New York Assemblyman Bob Reilly Takes Issue With Zuffa Accident Insurance
by Brent Brookhouse on May 12, 2011 11:44 AM EDT
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New York Assemblyman Bob Reilly is back in the MMA news once again. As if wanting to prove just exactly how unwilling he is to ever admit anything relating to mixed martial arts is good, he is now questioning the motivations behind Zuffa's accident insurance and remaining steadfast in his opposition to regulating the sport in New York. From MMA Fighting:
"What immediately came to my mind was, What's the need for insurance? Because advocates for MMA have been touting how safe this sport is and that no one is ever injured, and in fact, the testimony here is that the worst that ever happened was a broken arm. But I don't think that insurance is going to do anything for the very prevalent brain damage that fighters will suffer.
...
When I explained to Reilly that the UFC fighters were already covered for injuries suffered in fights and the new insurance would cover injuries, suffered in or outside of the gym, while training or not for an upcoming fight, Reilly added:
"It's certainly not a bad thing that they provide this insurance, but it really does little or nothing to solve the problem of what will happen to fighters financially, of the physical damage done to fighters or the fact that this violent sport begets violence in our society. So it does nothing to address the systemic problems of MMA."
Reilly's argument borders on juvenile. Runners, golfers, baseball players all suffer injuries in their sport both in active competition and in training. To have insurance for fighters where, if they find themselves injured and forced out of a fight, they do not lose out on a payday and have to cover major medical bills is a very good thing and not one that in any way speaks to the "safety" of the sport. He also resorts to the ultra-political move of restating an argument "MMA has a relatively low number of major injuries in competition" by saying "no one is ever injured."
I've come around over the last year from thinking Bob was well intentioned but misguided and ill-informed, to thinking that he is flat out sinister in his willingness to lie and twist the argument in any way possible. It's clear he's going to ride this "issue" until the inevitable conclusion (MMA will be regulated in New York) at which point he'll hope that he stands as a shining example of morals over money, rather than being correctly identified as an example of moronism disguised as morality.
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Who has EVER claimed that their are no serious injuries in MMA. What a clown.
"Osama is dead.... Amazing what Americans can do when the PlayStation network is down..."
by Hendo_One-Shot on May 12, 2011 10:33 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
If you want to tell this idiot how you feel
here is his email: reillyr@assembly.state.ny.us
I have already emailed him
by Fokman on May 12, 2011 12:10 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
This is a fun tidbit
Let the fighters fight, let the referees ref, but dear God, don't let the judges judge.
he doesn't care
what the fans think. he has his idea of what the fans are and what they like. he sees us as being violent instead of just seeing it as a sport. he is one of those people who thinks that even two martial artists or fighters fighting is the same kind of violence that say a guy who beat his wife is. he is a douche…don’t waste your words.
He’s said in the past that he likes boxing, but also thinks it’s too violent. He wants professional boxing to be like armature boxing is.
If you can't wow them with brilliance, then baffle them with bullshit.
Just don't call that first picture "karate" around any Koreans.
Tatum: I think he's a good man. I like him. I got nothing against him, but I'm definitely gonna make orphans of his children.
by Dave Strummer on May 12, 2011 10:45 AM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
You aren't kidding
People make fun (with good reason) of TKD, but my masters were hard, hard men. I almost felt bad for the guy who tried to rob the Korean-owned grocery store beside our Dojang. And one guaranteed way to piss them off was to mistake things Korean for things Japanese.
Tatum: I think he's a good man. I like him. I got nothing against him, but I'm definitely gonna make orphans of his children.
by Dave Strummer on May 12, 2011 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I had a Korean friend in high school who would only get pissed if you called him the wrong racial slur.
Guillotine.
so if I told him...
to go back to the barby before a dingo ate his baby, you wannabe Englishman!
he’d get really mad?
The poster formerly known as drunkinmidget187, then Chris Toffer, and now finally in it's Pokemon-esque final evolution (thanks to the leaf stoned)- The Midge! Prepare yourself. @GalsGuidesMidge
Yeah and cigarettes are $12 in NYC. He needs to get out of peoples lives and let them live. I want to watch 2 people trained to hit each other, hit each other. How does this create a society of violence? Is there any proof this makes a society more violent?
I’d also like to ask Mr. Riley to name a sport where it’s athletes don’t get injured, whether in competition or practice.
Riley: “Injuries occur in MMA…. MMA=Violence!!!!”
Really all this falls on the state of NY, LOOK WHO YOU PEOPLE HAVE ELECTED AND RE-ELECTED….
by OptimusPiss on May 12, 2011 10:46 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
WHAT DO YOU MEAN....
“YOU PEOPLE” !?!?
by Ballsagna on May 12, 2011 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
www.facebook.com/djpullout
www.twitter.com/djpullout
www.myspace.com/djpullout
www.djpullout.com
AIM = djpullout
info@djpullout.com
by DJ Pullout on May 12, 2011 11:21 AM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
But 3 NFL teams, where former players shoot themselves in the chest to preserve their brain to help prove severe brain damager is occurring, that is fine.
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure.
by splint on May 12, 2011 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Unless its about NY
Idgaf what Reilly has to say
Arguing specifics with this guy is a dead end
If you say “football and boxing are dangerous too,” he’ll say “let’s not compound the problem by sanctioning yet another dangerous sport.”
The real point is that MMA athletes are adults, and that they can make adult choices, understanding the potential risks and rewards associated with those choices. His brand of nannying actually hurts those athletes much more than it helps, robbing them of a livelihood in the misguided interest of protecting them from themselves.
Tatum: I think he's a good man. I like him. I got nothing against him, but I'm definitely gonna make orphans of his children.
by Dave Strummer on May 12, 2011 10:49 AM EDT reply actions 2 recs
He might still be well-intentioned but misguided
If Bob Reilly truly believes that the risk of brain damage in MMA is too high and can not be managed acceptably, then the only moral course of action is to do what he’s doing and resist legalizing it.
The misguided part is how he’s resisting, by lying and making dishonest arguments. He probably thinks he’s trying to achieve a “greater good” but he’s still a liar. Two wrongs don’t make a right and all that…
Never approach a vast undertaking with a half-vast plan.
disagree.
at this point, there’s no way that dude isn’t somebody’s pocket.
his reasoning isn’t just infantile, it’s biased and repetitive, as if he were given talking points by someone. maybe Dana was right about the Culinary Union thing.
by Victor Rodriguez on May 12, 2011 12:49 PM EDT up reply actions
Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by stupidity
By now Reilly has beat his anti-MMA drum for so long that he’s utterly committed to bashing the sport and never giving an inch. Because 21st century American politics demands that you never change your mind, ever, or else you’re a “flip flopper”.
Meh. Like Brent said, he’s just standing in front of the train at this point.
Never approach a vast undertaking with a half-vast plan.
I'm glad you guys are reporting on this
But I don’t want to see him build a reelection platform of morality/fighter safety on the backs of MMA fighters.
$0.02
by JAYGK95 on May 12, 2011 10:51 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
You know what Bob Reilly...
I hope when you’re perusing the cereal aisle of your local grocery store this morning you have a moment of sheer jubilation when you find that your favorite cereal, Kellogs Rice Kripies Treats, has not been discontinued. You’re so thrilled that you buy not one, but two “Family Size” boxes, and rush as quickly as your old little legs will take you to the 10 Items or Less lane.
You get in your car, travel eight miles over the speed limit all the way home, and dash into your kitchen more quickly than you’ve moved in what seems like a lifetime. You grab the biggest bowl in your cupboard, a bowl more suitable for mixing brownie batter than holding cereal. You tear open the first box, and excitedly pour those delicious looking Kellogs Rice Krispies Treats until the entire first box is emtpty. Oh yes, you’re going to enjoy devouring that first box on a level that only a small child tasting his first chocolate chip cookie could comprehend.
Except, you forgot one thing Bobby. You go to the fridge, and there is no milk.
You contemplate replacing milk with water, but you know it’s not the same. Back to the store you go Bobby, those Rice Krispie Treats will have to wait.
Lyoto Machida will literally kick your teeth out.
by tito (eight and oh) on May 12, 2011 10:51 AM EDT reply actions 20 recs
I love that cereal.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
Editor, HeadKickLegend.com
Contributor for CagesideSeats.com and Bloody Elbow Radio
Still Subo at Fightlinker.com
by Derek Suboticki on May 12, 2011 1:20 PM EDT up reply actions
Throughout that whole tale...
I was waiting for him to injure himself. But this was better.
Fitch is awesome, I don't care what you think...
Bones Jones, future greatest MMAist ever.
Only this guy would have something negative to say about healthcare being provided to fighters. Isnt he a democrat and arent they banging the free healthcare drum to get elected in 2012?
by bigc4277 on May 12, 2011 10:55 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Your knowledge of government policy and electoral politics is truly remarkable.
by Finian1 on May 12, 2011 11:01 AM EDT up reply actions 4 recs
And where did i start dropping political knowledge? I was simply making the connection between his political party and a policy they have been pushing hard and wondering why he would question the UFC s motives.
by bigc4277 on May 12, 2011 11:11 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Don't worry
You most certainly didn’t drop anything approaching political knowledge.
by forkboy on May 12, 2011 11:19 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
Yea most people heads would start hurting
by bigc4277 on May 12, 2011 11:24 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
First of all, the big changes in health care policy in the last two years are taking place at the federal level, not the state level. Bob Reilly has nothing to do with those changes. Second, to say that the Democrats are “banging the free health care drum” is incredibly simplistic as well as inaccurate. The health care reform bill Obama signed is not a “free health care” bill. In fact, the most controversial thing about that bill is that it taxes people who don’t spend money on health insurance. People on Medicare and Medicaid don’t even get “free” healthcare. No one gets free healthcare in the U.S., and no Democratic party leader is suggesting that they should. Only fringe types like Dennis Kucinich and Bernie Sanders want to do anything like eliminate out-of-pocket health care expenses.
Finally, if you look at Reilly’s website, health care doesn’t seem to be one of his primary issues. I suspect that his opposition to MMA is unrelated to any concern about health. On the other hand, maybe it is and he is just really super-ignorant about sports.
by Finian1 on May 12, 2011 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
Oh, come now. His argument isn’t juvenile. He’s saying an insurance for injury will not make a difference on brain damage and violence in society, which it won’t, and he thinks those are the true issues with the sport, which they may well be. He says it plainly and straight-forward, and it’s a logical argument. We don’t have to skew things he says like that, I’m sure there are plenty of other genuinely moronic things to pick from.
What’s the need for insurance? Because advocates for MMA have been touting how safe this sport is and that no one is ever injured
That’s why.
Life is either a daring adventure or nothing. Security does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than exposure.
yeah
because American society has never been violent until MMA.
MMA must certainly be curbed to prevent moar VIOLENCE!
by Victor Rodriguez on May 12, 2011 12:51 PM EDT up reply actions
But… now you’re starting to sound a little bit like him. This 100 or 0%, nothin’ in between nonsense. Of course there’s been (unnecessary) violence and will always be, but mma will contribute in desensitizing people to it, and to say that setting things up for more violence i sok because there already is violence is sort of a non-argument. You get affected by what you see, so yeah, it’s a logical argument. I of course don’t think it’s enough, but it’s logical.
by umbalata on May 12, 2011 1:29 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
This is ridiculous
even in soccer you have nasty injuries. If someone call some sport “safe” does that mean that atletes don’t deserve insurance?! Im training Judo, and injuries are very common.
Bob Reilly hates America
Freedom, children laughing, rainbows, puppies, and ice cream.
U C O N N Huskies
2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Champs!
by Austin Martin on May 12, 2011 11:06 AM EDT via mobile reply actions 7 recs
I hope he doesn’t say bad things about kentacohuts, because I’d be inclined to rip his face off.
U C O N N Huskies
2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Champs!
by Austin Martin on May 12, 2011 11:19 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Kentaco huts. the reason terrorists hate us.
And why I love us.
by Body Triangle on May 12, 2011 11:34 AM EDT up reply actions
They took the Huts
out of all our KenTacoHuts.
by Mandmeisterx on May 12, 2011 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions
i think that's happening everywhere
And it’s turrible. The best thing marijuana enthusiast can ask for is a place where you can get 2 gordita crunches, a famous bowl, and breadsticks in one order.
U C O N N Huskies
2011 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Champs!
by Austin Martin on May 12, 2011 1:50 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
His argument make sense but let me splain'
Not everybody is a combat sports fan, and there are a lot of people who never will be.
Housewives, old people, religious moral asshole types. MMA doesn’t have unlimited growth. Boxing never reached those people either.
Those people also tend to vote more than your average tapout meathead.
So, politicians are going to stand on arguments that the sport is brutal, and it is. Ask Gary Goodridge.
We as MMA fans should know that and take these things with a grain of salt. We have to advance the sport first and take care of these guys because were sold on it already.
you make very valid points.
but this isn’t the usual anti-combat sports argument. he’s cool with boxing, but somehow finds MMA too violent. he’s pandering to someone or getting campaign money from elsewhere.
guys like this are a detriment to the sport and to society as a whole due to their petulance.
by Victor Rodriguez on May 12, 2011 12:53 PM EDT up reply actions
eh
hes doing his job.
It’s dana’s job to change perceptions.
by Roaringblood on May 12, 2011 1:25 PM EDT up reply actions
Bob just has a hate on for MMA
He knows he’s on the wrong side of the sport since it is being legalized everywhere else. Like a child that won’t admit he’s wrong, at this point, he is absolutely unwilling to admit he was wrong. He’s been ragging on it for so long now, he won’t ever change his tune. There is no hope for him.
by pud333 on May 12, 2011 11:16 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
he'll just double down like he did now even though he's wrong.
kind of like John McCain on DADT repeal. it’s sad to watch, really.
by Victor Rodriguez on May 12, 2011 12:54 PM EDT up reply actions
'No matter what your ideology may be, once you believe you are in the possession of some infallible truth, you become a combatant in a religious war."
by Yxas on May 12, 2011 11:21 AM EDT reply actions 3 recs
I never noticed the guy smoking weed behind him until now....
www.facebook.com/djpullout
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AIM = djpullout
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by DJ Pullout on May 12, 2011 11:23 AM EDT up reply actions 6 recs
Shhh.... Reilly will use that against us
Let the fighters fight, let the referees ref, but dear God, don't let the judges judge.
by halitosis on May 12, 2011 12:57 PM EDT up reply actions 3 recs
I reckon that's Purple Drank in his cup too.
'No matter what your ideology may be, once you believe you are in the possession of some infallible truth, you become a combatant in a religious war."
I would love
to know or have some reporter dig deep and see how much money this guy is getting from the unions, on the other hand that reporter can end up in cement boots down the Hudson River .
This is pretty incredible…
Boys becoming men...Men becoming wolves
by spectaa on May 12, 2011 11:55 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Meh
I have a hard time believing that a $2000 donation five years ago has made him a puppet of UNITE HERE.
Lobbying goes deeper than a single donation
You look at how much they gave to members of his party, plus what they gave to PACs supporting his party, plus what they’ve spent themselves on non-financial campaign contributions.
Saying they gave 2k doesn’t make much of a tie…especially given the max contribution in NY is 5k.
The poster formerly known as drunkinmidget187, then Chris Toffer, and now finally in it's Pokemon-esque final evolution (thanks to the leaf stoned)- The Midge! Prepare yourself. @GalsGuidesMidge
why? I hate polotics it just gets me mad because of idiocy like this
Twitter @MaZZM
http://www.mazzznet.com/
Something about being unable to reason a man out of a position he didn’t reason himself into.
When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are in a confederacy against him. - Jonathan Swift
Editor, HeadKickLegend.com
Contributor for CagesideSeats.com and Bloody Elbow Radio
Still Subo at Fightlinker.com
by Derek Suboticki on May 12, 2011 1:20 PM EDT reply actions
I dont live in NY, or the US for that matter
So I just find this guy hilarious. But I can imagine he is infuriating to sane people in NY who just want to enjoy the sport. Question: How does this moron keep his job? Is Assemblyman not a locally elected position? He seems like an easy target to completely rip apart politically by some opponent with any ambition at all.
by Lodz on May 12, 2011 1:46 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
what really pisses me off about Reilly...
and it just occurred to me.
you see Pro Wrestling in NYC…in freakin MSG, and you don’t hear peep from Reilly on that subject. I love(d) Wrasslin’, but guys are dropping dead left & right from basically entertainment related PEDs…its not sanctioned, insured, no retirement plans or any of that shit Reilly’s so worried about when it comes to MMA. sure it was all a done deal before he got there, but c’mon Wrasslin’ is statistically far more dangerous than MMA, so why isn’t he rallying the forces to stop it from continuing in his wonderful Utopia of NYC?
Who's the only one here who knows illegal ninja moves from the government?
"That dude was legit, ponytails are a sign of nobility." TheFilt™
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