Tipsheet

Mike Tyson Makes Important Request of Donald Trump

Jeff Charles
Jeff Charles  |  June 30, 2025 3:45 PM

Boxing legend Mike Tyson has teamed up with other athletes to urge President Donald Trump to reform the nation’s federal cannabis laws.

Tyson, along with NBS superstars Kevin Durant and Allen Iverson, and former boxer Roy Jones Jr. have formed a group called the “Coalition of Athletes and Entertainers Supporting President Trump’s Policy Objectives.”

The group sent a letter to Trump criticizing former President Joe Biden for refusing to take action on reforming marijuana laws. 

"Today, people continue to serve lengthy federal sentences for conduct that is now legal in most states – which makes their continued incarceration not only cruel but absurd,” the letter reads, according to Fox News. “After making sweeping promises to voters in 2020, former President Biden failed to deliver on his pledge to address marijuana-related injustices. Not only did he leave office without commuting the sentences of those incarcerated for marijuana, but in one of his final acts, he denied nearly every pending marijuana-related clemency application."

It just makes sense to legalize cannabis. People are still going to consume. Isn't it better to consume safely? Prohibition tried to stop alcohol. It only led to unsafe alcohol practices and rising black market. Plus, it's a homegrown business. An American, tariff free business.

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The letter further insists that Biden’s betrayal “underscores the urgent need for bold leadership, we believe, and represents an opportunity to correct glaring disparities as part of your Administration’s ongoing push for criminal justice reform.”

The organization calls on Trump to reclassify cannabis from a Schedule I substance to a Schedule III, meaning that it would no longer be in the same category as heroin, cocaine, and other hard narcotics. The letter notes that the plant’s current classification “is scientifically outdated, economically detrimental, and at odds with modern medical understanding.”

The athletes further argue that the Trump administration should look into “discriminatory banking practices.’ Many banks have “unjustly denied banking services despite full compliance with state law” to cannabis businesses, according to the organization. "Despite operating legally in 40 states, employing over 450,000 Americans, and generating more than $35 billion annually, these businesses face unjust barriers to banking services, and their employees struggle to obtain mortgages from traditional lenders,” the letter reads.

During a Monday interview on “Fox and Friends,” Tyson, a longtime friend of Trump, discussed how marijuana helped him manage his emotions, mental health, and past trauma. He detailed how using the plant helped him confront deep-seated issues. “It’s the best thing that ever happened to me,” he told the co-hosts. “I don’t know how I survived without it.”

Tyson said his experience with cannabis helped him gain more clarity about himself. “I used to think that being tough was about hurting people,” he said. “Now, I know being tough is about being honest with yourself.”

A Pew Research Center study published in 2024 showed that 88 percent of Americans believe cannabis should be legal for medical or recreational use. This includes 57 percent who believe it should be legal for both.