The man beaten by Mike Tyson on a JetBlue flight is demanding $450,000 in what the former heavyweight champion’s lawyer has called “extortion.”
An attorney for Melvin Townsend sent Iron Mike’s attorneys a “pre-litigation settlement demand” for “injuries and damages” they say he suffered when Tyson “brutally assaulted him” on a flight from San Francisco to Florida in April. from last year.
The legal letter claims the North Carolina man was simply an “excited” fan chatting with the now 57-year-old fighter before the confrontation that was filmed by other passengers and is “widely available on the Internet.”
“As a former undisputed heavyweight champion, the potential to cause serious injury to another person is unquestionable,” wrote Townsend’s attorney, Jake Jondle.
“There were several other remedies available to Mr. Tyson, but he chose physical violence,” he wrote, noting how the star later acknowledged in a television interview that “he was wrong” and that “it should never have happened.”
Mike Tyson was filmed punching a fellow JetBlue passenger in April 2022. TMZSports.com
“Immediately following the incident, Mr. Townsend experienced severe headache and neck pain” and “continues to suffer the effects of the assault to this day,” Jondle wrote.
He couldn’t get medical help right away because he didn’t have insurance, and he also lost “several jobs due to the unfortunate notoriety he experienced,” Jondle said.
The six-figure pre-litigation settlement would cover Townsend’s ongoing medical care, including medications, therapy and other regular treatments for head and neck pain, as well as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, Jondle wrote.
By agreeing to the settlement, Townsend would not be able to file future lawsuits against Tyson.
The boxer’s lawyer, Alex Spiro, flatly refused to cooperate or pay.
Melvin Townsend claims to have ongoing medical problems due to the confrontation. TMZSports.com
“I have received an extortion letter related to the harassment of Mike by an instigator a year ago and its consequences,” Spiro said of the request.
“There will be no compensation payment.”
Jondle did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment.
Mike Tyson is a former heavyweight champion and a convicted rapist. Penske Media via Getty Images
The JetBlue flight incident made headlines when footage of Tyson twisting and leaning over his seat to punch Townsend multiple times was published on TMZ.
Townsend was later photographed with what appeared to be blood smeared on his head.
Tyson reacted violently to Townsend throwing a water bottle at him, the boxer’s representatives said at the time.
The pre-litigation lawsuit, however, claims that Townsend was simply “excited” to see Tyson and “started talking to him about the marijuana and psychedelic mushroom industry.”
The pre-litigation settlement requests $450,000. Jake Jondle x25859
The letter also cites Tyson’s later appearance on Jimmy Kimmel’s show, during which he admitted “I shouldn’t have done that” about the beating.
“I was wrong, that should never have happened,” Tyson told the host.
“That’s me in my primitive childhood stages… but I was just irritated, tired, high and angry. This happens”.
Townsend has several criminal convictions of his own. Florida Department of Corrections
Authorities declined to press charges against Tyson in connection with the incident, which the former athlete bragged about on the “Hotboxin’” podcast in May 2022.
“He was fucking with me, man,” the former athlete and convicted rapist told Townsend’s host, who has prior convictions for fraud, grand larceny and robbery, among other charges.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn