Australia may follow Kiwis in 'banning' Mike Tyson over past 'criminal record'
Sydney, Oct. 4 (ANI)
Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu has called for former boxer Mike Tyson to be banned from entering Australia for a speaking tour.
Convicted of rape in 1992, Tyson is due in Melbourne next month as part of a trans-Tasman "Day of the Champions" motivational speaking event.
Following the New Zealand Government banning the boxer because of his criminal record, Baillieu called on the Australian Federal Government to do the same. As of now, Australia's Immigration Department is considering his visa application, the Herald Sun reports.
Baillieu said the government needed to show common sense and that it would be "inappropriate" to grant Tyson a visa.
The tour, being managed by publicist Max Markson, is at Festival Hall on November 18.
Tyson, who won world heavyweight championships in 1986 and 1987, was convicted of raping an 18-year-old in 1992.
Other celebrities denied of visas include rapper Snoop Dogg for drug and weapons convictions.