Mwalimu-G
Elder Lister
To modern workers everywhere,
Earlier this year, boxing superstar Mike Tyson shared astonishing video clips from one of his recent sparring sessions. At 53, the former multi-year world heavyweight champion appeared as fearsome as ever.
A couple of months later, Tyson joined talk shows and podcasts to explain his return to training: He is scheduled to appear in an exhibition fight with Roy Jones Jr., 51, also a former champion, on Nov. 28. The match, which was originally scheduled for September, will double as the inaugural event for Tyson’s new venture, the Legends Only League, which is producing the event. “I don’t believe in the fountain of youth, but something just came over me and I’m back,” Tyson told NBC talk-show host Jimmy Fallon.
The Legends Only League would be recruiting other former athletes who may have retired from pro sports, but still “have it.” The league is for “whoever, I don’t care, basketball, pool sharks, all the ex-legends who want to play and are still able to play, and are still beautiful, like myself, they can come with us,” Tyson said, name-checking Wayne Gretzky, Dennis Rodman, Metta World Peace, and Diego Maradona. Tennis, ping pong, and handball players, too, he said—they’re all invited. Just because they’re “old” for their sports, he said, “Why do they have to not do what they do?”
To be sure, there are few jobs for which having accumulated time in the ring is seen as an asset. People might respect longtime academics, but often they’re not the ones invited to host podcasts or give TED Talks. In the tech industry, employees in their late 40s are at risk of being stamped “irrelevant.” This form of prejudice is insanity—and it threatens everyone who intends to keep “doing what they do” as the years pass.
To start changing mindsets, we need more formulations like Legends Only to knock out the more cringeworthy terms for older folks. “Silver sneakers,” the “silver tsunami,” “mature” or “seasoned” professionals—none of it sounds nearly as dignified as being described as a legend.—Lila MacLellan
REUTERS/Steve Marcus
Earlier this year, boxing superstar Mike Tyson shared astonishing video clips from one of his recent sparring sessions. At 53, the former multi-year world heavyweight champion appeared as fearsome as ever.
A couple of months later, Tyson joined talk shows and podcasts to explain his return to training: He is scheduled to appear in an exhibition fight with Roy Jones Jr., 51, also a former champion, on Nov. 28. The match, which was originally scheduled for September, will double as the inaugural event for Tyson’s new venture, the Legends Only League, which is producing the event. “I don’t believe in the fountain of youth, but something just came over me and I’m back,” Tyson told NBC talk-show host Jimmy Fallon.
The Legends Only League would be recruiting other former athletes who may have retired from pro sports, but still “have it.” The league is for “whoever, I don’t care, basketball, pool sharks, all the ex-legends who want to play and are still able to play, and are still beautiful, like myself, they can come with us,” Tyson said, name-checking Wayne Gretzky, Dennis Rodman, Metta World Peace, and Diego Maradona. Tennis, ping pong, and handball players, too, he said—they’re all invited. Just because they’re “old” for their sports, he said, “Why do they have to not do what they do?”
To be sure, there are few jobs for which having accumulated time in the ring is seen as an asset. People might respect longtime academics, but often they’re not the ones invited to host podcasts or give TED Talks. In the tech industry, employees in their late 40s are at risk of being stamped “irrelevant.” This form of prejudice is insanity—and it threatens everyone who intends to keep “doing what they do” as the years pass.
To start changing mindsets, we need more formulations like Legends Only to knock out the more cringeworthy terms for older folks. “Silver sneakers,” the “silver tsunami,” “mature” or “seasoned” professionals—none of it sounds nearly as dignified as being described as a legend.—Lila MacLellan
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