Will NY Legalize Mixed Martial Arts?

 

By Jason Burgos

New York is the only state in the U.S. that has yet to legalize professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). MMA is a sport that the Las Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has helped turn into a global phenomenon, with events being held annually in such diverse locales as China, England, Sweden, Canada (which sold 55,000 tickets to an event in 2011), Japan, Mexico and Brazil (where 35 million viewers watched UFC 134 on Brazilian network Rede TV).

A bill to sanction MMA has passed through the New York State Senate on five separate occasions, yet has never made it to the assembly floor for debate.

The arrest of New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver may change that.

On January 22nd, federal authorities arrested Silver on charges of corruption, for allegedly taking “$4 million in bribes and kickbacks” since 2000. As the speaker of the assembly, Silver had the power to bring new bills up for discussion, where the Assembly could decide if it would pass the final step before being signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Yet for five straight years (dating back to 2010), once the time for consideration came, the bill never made it on to the agenda of the Assembly.

Some MMA proponents say that this is due to the influence of lobbyists working for local unions, who oppose the UFC, which is lobbying heavily for legalization. Local unions dislike the UFC because its owners (brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta) owe their wealth to their company Station Casinos, which operates 17 non-union casinos in the Las Vegas area.

There has been a long standing feud between Station Casinos (one of the largest non-union corporations in the country) and Unite Here, which represents the Local 226, a Culinary Union battling for certain rights for the 12,000 workers employed by the Fertitta’s. Unite Here operates local unions throughout the country, including in New York.

Silver has said publicly that he did not “approve of MMA,” despite its fiscal benefits. Also, former Assemblyman Bob Reilly is on the record stating his dislike of MMA. During his time in office he received large contributions from Unite Here.

When MMA was outlawed in New York, and most of the country, in 1997 many viewed it as a no-holds-barred, barbaric, blood-sport. At that time, those characterizations were fair, because it was. However, since then, the sport has created much stricter rules and regulations to make fights more safe and fair for the athletes with the help of state athletic commissions (led by Nevada and New Jersey).

But like professional boxing and other contacts sports, the question of long-term damage to the brains and bodies of athletes is still a concern. “I have serious concerns about the impact of a sport such as Mixed Martial Arts on the mental and physical health of participants, particularly at a time when we are just beginning to understand the long-term effects of sports-related injuries like concussions,” said Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz.

Yet, amateur MMA is NOT outlawed in New York.

Dinowitz did not rule out future legalization. “As with any other bill that crosses my desk during the legislative session, I will carefully consider the merits of a proposal to legalize the sport,” he said.

Benefits for a state’s economy can be substantial. A study done by HR&A Advisors in 2012 revealed that annual MMA events in the state could bring $68 million in revenue. The UFC has guaranteed at least two events per year in New York City, which would bring in $16 million annually. The study says that MMA would create 525 jobs, combining the events with tourism and indirect spending.

On five separate occasions legalization has failed. Perhaps a sixth time and a new speaker of the Assembly will be the impetus to finally make this sport legal in New York State.