Future Drug Violations Could Draw Tougher Penalties in Nevada
by Cannon Jacques on Mar 19, 2009 8:34 AM EDT
in MMA News
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PrintOne Nevada commissioner believes more aggressive action against offending fighters is necessary:
Commissioner John Bailey indicated that, at least in his opinion, fighters in violation of the prohibited substance regulations should not retain any portion of a win bonus. "I believe, at least speaking for myself... in the future, should any contestant, boxing and/or mixed martial artists, be given as a part of their compensation a bonus. And if they find themselves in front of us on a disciplinary matter that involves the ingestion of a prohibited substance that the win portion of their compensation will be immediately forfeited, if they are found guilty, it will be immediately forfeited to the state, and then we will assess punishment, monetary punishment, on the remaining guaranteed portion of their contract."
At this point, the NSAC hasn't determined, at least officially, whether or not to enact the suggested steeper penalties. But if this suggestion does go through, the sanctions leveled against Karo Parisyan may only be a small sample of what's coming the way of fighters caught utilizing banned substances in Nevada - a state with a quite important and influential athletic commission.
It's worth noting that, if this is the direction the NSAC is heading, the severe punishment assessed against Parisyan isn't an arbitrary action but a signal that the rules of the game are changing. Those crying that the NSAC is unfairly targeting Parisyan may well be premature with their criticisms. It might be helpful to compare future disciplinary action levied by the commission to Parisyan's penalties before we get carried away with notions that the NSAC is out of bounds in this most recent instance.
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I think that if a fighter recieved a win bonus he recieved that money from the organization(UFC, Strickeforce, whoever) I think that bonus should be paid back to the organization then the AC take money out of there salary not bonus. Like take Karo the UFC paid him 32K for his win well now it a NC so the UFC should be able to recoupe there money back.
win bonus
I’d go so far as to say give half of it to the guy that didn’t get busted for drugs. After all no matter what the result reads in some office file. People will still say “well Karo beat that guy”. Fair? No…but what can you do. Cash works.
by RipeTide on Mar 19, 2009 10:38 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Having the fine go to the group that assigns the fine is an invitation for abuse. The fines should go to some seperate organization that helps fighters deal with drug related issues.
by thekiltedwonder on Mar 19, 2009 9:59 AM EDT reply actions
I like this as well
but at the end of the day it’s still UFC’s money. They didn’t do anything wrong.
I have no problem with bigger penalties.
My only suggestions are: a) the win bonus that gets forfeited and given back to the organization that gave it out in the first place, considering it was theirs to give. b) not a huge fan of the fines going to the commissions (if that’s what happens. Sorry, bit naive as to where that money goes).
I wouldn’t give the money back to the promotion. Allowing them to feel some of the loss keeps the incentives in line. Nobody likes to here that a fight is overturned due to a drug violation, and the promotion losing the win bonus should make them more interested in using fighters that they believe are abiding by the rules. Eventually, with correct and solid enforcement, more fighters should see that using banned substances isn’t worth the risk.
Allow the bonus to go to some charity involving drugs, or something of that nature. I’m not big on the government sucking up extra dough for them to waste, anyway
If they funnel all of the money into the testing program, which can be costly, I wouldn’t have a problem with it.
Fines shouldn’t go into paying commission members salaries, but if they can take the fines and use it to run more out of competition testing/beef up the testing program, or use it to educate fighters/kids about drug use, that would be fine.
Question...
How much does it cost (if it does) for the UFC (or any group) to apply for and be granted permission to hold a MMA event?
Just curious?
Is it like a $12 filing fee with some lady at the service desk or is there some huge deal of paperwork they have to do and spend thousands on?
The latter, but the more business a promotion does with a particular AC, the easier it gets. You end up establishing protocol, getting certain kinds of clearance that you only need to get once (or that you renew yearly, etc.), and just knowing everyone and everything involved helps. THat’s why the UFC could legitimately threaten to move the Montreal show to Vegas at the drop of a hat; they’ve done so many shows in Vegas that if they can get a free venue, they can put together a show in no time. Conversely, they spend disproportionate amounts of money on shows in new venues, especially overseas. When they were first setting up base in the UK, they retained an entire team of UK lawyers just to figure out everything that they had to do, everything they were liable for, etc., and they don’t even have an athletic commission in the same way that states do. There’s also other factors – the size of the event, the number of fighters involved, the amount being given out as purses – that all affect cost and paperwork.
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