However, not everyone was thrilled the sport of MMA coming to Salinas, as evident by the opinion pieces that appeared in the Monterey Herald newspaper several days after the event. One couple from Salinas wrote in that people of Salinas are accepting of the event because of all the gang violence and the opinon editor of the paper made some unjust statements in his piece, such as saying the commissions pretends to care about the fighters.
Furious with what I read, I submitted my own rebuttal piece to the paper and was called the next morning by the opinon editor who was IRATE that I had disagreed with something he wrote and said that in all his years, no one had disagreed with one of his pieces like I did.
After cutting me off several times, he told me to add more support to my piece and re-submit it. I promptly did and after re-submitting my piece, I was contacted by the paper for my occupation and connection to MMA. I told them that I was a part time sports writer for their paper and a substitute teacher and that I had several friends involved in MMA.
Thinking my piece was going to be published, I anxiously awaited the following day's paper and was bummed my piece wasn't included. After a week of not seeing my article, I called the same gentleman up and asked him what the status was of my piece.
He basically told me that he wasn't going to publish it because I had used the word ignorant and that he couldn't have someone who works for the paper calling someone else ignorant. He then went on to say that my piece was the most childish and amateurish piece he had ever read in all his years and that I didn't prove anything.
When he asked me what was ignorant about his piece, I pointed out to him his statement that the commissions pretend to care about the fighters, to which he replied "That's my opinion." I then told him that I showed evidence to the contrary with the medical suspensions of Chuck Liddell and Rick Franklin, to which he said was not relevant.
After getting really sharp and snappy with me, he told me I could send in a 200-word letter and then slammed the phone down. I thought about leaving the issue alone until I reflected on his words and realized I was in the right. I also felt better that my contacts in the sports department said the gentleman I had been speaking with was not the most popular guy in the office and that the entire sports department loved my article.
Right now, I would like to share with the piece that caused all this and believe me, I will think of something to re-submit for publication:
"The Herald’s View and the Halfpenny’s opinion pieces in Monday’s issue of the Herald about Cage Fighting, also known as Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), really struck a cord with me because of the uppity-attitude and utter ignorance shown by the authors in both pieces.
I understand MMA is not everyone’s cup of tea and that is fine. My problem is with people who get up on moral soapboxes and lash out against the sport when they don’t understand or follow the sport in the first place.
MMA is not going to lead to more gang-violence, despite what the Halfpenny’s would want you to believe. If anything, an MMA gym would help curve the problem by giving at-risk children an outlet and hopefully, get them off the streets, which aren’t exactly safe anymore
In addition, saying that the commission “pretends” to protect fighters is an error, especially when one does research and discovers that fighters are given both pre-and-post fight drug tests and are suspended anywhere from 7-60 days after a fight, depending on the severity of their cuts and injuries, before they can fight again.
As confirmed by Sports Illustrated’s website, Chuck Liddell, who is one of MMA’s biggest stars, recently received a 60-day medical suspension following his knockout loss to Rashad Evans earlier this month at the UFC 88 pay-per-view. Liddell will be required to undergo a CT scan and neurological evaluation before being cleared to fight again.
Another MMA fighter, Rich Franklin, who won his fight on the same card, was also suspended 60-days as a result of sustaining a deep cut over his right eye. This does not sound like the commission pretending to care about its fighters. Maybe if boxing had the same regulations years ago, Muhammad Ali’s quality of life today would be better.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world’s biggest MMA promotion, was once described by Senator John McCain as “human-cockfighting” because the fights were less sport than spectacle, promoted as “no holds barred fighting” with few, if any, rules.
I give McCain credit for helping the UFC become legitimized by implementing regulations such as rules, weight-classes, the drug tests and mandatory suspensions after each fight. By embracing these guidelines and dropping the “no holds barred” banner for the banner of MMA, which showcases a fighters kickboxing, wrestling, jiujitsu, boxing and judo skills, MMA took the UFC from political isolation to world known juggernaut.
As for children witnessing and participating in MAA, that falls on the parents shoulders, who are the ones introducing their children to the sport in the first place. If they want their child to view or participate in MMA, that is their right but as a parent or guardian, it is their responsibility to make sure their child is mature and responsible enough to handle a weapon as powerful as MMA as well as knowing that what they watch on television are trained professionals making a living.
ESPN “Outside the lines” had a fantastic piece last month about children as young as three-years old being enrolled in MMA schools and showed two separate MMA schools with two different trains of thoughts. The first school they featured was headed by an individual who pitted children in combat with each other the first day of class, which was appalling.
However, the second school featured was headed by a gentleman who does not allow his young students to physically touch each other until they have been enrolled in the class for 18 MONTHS! That’s right, a full year-and-a-half of drills that help develop the foundation and basics of proper MMA techniques before they are allowed to physically touch each other.
As for MMA being too violent and being on the same level as dog-fighting, I can understand where people are coming from but let’s look at some acceptable sports that could also be deemed violent.
In football, a player is trying to hit the ball-carrier or quarterback as hard as he can, sometimes launching himself at full speed, just to make a tackle. In baseball, it’s perfectly acceptable for a pitcher to hit an opposing batter with a 100 mile-per-hour baseball in the spirit of standing up for his teammate if he was hit first. In hockey, you have men chasing each other with weapons in hand and checking each other into the boards, causing fights to break out. Boxing features two men or women continuously punching each other in the head, trying to knock the other person out.
Am I the only one noticing a recurring theme?"
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