A psychiatrist makes valid points about the need to force violent boxer Mike Tyson to get the help he clearly needs.

Boxer Mike Tyson is regarded by many observers, in and out of the field of sports, as an accident constantly looking for a place to happen. So far, nobody has had the wisdom or courage to force him to get help before he self-destructs and perhaps does serious harm to someone else.

Alen J. Salerian, medical director of the Washington Psychiatric Center in our nation’s capital, says something should be done, sooner rather than later. The issue has been left adrift too long, he says.

“For years, people have called Tyson crazy, out of control, a wild man, even an animal. He’s been fined, imprisoned, barred from the ring and shunned. Yet in all of his glorious years of ear-biting, brawling, lawbreaking and serving time in prison, Tyson has never once been forced to seek and finish psychiatric treatment. Tyson needs mandatory psychiatric care. And as a psychiatrist who for 25 years has worked with terribly troubled people, I have patiently waited for some sporting or legal authority to force Tyson to get the help he so desperately needs.

“I’m sure that if Tyson were suffering from a concussion, the boxing authorities would allow him to fight only after a medical expert deemed him healthy. Why isn’t the same help given to those with mental health disorders?”

Big money is involved, of course, and many, including Tyson, can get increasingly wealthy capitalizing on his menacing presence and the indication he regularly might explode on some issue. He already has done animalistic things in the ring, but what is likely to occur in a non-sports venue if he flies off the handle? What innocents might be harmed?

Concludes psychiatrist Salerian in a special article in the Los Angeles Times:

“It doesn’t particularly matter to me whether Tyson ever fights in the ring again. But as a psychiatrist and someone who wants to feel safe with people like Tyson roaming the streets it does matter to me that he receives help, even if we have to force it on him.

“We don’t have to accept Tyson’s outrageous acts. For society’s sake, and for Tyson’s own sake, we must open our eyes to the perils of untreated mental disorders. Instead of continuing to attack this sick man, we need to help him get well.”

Meanwhile, the Tyson forces continue to look for a combat venue since the Nevada State Athletic Commission recently denied him a boxing license because of his reputation and deportment. Has anyone else considered mandatory psychiatric help?