Here's a little taste of the Mike Tyson episode of SPORTSLAND. Listen to  the full episode at Amazon.com/Badlands or in the Badlands feed wherever you get your podcasts.

Mike Tyson’s arrival as a prodigious 18-year-old professional boxer in the 1980s represented a major paradigm shift in the sport. But just as quickly as he rose, Mike Tyson began to fall. Tortured by feelings of loss, abandonment, and self-loathing, and manipulated by a promoter who only paid attention to the bottom line, Mike spiraled into violence, drugs, and increasingly bizarre behavior. When he was released from prison on parole for a rape conviction in 1995, Mike Tyson faced a crossroads: continue on a path to redemption, or be tempted back into the dark abyss of self-destruction.

This episode contains themes that may be disturbing to some listeners, including domestic violence and sexual assault.

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