Bob Reilly: The Face of Anachronism

It DOES go back to gladiator times. Only the fatality rate was like a billion percent higher is all. And there’s no lions. Or weapons. Or death. Did i mention death already? I’d like to make sure I mention there’s less death because it seems like that might be important.

This seems to be… pouring onto the fire that is stating the obvious. I think everyone’s general feeling is that Bob is, in fact, out of touch with the times. In fact, I believe a lot of PEOPLE in general think that older citizens in political positions are out of touch with the times.

Bob may be out of touch with the times, but he’s blatantly disregarded hard evidence that supports the safety record of MMA. I mean, there have been studies, statistics, you name it, he’s seen it. Yet, he still has a horrible stance on MMA.

Why? Because he’s stuck in some type of nostalgic state of the beautiful sport that is boxing, he thinks MMA is some work of the devil, it doesn’t really matter.

What matters is that he is purposefully disregarding empirical evidence supporting a sport that has a better track record than that of boxing, and brings in a lot of money to the New York economy. I think he should simply be stricken from politics altogether for the mere fact that he obviously can’t intelligently read a report or study. You can throw out him being old and out of touch with reality altogether and just look at his complete ignorance.

    Was it coincidence that several of the video shots used in this piece were of New York’s own Matt Serra in his once-in-a-lifetime knockout victory over George St. Pierre?

    Mr. Reilly’s concerns are appropriate in terms of his position as a politician, whose job it is to insure the safety and quality of life of his constituents. What does not seem appropriate is his villifying MMA as a danger to children and to society, using the old McCain language about the Coliseum of ancient Rome and the gladiatorial aspects of mixed martial arts.

    When I see torn and broken dead bodies being dragged from the ocatgon, with six year old children and their grandmothers at ringside, perhaps then Mr. Reilly’s comments would seem more grounded in some kind of reality.

    No doubt, MMA is a combat sport, it’s nature is by definition violent, but given our society’s penchant for violent entertainment such as hockey, boxing, and football, and the increasing scrutiny which mixed martial arts is being subjected to, not to mention the growing number of official sanctioning bodies such as state athletic commissions that have taken up the safety practices of this new sport, I’m having trouble detecting the moral threat to our society and our children of which Mr. Reilly so eloquently speaks.

    In a free society such as ours, it is the responsibility of individuals to make the kinds of decisions that Mr. Reilly wants to make for the state of New York as a whole. Personally, I do not feel MMA is appropriate entertainment for young children, and wouldn’t want my six year old (if I had one) to witness the blood and violence in the ring, but I would reserve the right to make that decision for myself and my family. With a growing fan base and a fifteen year history in the USA of increasing concern for fighter safety, I think MMA has earned a place in our national sports consciousness, and individual fans can make the decision for themselves as to whether it’s appropriate entertainment for themselves and for their families.

There is a thousand years of written Martial Arts history. There is a fight at MSG almost every Rangers home game, or Friday Night Fights (Can they hold K1 or Muay Thai fights there?). Ladies and gentlemen that’s a double standard.

MMA as a sport has improved since Santa “Napoleon of the West” Anna defeated Davy “the bear hunter” Crockett via submission in UFC -230: The Alamo? As a Texan I call foul. First of all, I think it was cool Davy could wear his coonskin cap in the octagon. Second, that was pretty sweet when Santa Anna snapped off his artificial leg to get past Crockett’s guard.

Would it be an incredible stretch to think that a boxing promoter or two doesn’t want to see MMA in Madison Square Garden?

I might be jumping to a conclusion, but I think its something to consider.