NY Politcians Compare MMA To Gay Porn & Slavery
Following the ousting of disgraced former New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for accepting illegitimate funds, it was largely believed to be a formality that mixed martial arts (MMA) would finally be legalized in the Empire State, the only one still left in the United States that to not allow pro MMA bouts.
However, the UFC had met significant resistance nonetheless, and that was mainly in the form of the issue actually being brought up to vote. It is believed that it will be brought to a vote — where it’s expected to be overwhelmingly approved — but that didn’t stop some of the NY Assembly members from taking some absolutely ridiculous stances on the sport today.
That was never more evident than when former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman, who has been heavily instrumental into MMA’s legalization efforts in his home state, posted a deserved response to a previous tweet by NewsDay Sports’s Mark La Monica describing the scene where Assembly member Daniel O’Donnell called MMA “gay porn with a different ending”:
Wow. How can they be so clueless and uneducated still! Crazy. https://t.co/Z9y3NRhR2M
— Chris Weidman (@ChrisWeidmanUFC) March 22, 2016
Assemb. Daniel J. O’Donnell just equated MMA with “gay porn” but with a different ending.
— Mark La Monica (@LaMonicaMark) March 22, 2016
Quite the extreme comparison to be certain, but it didn’t stop there.
Read on to the following page to see more ridiculous ramblings about MMA…
Hot on the heels of O’Donnell’s perceived parallel, FIGHTLAND reported that fellow Assembly Member Charles Barron then equated MMA to the time of slavery when African Americans were thrown into cages to fight:
NY Assembly member Charles Barron likened MMA to a time when slaves were “thrown in a cage” and forced to fight. pic.twitter.com/YrzkItUwtD
— FIGHTLAND (@FIGHTLAND) March 22, 2016
That was a very dark and terrible time in American history to be sure, and there is no apology that can make up for the atrocities of that era. But comparing those reprehensible days to a regulated competition where both athletes are compensated monetarily, can quit at any time, and can participate regardless of race seems like a stretch and hardly indicative of what the UFC is trying to accomplish right now.
The tirades continued when ESPN’s Brett Okamoto reported that Assemblywoman Andrea Wozniak stated that she was concerned about children working with sex offenders if MMA were legalized in New York:
… NY Assemblywoman Angela Wozniak is suggesting that sex offenders working with children is a potential problem with legalizing MMA.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 22, 2016
Finally, Okamoto summed up the stange proceedings by noting that he would most certainly share any legitimate argument that was brought up by the Assembly, but had yet to hear you as of yet:
If there is a single legitimate argument against legalizing MMA brought forth today I will share it. Honestly haven’t heard one yet.
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) March 22, 2016
Despite all of the harsh, outlandsih, and ultimately, unfounded backlash on MMA from soem of the NY Assembly members, the vote is still slated to finally be brought before up to the day, still giving it a chance to pass. It very may well so stay tuned, but clearly some of the New York Assembly members’ views, opinions, and understandings of MMA appear to be still stuck in the distant past, with many of them displaying odd and extreme comparisons.
