New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver Effectively Kills 2011 MMA Bill

Quote :

With a few words from arguably the most powerful man in New York state politics, it appears that mixed martial arts in the Empire State will once again die in its 2011 bid for sanctioning.

State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat and 34-year veteran of the Assembly who has held the most pivotal role in New York's legislature since 1994, effectively sealed the sport's fate with a single sentence.

"There does not appear to be widespread support in the Assembly for this legislation," Silver said on Tuesday, according to The New York Daily News.

To say the least, his words come as a curious statement just days after the bill to regulate the sport had easily sailed through the Assembly's Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development committee by a 16-3 vote. The bill had already been passed through the state senate as well, in a 42-18 vote.

But Silver has the power to effectively do just the opposite of those votes: stop the MMA bill dead in its tracks.

As MMA Fighting reported last year, Silver is considered the most powerful man in the state capital, a title agreed upon by both The New York Times and The New York Post. Due to the overwhelmingly Democratic-controlled Assembly, Silver has huge sway over what bills get introduced for a full vote, and which stall out before ever reaching that point. He has the power to greenlight a bill through traffic, and create gridlock where there is none. Dr. Douglas Muzzio, a professor at New York's Baruch College and longtime political analyst, told MMA Fighting last October that "nothing happens legislatively in the New York State Assembly" without Silver's OK. By virtue of his statement about MMA, it nearly guarantees the bill won't see the Assembly floor for a full vote.

Clearly, there is a fair amount of support for the bill by virtue of the votes that passed it through the senate as well as Assembly committees, not only in 2011, but in years past. But until and unless Silver allows it to be brought to the floor for a full vote, MMA sanctioning in New York will continue to tempt us with promise before ultimately failing.

Past repeated attempts to get Silver to publicly comment on his personal position on MMA have been met with resistance, with his spokespeople saying he does not comment on bills before they're in the voting process. Yet seeing as the bills have passed through some important committees, it would seem as though Silver would allow it a chance to pass or fail in the Assembly on its own merits. But that is not how politics work in 2011, at least not in New York, and not on his watch.

At least we're not the only ones left shaking our heads. Even some of his fellow Democrats don't quite understand what's going on, including Assemblyman Dean Hevesi, who according to The Daily News, said it's "illogical and irrational" that New York would ignore the potential revenue generated by MMA during a time of financial crisis. Upon sanctioning, MMA's leading promotion the UFC had promised New York two events within the first calendar year that would generate around $16 million in economic activity. Apparently, that's not nearly enough.

The bad news gets worse, folks. Silver was just re-elected last November, so next year, we get to do it all over again.

http://www.mmafighting.com/2011/06/08/new-york-assembly-speaker-sheldon-silver-effectively-kills-2011/

I'm sure Jersey and Philly don't mind taking the East Coast shows.

What the fuck is wrong with that state?

If I was Dana I wouldn't even put this on the bill next year and just tell New York to go fuck themselves

its obvious the boxing commission has paid these guys well

Boxing has nothing to do with it. It is the campaign finance dollars and ties with the unions, which hate Station Casinos because of how anti-union they are.

Wolfgangsta wrote:

Boxing has nothing to do with it. It is the campaign finance dollars and ties with the unions, which hate Station Casinos because of how anti-union they are.

oh yee of little fate, I mean boxing has nothing to gain by keeping a stranglehold on MSG as far as combat sports go right

KingsOwn19 wrote:

What the fuck is wrong with that state?

Where to begin

Boxing has nothing to do with it being illegal. The type of cash it would take to keep the UFC out of NY boxing doesn't/wouldn't pay. Further, you say the commissions paid for this. The commissions are government employees. The promoters are the ones that would pay for it. Why did no boxing promoters pay to keep MMA out of everywhere else?

Only the unions have the funds and influence to keep MMA out.

bobbitt15 wrote:

If I was Dana I wouldn't even put this on the bill next year and just tell New York to go fuck themselves

+1

Birdofthad wrote:

its obvious the boxing commission has paid these guys well

You do realize there hasn't been a big boxing fight in NY for a year, hardly any cards go there anymore.

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/6/20/2233310/new-york-mma-bill-is-dead
here's Herman Farrell, Chair of the Ways & Means Committee:

"I don't think very much of the sport," Farrell said. "Next we'll give them clubs with spikes on the end; that will be good."

Lol nice

http://www.mmamania.com/2011/6/21/2234932/report-ufc-129-rings-up-40-million-profit-for-toronto-tourism-and
Toronto tourism and local businesses, the UFC cash cow has left them plenty of green milk -- to the tune of about $40 million.
Take that, New York.
And that figure is a "conservative estimate" according to UFC’s
Director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright, who suggests it may increase
when the official economic impact report is released this August.
TheStar.com has more:

Overall, Moneris Solutions, Canada’s largest credit and debit card
processor, issued a report last month showing a substantial increase in
dollars spent in the city on Saturday, April 30, the day of the
highly-anticipated Toronto event.

Restaurants enjoyed a 19.2 per
cent jump in dollars spent compared week-over-week. Similarly, bars and
pubs experienced a 15.7 per cent increase — confirming that in addition
to the 55,724 fans at the Rogers Centre, many more watched the popular
event outside their home.

The Moneris report also showed a
sizable rise in retail spending from people who made their way to the
downtown core. Apparel and sporting goods stores saw a 41.3 per cent and
a 33 per cent jump in sales respectively.

And many people
travelled to Toronto to experience the UFC in person, as evidenced by
the 20.3 per cent rise in dollars spent at hotels, says the report.

"Toronto’s hotel occupancy rates were in the high 90s — which doesn’t usually happen in April," notes Wright.

---

Just makes you want to LOL at New York.

hey if the population of new york voted against it, which they did, then i dont understand why were even talking about this... FUCK NY

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/10/21/2504011/mma-sanction-new-york-david-mamet
The New York Post ran an editorial this week calling for New York to
sanction MMA events. The question of MMA legislation in New York has
been an ongoing battle for some time, so it is not a shock to see the
Post bring it up. However, the interesting thing about the editorial? It
was written by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet.

A long-time fan of MMA, Mamet argues that the sport should be
sanctioned based primarily on first amendment free speech ideas, and
also states that the US is becoming too much a "maiden aunt." He also
brings in the familiar argument that MMA is less dangerous than many
other sports, including boxing. And he mixes it all in with some...
shall we say, unique, turns of phrase:

In our transformation into a country of maiden aunts, we have
forgotten that phrase concurrent to The Greatest Generation, "Mind your
own business."

The purpose of law, our Constitution teaches, is to allow people to interact free from government intervention.

To criminalize or otherwise sanction now this, now that, at the whim
of a vocal minority is, retail, wearisome folly. Wholesale, it is the
road to serfdom.

Really, the whole thing is worth a read, partly just to see what such
an acclaimed voice has to say about the sport, and partly because,
frankly, it's pretty out there.

For the full scope of Mamet's intriguing opinion, click here.

nice