Mike Tyson Asks Obama to Pardon Boxer Jack Johnson

Four years ago, Congress passed a resolution seeking a pardon for boxer Jack Johnson. But it didn’t happen. Now Mike Tyson is getting involved, LA Late News reports.

Tyson told LA Late News, “This unjust prosecution ultimately tarnished Jack Johnson’s legacy. Senator Harry Reid and Senator John McCain have taken up this issue and are working towards a

pardon.” He adds, “Let’s show President Obama and the White House that we too care about Jack Johnson’s legacy by signing this petition. In doing so, we are also righting the legacy of our great country.”

Jack Johnson was the first black heavyweight boxing champion of the world. But in 1912, Johnson was arrested under the Mann Act, passed in 1910,

for traveling with white girlfriend Lucille Cameron across state lines. Cameron would eventually become his wife. But the law then prohibited transporting women “for immoral purposes.”

Read more at LA Late News