It’s a shame you chose to use vitriolic hatred as a tactic because your point- whatever the hell it is- is completely lost.

That being said, I really don’t understand the premise or concept behind the column. It reads in part like a circumvented obituary, but I doubt that is the intent of the piece.

I’ve read through it twice and still have no idea the larger message contained within. That may be the English geek in me though.

To Nick:

I’m not saying your quote was condescending in any way. But your quote is not what he is building off of. He takes your quote and then constructs an entirely different column painting a picture that those who just try to move on are in the wrong.

By “lingering in the herd” he is somehow superior to those people. As I said earlier- you can’t retroactively fix a problem- you need to take what you learned from an incident and build regulations moving forward that help protect against it happening again.

The tone of his writing paints himself as above those who want to keep moving on.

i see how this whole situation has gone beyond everything we can see. there is a death before us, and no matter what way something is said or how it is perceived, you will still see views the way you do. maybe we do need stronger regulations or maybe the regulations we thought were strong just weren’t really up to par. i read his column and i dont see a condescending word in it. i viewed the fight and made the comment on the radio, now was i being rude or insensitive? no, because the fact that he could die wasn’t running through my head, that was the last thing i was thinking. death is a tricky subject for people to view, some want to embrace while others want to mourn.

Your summation is shaky at best. You can pretend to yourself you haven’t taken a side but your commentary points otherwise. Also you feel the people wanting to move forward are trying to sweep the death under the rug which simply isn’t the case. Any rational person would understand that you can acknowledge a death and still progress. Just because “linger in the herd” doesn’t make you superior to others- it’s makes you sillies becasue you don’t see how a sport can build upon their already strong regulations using this as a primer.

Did Boxing cease being a sport when one of their herd falls victim to the reality of the brutality of this combat sport?

Well, there were a few serious movements (and not “BOXING IS EVIL!!!111″ cries that goes on ad nauseum) to get the sport banned, the biggest one after the televised deaths of Benny ‘Kid’ Paret and Davey Moore in the early 1960s. Boxing isn’t the best example to cite of a sport that was ‘above the line’ with regards to mainstream acceptance and regard to ’sport vs. spectacle’.

The premise of this article is shaky at best and really unclear.

It seems like Mr. Philapavage wants the whole sport to come to a grinding halt so they can fix the problem before it starts spinning again.

This was an event that unfortunately was bound to happen. That’s the way it is in sports. Even if you accoutn for this one incident there will be an entirley different incident that pops up years from now. What MMA needs to do is keep moving forward but adjust the problem going forward. “Lingering in the herd” is silly and counter-productive because you’re fixing a problem retroactively and not proactively trying to attack issues.

I’m having a difficult time deciphering your message or even if there is one in your piece other than recognize the loss of Sammy Vasquez the man, then the loss of a fighter in MMA.

We’ve done that so should we belabour the point to where the state governing bodies notice that a death occurred then the ripple effect happens that triggers the sanctioning to dry up state by state for this burgeoning sport?

Hell no!

Using your analogy, there are casualties in every herd and Sammy happened to be the first. So be it.

The true story here is not that the MMA media didn’t react, it’s that it was expected and overdue given the brutal nature of the sport.

Should we close the doors of MMA altogether? Did Boxing cease being a sport when one of their herd falls victim to the reality of the brutality of this combat sport?

Nope.

Recognition of the loss then move on.

What would Sammy want? Would he want you to continue to write about his death or carry on with writing and promoting the sport that he gave his life to?

I chose the latter.