Boxers’ medical records could be kept confidential

Jennifer Coleman

Monday, May 3, 1999 | 11:37 a.m.

CARSON CITY - Nevada boxing commissioners, trying to keep the personal lives of boxers private, argued Monday for a new state law to ensure confidentiality of information the fighters provide.

AB467, discussed in the Senate Judiciary Committee, came about after former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson's medical records - public Nevada Athletic Commission records - were posted on the Internet.

Athletic Commissioner Lorenzo Fertitta said he's concerned that boxers applying for a license in Nevada will withhold pertinent information fearing their medical history will also be publicized.

Fertitta added Tyson may not have been completely honest during his psychological evaluation because of the commission's open records policy.

Tyson underwent psychological testing last year before regulators would agree to hear his request for a license to restore the one revoked for biting Evander Holyfield's ears.

The commission wants authority to deem what information is relevant to granting or denying a license and therefore public. The rest of the applicants' records will remain confidential.

The bill's author, Assemblyman David Goldwater, D-Las Vegas, said Nevadans should trust the Athletic Commission to determine which information is relevant to boxing.

"Is the Athletic Commission getting good answers, forthright answers, to their inquiries? If the applicant knows everything they say, even to a doctor, will be on the Internet as soon as it hits the desk, probably not," Goldwater said.

"We have to have a certain amount of faith in the commission. That's why they're there," Goldwater added.

The commission is also asking to be able to offer a conditional license for boxers. Fertitta said this would result in more control over a licensee, such as requiring random drug tests.

That provision also stems from Tyson's licensing. The commission had wanted to impose conditions but found Nevada law didn't permit it.

The bill was opposed at an earlier hearing by Kent Lauer of the Nevada Press Association, who said members of the public who buy tickets or bet on fights have a right to know about a boxer's mental or physical state.

Sen. Maurice Washington, R-Sparks, raised that concern again at Monday's hearing.

But Goldwater replied that not all medical information is necessary in determining whether a boxer is fit to get in the ring. He said, for example, that women are now boxing and records about their reproductive history aren't needed when evaluating whether to license them or not.