CRITICAL STUDY OKS TYSON'S RETURN TO RING.

Byline: Timothy W. Smith The New York Times

A series of psychological evaluations of Mike Tyson conducted two weeks ago at Massachusetts General Hospital reports the former heavyweight boxing champion suffers from depression, anger, low self-esteem, irritability, and he has trouble controlling his impulses. But it also concludes he is mentally fit to return to the ring.

The report also said Tyson should have ``weekly, if not more frequent, psychotherapy sessions'' to help deal with his emotional problems.

``It is the opinion of the evaluation team that Mr. Tyson is mentally fit to return to boxing, to comply with the rules and regulations, and to do so without repetition of the events of June 28, 1997,'' Dr. Ronald Schouten, the director of law and psychiatry service at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, wrote in the report to the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

``While we take note of the impulsivity, emotional problems, and cognitive problems outlined above, it is our opinion that none of these, alone or in combination, render Mr. Tyson mentally unfit in this regard,'' the report says.

Schouten's mention of the events of June 28, 1997, was a reference to a title bout between Tyson and Evander Holyfield, when Tyson bit his opponent's ears and was disqualified. Shortly afterward, the Nevada commission revoked his license and fined him $3 million.

After a hearing to regain his license Sept. 19, the commission asked Tyson to undergo psychological testing before it would agree to take up his application again. Tyson and his lawyers fought to have the psychological evaluation kept private, but the commission said it had to release the report under the state's open-records law. On Friday, the Nevada State Supreme Court ruled against Tyson.

Weighing the risk of embarrassment from the public disclosure of his private psychological tests against his need to regain his boxing license, Tyson signed a waiver to release the report and turned it over to the commission, which released it Tuesday morning. The boxer will appear for a public hearing in Las Vegas on Oct. 19 to answer any questions the five members of the commission have for him.

The questions are expected to include many about a traffic incident in Gaithersburg, Md., in August in which Tyson is alleged to have punched one man and kicked another in the groin. The two men have filed criminal assault charges against Tyson and the case is scheduled for trial on the same day that Tyson will appear before the Nevada commission. On the advice of his lawyer, Tyson would not answer questions about the incident during his last hearing. But he is expected to address the matter at the next one.

The report, which includes the evaluations of six different doctors who conducted a battery of neurological and psychological tests over a five-day period, Sept. 21-26, reveals sensitive personal information on Tyson's life history and his behavior. It is the kind of information that would never be revealed publicly, because it would fall under doctor-patient confidentiality rules.

``If you've read the report, you know why we fought so hard to keep it from being released to the public,'' said James Jimmerson, Tyson's Las Vegas-based lawyer. ``It's kind of a moot point now, but he certainly wasn't desirous of this type of information being made public. He wasn't concerned about himself. He was more concerned that his children would have to go to school and be subjected to comments about information in the report.''

The report states Tyson, 32, had been prescribed Zoloft, an anti-depressant, for the past month, but the drug had no benefit or side-effects for him. It also says that Tyson was embarrassed, angry and felt humiliated about having to undergo the evaluations, because he thought everyone would think he was ``a psycho.'' But all the psychologists involved said Tyson willingly cooperated with the testing.

Tyson got angry with one of his evaluators, Dr. Thomas Deter, on one occasion when Deter asked him about taking a test that required reading.

``He became much less engaged in the interview, and at one point he expressed deep feelings of anger directed at me and the evaluation process,'' Deter wrote in his report. ``He quickly assured me that he had no intention to act on these feelings.''

Deter's summary said it would have been helpful in making the evaluation if he had had access to Tyson's school and prison records ``which document learning or behavioral problems.''

CAPTION(S):

photo

PHOTO (color) Evaluations ordered by the Nevada State Athletic Commission may help Mike Tyson, pictured at a Sept. 19 hearing, return to professional boxing.

Reed Saxon/Associated Press