Title: Perpetuating Parable: Rewarding Kimbo and dismissing GSP
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Blog Entry: By David Mayeda, PhD, FightTicker.com contributor
Last week, I argued here
that the discontent being directed towards Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson
was unwarranted and should be shifted towards EliteXC and its
president, Gary Shaw – the forces that are ultimately driving
Ferguson’s newfound attention. Since my blog entry appeared, a number
of related occurrences have transpired. First, Bas Rutten also defended
Ferguson on Inside MMA ,
even stating that disgruntled fans and fighters should point their
fingers at Bas himself and Ferguson’s management if they wanted someone
to blame. Additionally, Chuck Liddell made a second public statement on
the Dallas radio show, “Rear Naked Radio” (reported on MMAJunkie.com ),
simply reiterating his initial argument that Ferguson has yet to prove
himself as legitimate MMA superstar given his lack of high level
competition and therefore is unwarranted in receiving this recent level
of attention. And finally in the most significant development, numerous
MMA media outlets announced that Ferguson was in line to grace the
cover of an upcoming edition of ESPN the Magazine , notably a magazine that featured Liddell on its cover in May 2007.
Again, I stand by my initial contention, that Ferguson is not the
primary source of blame in this MMA media circus. However, Liddell’s
statements are not without merit. Sports, especially the combat sports,
are filled with examples in which promoters and other media
conglomerates push for an individual’s rapid rise in the business
because of their marketability while other, perhaps more deserving
fighters, must merely watch the media train zip by. And this is hardly
a new phenomenon. As far back as the 1950s, the combat sports were
manipulated by the media. During this time, watching boxing on
television was so popular that it severely reduced attendance at actual
events, and eventually the lack of gate attendance depleted the number
of professional boxers with adequate experience. This led to match-ups
that were based more on hype than skill for far too many participants.
As boxing historian, Jeffrey Sammons writes of that time,
“...television’s role in boxing raised the issue of who was in control
of the sport.” Sound familiar?
Today, numerous MMA fans, fighters, and us internet writers are
asking the same thing – who is really in control of the sport? When
somebody with a 2-0 MMA record over pedestrian talent makes the cover
of ESPN the Magazine , it will surely upset some of those in the
industry. When I showed my blog entry about not blaming Ferguson for
his hype to my good friend, Dr. Huy Nguyen, he responded by saying,
“All really great points ... in the end, it does still upset me that
Anderson Silva, B.J. Penn, or GSP don’t get ESPN stories.” Moreover,
Virginia-based MMA promoter and mixed martial artist, Mike Troxel,
wrote to me regarding the displeasure that some MMA fans will have of
Ferguson being on the ESPN the Magazine cover, “I think you’re
right. There will be a lot more hating on Kimbo (and I think there
should be). In my opinion he personifies every typical stereotype that
non-fans have about MMA and that sort of image should be the last thing
shown in a sport that is trying to be legitimized in the eyes of all of
America.”
Considering Nguyen’s and Troxel’s comments, I couldn’t help but
think more carefully about the ways promotional powers and media
entities manipulate the industry in order to spike ratings. Let’s also
recall what is not being highlighted about Ferguson. How many readers
know that Ferguson was an all star football player for Miami Palmetto
High School, but who attended the University of Miami on an academic scholarship (see SubmitToMMA
article)? Despite not graduating from college, Ferguson is a highly
intelligent individual. Unfortunately, that side of him is rarely, if
ever, displayed in marketing pieces, further distorting the image of
athletes in general, especially minority athletes. The other angle not
making big waves in the MMA media is how Ferguson’s move into MMA has
stopped him from engaging in illegal behaviors, which began when he
worked as a bodyguard for RK Netmedia, a Miami based pornography
production and promotion company. Said Ferguson of his move from
backyard brawler to MMA in a 2007 interview for SI.com
with FightTicker.com’s own Pramit Mohapatra, “In a backyard fight, I
used to enter those things high. I was smoking before I went out to
fight. Definitely it’s different. It’s not the same.” While Ferguson
may or may not be a model citizen now, he has surely made significant
improvements. Yet these behavioral changes take a back seat to his
YouTube scraps, or rather, don’t even make it out of the trunk in most
promotional pieces.
Now let us return to one MMA athlete who is not making it into to
the American mainstream sports world, despite being considered by many
as MMA’s future – Georges St. Pierre. GSP is widely considered by MMA
fans a genetic phenom, who has all the physical tools and a strong
enough game in most combat sport disciplines to rule the welterweight
division for years to come. Add to this a string of victories over Josh
Koscheck, Matt Hughes, and Matt Serra, and fewer are questioning GSP’s
mental focus in competition. But most importantly, it is critical to
highlight GSP’s comments in recent interviews. After Pete Sell
attempted to criticize GSP by comparing him with MMA fighter, Matt
Serra by saying, “GSP is the type of guy that if they were in a bar GSP
would back down from a fight while Serra is down for whatever” ( interview with FightTicker.com contributor Bryan Levick ),
GSP responded in a way that exemplifies how MMA does not have to be
associated with violence out of sport. Said GSP in an interview for The Winnipeg Sun ,
“Of course I’m not going to fight in a club. It’s just not my thing. If
it doesn’t involve me personally or my family, I will avoid it. I
believe if you’re a good person and treat people nicely, that incident
wouldn’t arise. I think those situations happen to people who are
uncomfortable with themselves. Or try to look tough or act like
fighters. You attract what you look like. I don’t have anything to
prove. When I fight, I do it for a living.”
To this end, GSP is also in the process of developing the GSP
Foundation, which will focus on working with at-risk youth. As quoted
in a UFC.com story ,
GSP stated, “It’s important for me because it’s time for me to give
back to society ... I want to use my name, my credibility, and my
stature as a professional athlete in mixed martial arts to help the
young kids. I’m going to focus on the kids and the teenagers because
growing up I had problems, and if I can help somebody who was like me
when I was young, it will make their lives better.” Granted, GSP does
not represent all mixed martial artists in terms of work ethic,
athleticism, or morality. Still, considering his overall athletic
success and charitable goals, the fact that he is not receiving the
ESPN spotlight is absurd. When MMA fans, fighters, and promoters wonder
why MMA is still not as mainstream as we would like it to be, just look
at who’s being promoted, how they’re being promoted, and who’s not.
David Mayeda, PhD, is author of Fighting for Acceptance: Mixed Martial Artists and Violence in American Society , the first book to critically examine the sport of mixed martial arts, through interviews with forty MMA athletes.
Non-internet source : Sammons, J. T. (1990). Beyond the Ring: The Role of Boxing in American Society . Chicago: University of Illinois Press. pg. 149.
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