Lift the Ban Watch: New York Edition

Boxing writer and MMA enemy Thomas Hauser has a piece up on ESPN.com talking about the efforts to legalize MMA in New York state:

The prime mover in the drive to legalize MMA in New York is Zuffa LLC, the company that controls UFC. Marc Ratner, who served for 14 years as executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, is UFC's vice president for regulatory and governmental affairs.

"We're the lead driver," Ratner said in regards to pushing MMA in New York. "The other organizations are just drafting on us."

In November 2007, Zuffa hired Brown, McMahon & Weinraub (an Albany lobbying firm) for a monthly retainer of $10,000. It also hired Global Strategy Group, a media-relations political consulting firm best known for being utilized by then-governor Eliot Spitzer.

Subsequently, Zuffa made generous contributions to Democratic and Republican campaign causes in New York.

In early '08, Assemblyman Steve Englebright sponsored a bill in the New York State Assembly to legalize MMA. Martin Goldin sponsored a similar bill in the State Senate.

Everything seemed on track for passage. Then the democratic process intervened.

Nice dramatic language there Hauser. Of course Hauser's idea of the "democratic process" is a legislator on a key committee walking into a hearing with no background, no knowledge and making an entirely emotional appeal based on ignorance.

Hauser goes on to quote multiple enemies of the sport -- heroes of decency all:

Jerry Izenberg, the dean of American sportswriters, is unimpressed.

"In order to be an MMA champion," Izenberg said, "you need every skill that's outlawed on the planet. The very things we pride ourselves on not doing, these people elevate to an art form. I wouldn't even try to dignify it."

Don King expounds on that.

"UFC ain't nothing new," King said. "They started with 'ultimate' fighting, and then they civilized it and made it into boxing. All UFC is doing is taking 200 years of rules and throwing them out the window."

Then he goes on to paint a picture of the legislative battle in which the anti-MMA forces are the plucky heroes of decency going up against a well-funded and corrupting menace:

"The battle here is difficult," Reilly said. "We're up against a tremendous amount of money that's available for lobbying as a consequence of the money that mixed martial arts would generate for those who are hiring the lobbyists. Money is the driving force behind this. You see the influence of the lobbyists in the fact that, under the proposed legislation, New York would only get a tax of 3 percent of the revenue generated and whatever we get would be capped at $150,000 for each event. Rhode Island gets 5 percent."

Reilly also believes that Ron Scott Stevens was removed as chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission because he failed to embrace the campaign to legalize mixed martial arts.

On July 23, Stevens was notified by Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez that he was being replaced at the end of the week. Two days later, Gov. Paterson announced that Melvina Lathan (a vocal proponent of MMA) would chair the commission.

Thereafter, Dan Rafael of ESPN.com wrote, "Stevens got the boot for no apparent reason, unless you count the fact that he would not openly support the sanctioning of mixed martial arts in New York, where it is outlawed but facing serious lobbying pressure from UFC officials."

Reilly concurs.

"It's clear to me that this new person was put in her position because of her support for legalizing mixed martial arts," Reilly said. "Can I prove that? No. But if I see something that walks like a duck and it's quacking, I call it a duck."

Hauser goes on to invoke the names of the American Medical Association and the editorial board of the New York Times -- forces of the old guard of civilization that he clearly expects to weigh-in against the barbarians at the gate.

Zach Arnold warned us about Hauser a couple of months back. So this shouldn't come as a shock.

It does make me a bit more excited about the first Affliction/Golden Boy boxing/MMA combo card though -- that should really make the heathen rage.