Representatives for Mike Tyson have spoken out after footage emerged appearing to show him striking a fellow passenger while on board a plane at San Francisco International Airport.
In the video, which was first shared by TMZ, the former professional boxer appeared to be leaning over his seat to strike the head of an unidentified man while on a Jet Blue plane bound for Florida on Wednesday, 20 April.
In a statement released after the video emerged, representatives confirmed an altercation had taken place, claiming the passenger had been 'harassing' Tyson on the plane.
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“Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat,” they said in an email to The Associated Press.
Tyson drew blood as he repeatedly struck the man, and police confirmed they responded to a 'physical altercation' on a plane at the domestic terminal of the airport at around 10.00pm local time.
In a statement cited by AP, police said officers detained 'two subjects that were believed to be involved in the incident'.
"One subject was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries. That subject provided minimal details of the incident and refused to cooperate further with the police investigation,” the statement continued.
Both subjects were released pending further investigation.
Another passenger on the plane, Sarah Burchfield told SFGATE she saw the man who allegedly 'harassed' Tyson before he boarded the plane.
She recalled him appearing to be loud and quarrelsome, saying: "When I boarded the flight, I thought, ‘Oh no, that drunk guy is on our flight." Burchfield then recognised she was joined on the flight by a celebrity, describing herself as thinking "Oh my god, Mike Tyson is on this flight!"
"He said hi and I kept walking," she said. "The belligerent guy was sitting right behind him and I saw they were interacting.”
The passenger later heard a commotion taking place in the first class cabin and claimed she knew it had 'to be from Mike Tyson... because it's Mike Tyson'.
"I don’t recall it being acknowledged by the flight attendants. It happened, we all looked and gawked, then moved on," she said.
Another video filmed after the altercation showed Tyson gathering his belongings and exiting the aircraft.
San Francisco police said the video has been shared with the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, which has jurisdiction over the airport. Officials added that they were not releasing further information on the incident as it is an active investigation.
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Topics: Mike Tyson, Sport, Viral, US News
Emily Brown