Bob Reilly Talks Softly and Knows Nothing of MMA

In the fight to get Mixed Martial Arts legalized around the world, no one location has received the level of scrutiny and scorn for their anti-MMA beliefs than the state of New York. Efforts to get MMA legalized in the state have been thwarted at every turn, whether it’s hiring lobbyists or even making a mini-documentary about the struggle (see Marc Ecko’s “Legalize MMA”, about the fight to legalize MMA in New York, right here). One of the most vocal proponents against legalizing MMA in New York has been Assemblyman Bob Reilly, who recently spoke to MMA Live about his problems with the sport.

Just like the legion of politicians that decried the UFC and MMA as a whole by calling it “human cockfighting” back when the UFC first started and first began to creep into the public eye, Reilly’s main problem with Mixed Martial Arts is its supposedly violent nature. Reilly had this to say on the subject: “The greatest problem I find with Mixed Martial Arts or Ultimate Fighting is that it’s violent. And I believe that violence begets violence. Now in New York State, the legislature and the governor constantly are trying to do away with violence: violence in schools, violence in our urban cities, domestic violence. And I think this just helps perpetuate and encourage violence…What attracts people to Ultimate Fighting, unfortunately, is violence. And violence is not good for our society.”

But here’s  what I think: you can say that violence begets violence all you want, but you’re sticking your head in the sand if you think that that’s the only reason your cities and your state is filled with violence. I won’t try to get into some big political debate, that’s not the point of this piece, but I find it incredibly moronic to just make a sweeping statement like “violence begets violence” without any proof to back it up. If violence begets violence, there’d be a riot at every UFC show. If violence begets violence, fighters wouldn’t stop after the bell and they’d have to be physically restrained from tearing each other’s heads off. If violence begets violence, people would be dying in the middle of the ring/Octagon/cage/whatever.

None of that is true. There are some drunken brawls here and there, but there have never been any full-scale riots to erupt at an MMA event. Not so for other sports, including soccer, which is infamous for its fan riots. There are some instances of brawling past the bell, but they’re always quickly broken up, unlike in other sports, where when the fists start flying, they usually don’t stop until the entire team gets involved. Finally, the number of deaths related to Mixed Martial Arts isn’t even in the neighborhood of deaths directly related to professional boxing. It’s not even close.

Here’s the thing everyone needs to realize: MMA should be legalized because it’s the ultimate parlor trick. It looks gruesome, it looks bloody, you see people with giant lumps under their eyes and cuts that gush blood and you think that the sport is barbaric. But in reality? As brutal as these fights look, nine times out of ten the damage done is superficial. It looks nasty, but in reality, it heals up quickly. It looks brutal, but it’s actually very safe, unlike other sports, where the unfortunate opposite is in effect: it looks safe, but athletes are far more likely to develop lasting and serious injuries.

As smart as Bob Reilly makes himself sound, at the end of the day he’s still an uninformed idiot. MMA is safe, doesn’t promote violence, and is a money-making juggernaut. What saddens me is that I don’t think Reilly will ever change his opinion, him or any other aging politician afraid of new things that only research something long enough to seem knowledgeable about it when in fact all they’re doing is repeating the same base stereotypes over and over again in a smooth tone and a friendly voice. I have no doubt that we’ll win the fight in New York eventually. At the end of the day, nothing lasts forever, and cooler (and smarter) heads will one day prevail.

And what do you think, fans and friends? Does Reilly have any sort of point?