Sticking with the theme of unusual eating habits, former heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson, disclosed his predilection for—uhhh—cannibalism?
Asked what he had to say to future opponent, Lennox Lewis, Iron Mike gave us this jaw-dropper:
“Lennox Lewis, I’m coming for you man. My style is impetuous. My defense is impregnable, and I’m just ferocious. I want your heart. I want to eat his children.”
Not only does Tyson give us a glimpse into his pre-fight diet, but he also proved that he did more than just lift weights and work out during his time in jail—he actually studied the dictionary.
Clearly, this man has been rehabilitated.
No. 2 WELL, IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE...
After releasing his book, My Prison without Bars, in which he admitted to betting on baseball, former Reds and Phillies great Pete Rose went on a massive media blitz to promote his new work and apologize for his past transgressions—well kinda. In one particular interview with U.S News and World Report, Rose attempted to justify his misdeeds.
“If I were talking to kids about gambling, I’d tell them, if you’re going to gamble, or you’re going to do drugs, or you’re going to drink too much, or you’re going to beat your wife—I’d recommend you gamble.”
Of course! Because the choice all of us have is either gambler, drug addict, drunk, or wife beater! On last check, grammar schools across the country weren’t lining up to book Charlie Hustle as a guest speaker.
No. 1 ALL WE NEED IS...
Finally, we come to the man who inspired this list, Hornung himself—a man whose quote screams so loudly of racism and ignorance that it really should stand on its own.
When asked how Notre Dame could rebuild its football program, Hornung responded, “We can’t stay as strict as we are as far as the academic structure is concerned because we’ve got to get the black athlete. We must get the black athlete if we’re going to compete.”
After realizing that his cure for the Irish’s football woes might offend some people—can’t imagine who?—Hornung recanted and said that what he meant was that the school should lower academic standards for “all athletes.”
That makes perfect sense because after all, athletes are stupid, right?
—Staff writer David H. Stearns can be reached at stearns@fas.harvard.edu.