The Issue: Whether professional Mixed Martial Arts events should be officially sanctioned in New York.
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“Too Brutal for New York” could not be further off the mark (Michael Bongiorno, PostOpinion, March 26).
If New York legalizes professional Mixed Martial Arts, it will be heavily regulated.
The sport has standards, and people are tested for steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.
The “mixed” part of MMA encompasses taekwondo, boxing, wrestling and judo, which are or have been Olympic sports.
Anyone who takes a martial-arts class — which most of these fighters do — is also taught respect.
Lumping rap music and violent crime in as a way to further the point is ridiculous and generic.
The great part about being in this country is if someone doesn’t want to watch something, he can change the channel. There’s always ice skating, but people get concussions there, too, and the bottoms of the skates have blades.
Kenny Kaplan
Manhattan
MMA events are held throughout NYC with no oversight whatsoever, and a lot of money is being made.
With no governing body, MMA can be a dangerous game.
Amateur boxing operates in New York under the auspices of the New York State Athletic Commission and is governed by national rules designed to protect our athletes. Without governance, these sports are vulnerable to unsafe conditions for the members with serious, sometimes fatal results.
MMA’s attraction for new members is strong. Despite competing with MMA for members, I know legalizing it can provide much needed protection for the athletes, and even more needed revenue for the state by bringing it into the folds of the NYSAC, where it can be monitored and governed.
The safety of the athletes must be considered first and foremost. MMA is not going away, and it can successfully be managed — just look across the river in New Jersey.
Yvonne Williams
President
USA Boxing Metro
Queens
Bongiorno’s piece was very dramatic, drawing overused comparisons to gladiators fighting for the blood-thirsty fans.
He calls MMA a “pseudo-sport.” Regardless of his opinion, it is a sport — one that takes a tremendous amount of heart, dedication, commitment, what some call “intestinal fortitude” and courage. To call it a “pseudo-sport” is to denigrate the world-class athletes who dedicate their lives in pursuit of a championship.
Not only is MMA a sport, it’s a human chess match, one move against another as each try to stay one step ahead.
A mistake by either usually means a win for the other.Joseph Lozito
Bellmore
“Too Brutal for NY” is misleading and dangerously misguided.
Mixed Martial Arts is a growing sport and business with thousands of participants in New York.
Amateur athletes and weekend warriors participate in MMA for fun and for fitness, at gyms and training centers throughout New York.
If the current ban on professional MMA competitions remains in place, unregulated MMA will lead to unnecessary injuries.
Removing the ban will allow state commissioners to oversee pro activity to keep it safe and fair. And yes, it will bring the top-level of MMA athletes to Madison Square Garden and other venues to compete and entertain. But not in the name of gratuitous violence or brutality for the masses.
Mixed Martial Arts is filled with respect for all athletes and for the traditions from which it’s born. Glenn Hansen
Editor
MMA Business
Magazine
Chino Hills, Calif.