THURSDAY
april 22, 2010
SPORTS
fighting chance By Andrew L. John ASST. SPORTS EDITOR
K
J Noons has been watching the domino effect. Earning a living as a mixed martial arts fighter, the expansion of the sport plays on his mind. And after half a dozen states regulated mixed martial arts (MMA for short) fighting within the last year, he can’t help but have an opinion on New York, a state close to his heart and one of the final holdouts. “Hey, it’s not for everybody,” Noons said. “But there are obviously a ton of people up there who would really get excited. It’d be great for the economy out there and give the people something different and entertaining.” But despite widespread popularity throughout the state, New York is still just one of six states (along with Connecticut, Vermont, Wyoming, Alaska and West Virginia) that have yet to legalize MMA events. Since 1997, MMA fans within the state have had to get their fi x on the seat of their couch through pay-per-view. Those opposed to bringing it to the Empire State refer to the sport as “barbaric,” “vicious” and “ruthless” and don’t want to see it regulated. Those in favor suggest a potential economic boost to stagnant New York cities like Syracuse. Noons doesn’t see the problem. He considers himself a professional athlete, not some
Banned in New York for more than a decade, mixed martial arts could be on its way back
2009201020092010 Year in 9201020092010200 2009201020092010 9201020092010200 Part 3 of 10 | 2009-10 2009201020092010
adrenaline junkie who likes to brawl. That’s what he says the detractors of the sport aren’t seeing. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a violent sport,” Noons said. “But so is football. So is boxing. So is fake WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) wrestling — that’s got more violence than boxing and MMA put together. Guys jumping off (stuff) onto each other, bleeding all over, smashing beers off their heads, hitting each other with metal chairs. I mean, come on.” Over the years, some of Noons’ close friends and teammates from the Northeast have been forced to re-locate to states where events are regulated. Training facilities are littered all over the state, but events have been banned for more than a decade.
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the daily orange
And Noons isn’t the only one who’d like to see that changed. “Everybody wants to fight in front of their family and friends,” Noons said. “Especially the community where they’re from. There are a lot of guys in the sport from New York who would love to do that. And the popularity of the sport has reached a point where it could really explode up there.”
SPORTS Regulating New York
In January, New York Gov. David Paterson unveiled a state budget proposal that included a bill that would abolish the 13-yearold ban on MMA fighting in the Empire State as a way of aiding the state e c onomy
with an influx of revenue. MMA supporters in New York figured legislation would inevitably be passed when the Committee on Tourism, Arts and Sports Development voted to send a bill to the state Assembly. Doing so would ultimately give the New York State Athletic Commission the power to legalize the sport. But nothing materialized, and legislation has yet to be passed. Assemblyman Bob Reilly, D-Colonie, has stood in opposition of legislation to legalize MMA fi ghting in New York since it was fi rst introduced to the State Assembly thee years ago. Since that time, MMA and its supporters have lobbied to get the sport legalized. But Reilly, who UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) spokesperson Julie Wood acknowledged as their biggest detractor, has fought hard to keep events out of the state. “How can you show kids and other people human beings fighting and beating on each other in a cage as they do in Ultimate Fighting?” Reilly asked rhetorically. “And then say to them don’t do this? I just think violence begets violence, and that’s my argument against it.” Wood disagrees. While she maintains that “it is a violent sport” and “it’s not for everybody,” she insists that MMA fighting has come a long way from its rebellious SEE MMA PAGE 26
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