The brief got to the AG (the person presenting against Sherk) just fine but neither of the other two bothered to do their job and get the papers to the commisioners.

As a result, they could not proceed. Part of the brief was pointing out that documents were missing from the chain of custody. Interestingly enough, some of the missing documents ended up in the hands of the prosecution while not being given to Sherk’s lawyer (as they were supposed to).

But there is still missing documents. The CSAC can’t account for the sample each step of the way. They can account for the transfer of the sample from inspector Mike Figueroa to Bill Douglas.

So that led to the postponment until Mid Novemeber.

Now there that has been pushed back another few weeks because they can’t all make it in November. Apparently the deputy AG made a new commitment, after the Nov 13th date was announced. So now it is postponed again because she agreed to something after the Nov 13 date was mentioned.

So Sherk and his lawyer had everything prepared on their end, but now have to wait more a month.

As I said, I can’t help but question the timing of the delays. Part of the defense is going to be going after the missing elements in the chain of Custody. Does it not seem strange that now there has been two separate issues on the SAC side to delay this?

I am simply wondering if the briefs were withheld to buy time. If they had moved forward that day, the defense would have had a very legit argument towards dismissal. The CSAC is required to account for the security of the sample every step of the way and they cannot.

So we have one of the guys (Douglas)that is involved in the undocumented transfer getting the brief that was never passed on. Is it not unbelievable for Garcia and Douglas to have had a discussion about this some time between getting the doc on Friday October 26th and the hearing on Wed the 31st? They sat on the brief for five days. And in that five day period, the other missing docs turned up in the hands of the one other person that had the brief…deputy AG Karen Chappelle

As I said, some of the docs did appear at the last minute in the hands of Karen Chappelle, but the others have not been found yet. The missing docs are for the transfer from one CSAC employee to another. So if they are nto found, it will pretty much be a screw-up within the CSAC that leads to Sherk being acquited.

The brief got to the AG (the person presenting against Sherk) just fine but neither of the other two bothered to do their job and get the papers to the commisioners.

As a result, they could not proceed. Part of the brief was pointing out that documents were missing from the chain of custody. Interestingly enough, some of the missing documents ended up in the hands of the prosecution while not being given to Sherk’s lawyer (as they were supposed to).

But there is still missing documents. The CSAC can’t account for the sample each step of the way. They can account for the transfer of the sample from inspector Mike Figueroa to Bill Douglas.

So that led to the postponment until Mid Novemeber.

Now there that has been pushed back another few weeks because they can’t all make it in November. Apparently the deputy AG made a new commitment, after the Nov 13th date was announced. So now it is postponed again because she agreed to something after the Nov 13 date was mentioned.

So Sherk and his lawyer had everything prepared on their end, but now have to wait more a month.

As I said, I can’t help but question the timing of the delays. Part of the defense is going to be going after the missing elements in the chain of Custody. Does it not seem strange that now there has been two separate issues on the SAC side to delay this?

I am simply wondering if the briefs were withheld to buy time. If they had moved forward that day, the defense would have had a very legit argument towards dismissal. The CSAC is required to account for the security of the sample every step of the way and they cannot.

So we have one of the guys (Douglas)that is involved in the undocumented transfer getting the brief that was never passed on. Is it not unbelievable for Garcia and Douglas to have had a discussion about this some time between getting the doc on Friday October 26th and the hearing on Wed the 31st? They sat on the brief for five days. And in that five day period, the other missing docs turned up in the hands of the one other person that had the brief…deputy AG Karen Chappelle

As I said, some of the docs did appear at the last minute in the hands of Karen Chappelle, but the others have not been found yet. The missing docs are for the transfer from one CSAC employee to another. So if they are nto found, it will pretty much be a screw-up within the CSAC that leads to Sherk being acquited.

I am not a conspiracy nut, but I could not help but notice that these delays allow them quite a bit of time to look for these documents.

FF

Personally, I am of the opinion that the latest delay is so they can have more time to find the documents.

They have screwed up.”

Well if that is the case – they certainly f’d up in fine fashion. I was under the impression the delays were b/c paper work filed by Sherk had yet to be disseminated to members of the CSAC.

But they’re royally screwed if they lost the chain of custody docs – that throws all credibility of the testing right out the window. What an inept bunch of boobs (not a huge surprise).

How do you quote like that anyway? The system eats my HTML every time I try it.

Personally, I am of the opinion that the latest delay is so they can have more time to find the documents.

They have screwed up.

lynchman,

As far as I understand, the fighter signs a contract with UFC where the UFC exchanges its promotional abilities for his performances with a set number of fights and set length of time. If the fighter withdraws his performance (retires, is injured or refuses to fight) before the end of the contract, the UFC has indefinite control over him and he can never work anywhere else again. But if the UFC withdraws its promotion (not offering a fight) the fighter can do nothing and is a prisoner of the UFC by contract.

That this is accepted by fighters is only testament to their relative powerlessness. If fighters could bargain collectively, act collectively if need be, and openly share contract information/pay among themselves, they would immediately set their sights on this blatant injustice, and would defeat it easily.

A fair contract would force the promotion to relinquish all control over a fighter it refuses to promote. The promotion reserves the right to terminate the contract, or else promote the fighter. It does not have the right to hold a fighter hostage without promoting him. We are talking about a human being deprived of his only source of income. No promoter would retain that power over a fighter if fighters had any say at all.

>> Pride had an insanely long “no compete” clause in Jackson’s deal. He
>> had to reject an offer from the UFC because he could not sign with
>> anyone, despite actually no longer being under contract with Pride. He
>> ended up fighting an extra bout with them so he could make some
>> money.

I think you agree with me that it’s abhorrent. And like me, you probably don’t hold up yakuza-PRIDE as the torch-bearer of ethics in the MMA industry.

For the record, I think the union should be industry-wide, not UFC specific. I have a feeling that, if the idea takes off and fighters begin organizing, the smaller promotions will come out as pro-union. They’ll feel they have nothing to lose by doing so and they’ll take the opportunity to present the UFC as the bad guy once again. They only stand to benefit from being able to poach UFC fighters. And why shouldn’t fighters gravitate to the promoters who respect their rights and pay them more?

I mean, ask me if I support fighters’ ability to leave promotions that deprive them of rights and pay badly or arbitrarily, to join promotions that respect their rights, disclose contracts/pay transparently, give them more freedom over their own careers, and pay them better. It’s a no-brainer.

Weigh that right against a promotion’s right to punish a fighter for whatever reason, be it merit-based or petty and personal, by placing him “on the bench”; a promotion’s right to put a fighter’s career on hold, and literally deprive him and his family of their only income; to hold a fighter hostage to coerce him into signing a deal at a time of especial vulnerabity.

I side with the fighter, the actual human in there, over the promotion any day of the week. 45 Huddle, D.Capitated, other anti-fighter people, come out and tell us how you side with the promotion, because it is “better for the sport”. I suppose you’re right, in the sense that a slave make a better servant than someone with rights. Shit, I bet what would be “best for the sport” is to completely strip them of their rights and have them fight to the death! Gotta keep’em hungry!

>> 2) Don’t dare compare it to pro wrestling. Dynamics are entirely
>>different.

I never did. I don’t give a shit about pro-wrestling, but since you bring it up, I believe those guys are severely exploited workers, and they need to unite and fight for their rights.

>> 1) Fighting is not a union industry, has never been a union industry,
>> and never will be.

It will be. But only if a leadership emerges and begins organizing the fighters. The demand is there, the topic is on the table. All it needs is leadership and collaboration.

The coalition needs to include retired veterans as well as current fighters. Some egos need to be set aside and some big-name people have to take a public stand. Petty disputes and money matters should be buried and the focus should be squarely on fighter exploitation, especially for the guys on the lower end of the food chain.

I’m gonna throw out some names: Randy Couture, Kem Shamrock, Frank Shamrock, Tito Ortiz, Nick Diaz, Josh Barnett, Bas Rutten, Andrei Arolovski, Brandon Vera, Renato Sobral, Pat Miletich, Matt Lindland, Dan Henderson, Fedor Emilianenko.

How many former and current fighters have been burned by the UFC but we haven’t heard yet, because they are under contract or afraid of retaliation? How many would come out of the woodwork if some big name guys used their power and leverage, set the example of speaking up and fighting back, and joined forces with them?

A handful of these people working togther could easily change the sport. The small promotions and the media would side with the fighters, except for propaganda outlets like Yahoo. Resources could be pooled to challenge the UFC contract in court. Legislators could be lobbied to influence regulation of the sport with fighter input. Possibilities are endless.

The MMA online community has a role to play. I’d hope the community would throw its weight behind the fighters, but the Couture-UFC reaction isn’t reassuring.