Dissent Over Sammy Vasquez

by Luke Thomas on Dec 3, 2007 10:49 AM EST in News Comment 4 comments

A reader at Fight Opinion takes umbrage with my assessment of things:

I did not care for Luke Thomas' article at all. First, ease up on the SAT words. Not necessary to prove your point. Secondly, were you waiting for someone to die to put that out? I don't mean for that to sound macabre. But in all honesty everyone involved in the sport knew a death would come eventually. The safeguards in place are very good. But this is a contact sport and in all contact sports there is the possibility (made as slim as possible by rules and regulations) that there will be tragedy. Every year kids die playing High School football from heat strokes and traumatic neck injuries. Even pro football players have died recently. Boxing loses a number of guys each year. There's no one calling to outlaw football and the anti-boxing crowd isn't taken seriously by anybody.

And I'm not calling to outlaw or change a thing. All I have suggested is that whatever the screens are that a fighter must in pass in Texas deserve a second look. We should ensure all of our T's are crossed and our I's are dotted. That's it. No more, no less, at least at this juncture.

As to the point about the inherent dangers in the sport, you're telling me nothing new. I agree the legal and medical screenings currently in place have done a good job particularly in light of the overall growth of the sport, but that doesn't make them primae facie effective or appropriate. The rules already in use were largely the product of guess and check to begin with, so in keeping with that spirit, I'm not sure what's wrong with taking a second look.

Lastly, I would say the relative silence over this matter is startling. Most of the major MMA news and opinion websites are talking about this incident, but not nearly as many as I had expected. I don't know the motivations for why they've chosen to remain silent, but let's hope it's not fear of perception. MMA didn't become popular by rejecting candor and promoting something it wasn't. Transparency is the key to trust and we must remember that even in times of tragedy.

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Re: Dissent Over Sammy Vasquez

"First, ease up on the SAT words. Not necessary to prove your point. Secondly, were you waiting for someone to die to put that out? I don't mean for that to sound macabre."

Haha ease up on the SAT words, then you drop in the word macabre.

Let's get honest, even if it's just the guise of professional journalism, you should at least try to speak properly and use good terminology. SATs are from high school, so I am sure most of us can comprehend reading at a high school level.

by DirtyML on Dec 3, 2007 2:47 PM EST reply actions 0 recs