While the Skategate controversy lingers, I am reminded of the ongoing problems in another judged competition: boxing. As states and countries jockey for position to grant (or ostentatiously deny) Mike Tyson a boxing license, it serves as a reminder that, all protestations aside, in American sport and society you just have to follow the money to find the action.

Mike Tyson is capable of anything, and it's compelling. Tyson is a test that we all fail.

Mike Tyson, it is abundantly clear, is a troubled and perhaps even a sick man. He is a convicted rapist. He bit off a piece of Evander Holyfield's ear. Las Vegas police have recommended he be charged in two separate sexual assault cases. He attacked Lennox Lewis and incited a brawl in New York at a press conference to announce their upcoming fight. He ended that press conference with a racist screed that was bewildering in its vehemence. Tyson needs psychiatric help, not another boxing match.

But he'll get that match because, along with disgusting us, he still amuses and shocks us.

Despite the problems he's having now, Mike Tyson will fight Lennox Lewis sometime this year and there will be plenty of money to go around. Both fighters and a ton of businessmen will make big dollars. Tyson has not been cast aside yet because he can still be a key component in a big business deal.

How hypocritical are we? We don't want this guy living in our neighborhood. We don't want him anywhere near our daughters. But we'll get this Lewis fight on somehow because there's a buck to be made.

You would think that his actions at the press conference alone would be detestable and would eliminate him from consideration for a fight. Why do we need to support that guy? How could we trust that guy?

	Mike Tyson

The state of Nevada, home of Las Vegas where seemingly anything goes, rejected his application for a boxing license. So did Texas. But Georgia said yes, even though the governor called Tyson a "sexual predator." Michigan and Tennessee may allow him to fight inside their borders. You know there's a problem when our moral compass is getting its strongest readings in Las Vegas.

Beirut has been mentioned as a possible site. Hasn't there been enough fighting in Beirut? Do they really need this?

Let me say that I would tune in to the fight. I have my own hypocrisy to face. I'd watch because of the chance that a real freak show would ensue. The man is capable of anything, and it's compelling. Mike Tyson is a test that we all fail.

It seems that Tyson, again, needs a lot of help. He is either so gone that he is unreachable or he, like some latter-day Elvis Presley, is surrounded by parasites who are just milking him. The conundrum is that the wild Tyson, the sick Tyson, is the one who sells.

A healthy Mike Tyson would be no draw at all, because his boxing skills have eroded beyond any real competitive measure. If he had the same demeanor and comportment as Lewis, no one would care if they fought.

But, in the end, the fight will take place. Lennox Lewis will get his huge payday. Lewis will also finally have a memorable fight to talk about. Right now, we remember him as the guy who lost to the now-forgotten Hasim Rahman. And the businessmen will get their dough. And the fans, myself included, will get their chance to tune in to a possible Tyson meltdown.

There's a problem when our moral compass is getting its strongest readings in Las Vegas.

Then we will go back to our lives. Mike Tyson will go back to his. And he will keep trying to box again. He may even get a few more fights. But one day he will really have to go back to his life, a life without boxing. Even Tyson might be surprised at how lonely that life is.

Because it is at that point that we will finally pass the hypocrisy test. We will finally give in to our repulsion. Because when Mike Tyson can't box anymore, nobody can make any money off him or be entertained by him. And if Tyson can't do that for us, why would we care about him?

After all, he's a convicted rapist. He bites people. He's not stable, that guy.