In April 2022, a JetBlue flight from San Francisco, California, to Florida was the scene of a confrontation between former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson and a passenger named Melvin Townsend. A widely circulated video depicts Tyson assaulting Townsend.
On November 28, 2023, Townsend, represented by attorney Jake Jondle, issued a pre-litigation settlement demand to Tyson’s legal team. The demand is for $450,000, citing severe headache, neck pain, employment loss, and the need for ongoing medical treatment as repercussions of the assault.
In the demand letter, Townsend’s lawyer argued that Tyson, 57, could have opted for non-violent alternatives, pointing to Tyson’s later public acknowledgment of his actions as wrong.
However, Tyson’s lawyers have dismissed the demand, labeling it a “shakedown” and asserting Townsend’s role as the provocateur. Authorities did not charge Tyson after the incident.
There is a stark contrast between Townsend’s and Tyson’s narratives of the events. Townsend portrays himself as an excited fan discussing marijuana and mushrooms with Tyson, while Tyson’s team alleges Townsend’s behavior, including repeated attempts at conversation and allegedly throwing a water bottle at Tyson, was provocative and inappropriate.
Townsend has a criminal history involving grand theft, fraud, trafficking in stolen property, and burglary. Tyson, convicted of rape in 1992, served three years of a six-year sentence.
