate Hitler’s political beliefs, Nazi Germany used the 1936 Olympics as a platform for sportswashing.

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What do you make out of Mike Tyson’s comments? Do share your thoughts and opinions with us in the comments below.