Letter: Boxing panel harms Nevada with decision

Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2002 | 8:47 a.m.

With one vote each, Dr. Tony Alamo, Amy Ayoub, John Bailey, and Dr. Flip Homansky -- the four members of the Nevada Athletic Commission who voted against Mike Tyson regaining his boxing license in Nevada -- did as much financial damage if not more to the Las Vegas and Nevada economy as the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Only one member of the commission saw the big picture, Commission Chairman Dr. Luther Mack.

We lost anywhere from $100 million to $300 million, depending on who you believe. Either way it is a major loss. It wasn't only the casinos that lost out. Many local businesses would have prospered from the fight being held here. It is not the job of the NAC to regulate morality. They are supposed to consider whether the fighter is mentally and physically capable of fighting. I believe that these commissioners need a little more education on the sports they are charged with licensing, or we need four new commissioners who know the sports better.

I do not personally know Mike Tyson, but I do know two things that are fact. He is the most successful draw in boxing today, and he needs some people around him who are true friends. Maybe if he had some true friends around him, many of these problems would not exist. The smartest thing the next state Mike Tyson applies to can do is to grant him a license. That state shall reap the huge rewards of what will undoubtedly be the biggest fight in years.

TRACEY FROHN