ESPN re-aired a piece originally shown in April on athletes and the super-televangelists who exploit them on Outside The Lines today …. and I really have no words for what I witnessed.

If you’ve been paying attention to the news over the last couple years, surely you have noticed the various stories about Evander Holyfield having 374 kids and how he owes tons of child support money to pay for them all. You also may have heard about his massive home that was foreclosed on, which contributes to the fact that he’s STILL boxing well past his prime and is risking long-term brain damage (see: Muhammad Ali) because there are bills to pay.

What I *DIDN’T* know is that he’s donated over $20 million dollars to the church over the last 15 years or so. In the video below you’ll see Evander explain his tithing and proudly declare that if he had to choose between paying a house note, and donating to the church…..the house would have to wait:

I realize he’s a religious man and he says the bible requires 10% of his earnings…. but there are various monumental mistakes in judgment going on here. First of all, if you want to give that much cash…. fine… but scale back your living arrangements accordingly. There’s no need to buy a mansion with 100 rooms in it if you plan on giving the church so much of your extra money. Secondly, when you listen to Evander talk, it seems like he’s giving so much money because he thinks god is going to give it back to him for being so generous as opposed to giving it and expecting nothing in return. There’s a little bit of flawed logic there in my opinion.

People have been questioning why Evander Holyfield is still boxing when he’s 183 years old for a while now, and we finally have an answer. He’s BROKE!

According to Atlanta television station WGCL, Holyfield’s home is in foreclosure and will be auctioned off next month. The good news is the house is valued at about $10 million dollars, the bad news is who knows how much debt he’s in. The bad luck doesnt end there folks…

In addition to his estate, more trouble is in store for the prized fighter as Toi Irvin, the mother of one of Holyfield’s nine children, has gone public and announced that he has missed two child-support payments.

According to her, Holyfield’s reps said for her not to expect the payments for May and June, totaling $6,000.”

Pound for Pound, i think professional boxers are the worst money managers in all of sports. Evander Holyfield has been in some of the biggest heavyweight fights in history, and it appears he’ll have nothing to show for it when it’s all said and done. I was never much of a Holyfield fan but this really saddens me. I’d be pissed if my dad was a hall of fame boxer and I’m still eating fried bologna sandwiches for dinner.

Floyd Mayweather was recently ranked #4 in the top 50 money earners in sports for the last 12 months. Hopefully he’s ushering in a new era of business minded fighters.