Friend of our site


MMA Headlines


UFC HP


Bleacher Report


MMA Fighting


MMA Torch


MMA Weekly


Sherdog (News)


Sherdog (Articles)


Liver Kick


MMA Junkie


MMA Mania


MMA Ratings


Rating Fights


Yahoo MMA Blog


MMA Betting


Search this site



Latest Articles


News Corner


MMA Rising


Audio Corner


Oddscast


Sherdog Radio


Video Corner


Fight Hub


Special thanks to...

Link Rolodex

Site Index


To access our list of posting topics and archives, click here.

Friend of our site


Buy and sell MMA photos at MMA Prints

Site feedback


Fox Sports: "Zach Arnold's Fight Opinion site is one of the best spots on the Web for thought-provoking MMA pieces."

« | Home | »

Inside MMA report on the politics of New York MMA legislation

By Zach Arnold | June 11, 2011

Print Friendly and PDF

KENNY RICE: “Last month, the New York state Senate voted to regulate MMA by a 42-18 margin. To become law, the bill now has to pass the New York state Assembly. This may be a more difficult task than it sounds.”

LESLIE BOGHOSIAN: “It seems we’ve been here before, legalizing MMA in New York. Proponents have gotten close in the past but the bill has never made it here to the Assembly floor for a vote. With new rumblings in Albany, some are wondering is now the time?”

ASSEMBLYMAN STEVE ENGELBRIGHT: “Well, it’s a measure that we have… had some considerable controversy over, very few people have neutral feelings about it… so it’s a measure that tends to polarize.”

LESLIE BOGHOSIAN: “New York Democrat Assemblyman Steve Engelbright is the sponsor of bill A04146, known here in Albany as the Mixed Martial Arts bill. The measure passed through his Tourism, Parks, Arts, and Sports Development committee. A big step for supporters. But the biggest hurdle is still present, opposition within his own party.”

ASSEMBLYMAN STEVE ENGELBRIGHT: “The people in our Democratic conference are naturally very opposed to violence. In many cases, they represent communities that have been traumatized by violence. The MMA sport certainly is a rather spectacular, I think, display of athletic prowess but also violence. So, we have a divided majority conference on this issue.”

LESLIE BOGHOSIAN: “How it works in the New York Assembly, not unlike other states, is after a bill passes committee as the MMA bill did, it’s at the Speaker’s discretion to put it to a full Assembly vote. With the MMA bill having divided support in the Democrat Party, it seems unlikely the Democratic Speaker (Sheldon Silver) would schedule it and encourage conflict within his own party. This frustrates supporters like Assemblyman Dean Murray, a Tea Party representative from Long Island.”

ASSEMBLYMAN DEAN MURRAY: “We have the #1 Arena, the #1 media market, the #1 everything in the country and in, some cases, the world and, yet, you know, we can’t showcase this event. It’s… it’s just not right.”

LESLIE BOGHOSIAN: “Murray has been gathering colleague signatures in hopes of petitioning the speaker to put the issue in front of the full floor for vote. We contacted the Speaker’s press office, but did not receive comment before this story went to air. At last month’s UFC 130, Dana White stated he believed that the opposition in Albany was not a morality issue as previously thought. White said he believes that union solidarity has come into play.”

DANA WHITE: “This isn’t a Mixed Martial Arts issue. It isn’t a safety (issue) or anything like this, it’s the Culinary Union. The Culinary Union is up there spending their union dues to fight us in the state of New York because they don’t like the Fertittas.”

LESLIE BOGHOSIAN: “White believes that the Culinary Union’s disagreements with UFC owners Fertitta Brothers’ Station Casinos has spread to New York through their parent organization, Unite Here, and hijacked the progression of the bill. We contacted the New York chapter of Unite Here, which represents not only the Hospital & Restaurant industries but gaming as well. And though they would not sit down with an interview, they did negate White’s claims of any connection ot their Nevada influencing their position here in New York. Yes, they are against the bill, but for different, very specific reasons and referred us to their memo of opposition.

‘Unlike boxing which has the Ali Reform Act and the Boxer’s Safety Act, MMA has no safeguards to protect fighters from [exploitative], oppressive, and unethical business practices and fighters have voiced concerns about UFC and contract provisions that lead to perceived unfair fighter pay.’

“We reached out to a few Assembly members who are against the bill but none would speak to us on camera. As one Assemblyman put it, ‘There’s no need to speak publicly about it because it’s not getting to the floor for a vote. If that ever happens, then we’ll talk.'”

ASSEMBLYMAN STEVE ENGELBRIGHT: “I think this is a contest of values, ideas, and a sense of what is right and what is wrong and that’s why I respect the points of views of my colleagues. I don’t believe that MMA is actually going to take our society in the wrong direction, so I support sanctioning this but there are some who I think legitimately who are advocates for a greater sense of peace & well-being in the communities that they represent.”

ASSEMBLYMAN DEAN MURRAY: “We have 150 representatives in the New York state Assembly. I think that’s a good sampling. Put it to the floor for a vote. That’s my challenge to any opponent against this. Put it up for a vote today because, you know what? It’s going to pass.”

ASSEMBLYMAN STEVE ENGELBRIGHT: “Every year, we’re making gains. Whether this is going to be the year that we crest over the top, I don’t know that.”

Topics: Media, MMA, UFC, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

Comments

*
To prove you're a person (not a spam script), type the security word shown in the picture.
Anti-spam image