Title: MMA and Fighters' Rights
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Blog Entry: MMA and Fighters' Rights
When I first started working on Fighting for Acceptance ,
my primary concern with MMA's exploding popularity was with the
glamorization of violence. I was living this odd hypocracy that I was
keenly aware of - being a professor who did work in youth violence
prevention, while simultaneously being seduced by the obvious violence
entrenching MMA. As I became more familiar with the MMA game, got to
know various competitors, and contextualized MMA within our broader
range of violent sports and violent media, my initial concern decreased
substantially. The dissemination of violence is still a big concern of
mine. However, I now feel the MMA industry, if reformed in some
significant ways (especially in the media), can actually serve as one
of the most effective youth violence prevention industries in the
United States, and likely in additional countries where MMA is growing.
As I became more involved in conducting research for the book, a new
concern began brewing in my mind, one that toyed with my morality. I
was getting to know these men who I was interviewing on a more personal
level. Most of them, I only met once, but via the interviews, I was
still exposed to multiple levels of their humanity. They were not just
fighters. They were also fathers, husbands, boyfriends, sons, community
volunteers, and so on. These are sides we rarely see in the dominant
MMA media. Furthermore, I actually became close friends with a few
interviewees. I trained a little bit with them, and have now begun
working with some on community service projects.
In seeing these men on a more humanistic and complete level, my
concerns with the glamorization of violence were accompanied by a
concern about their future lives. MMA is such a young sport, and
although it is surely less dangerous than the masses assume, we still
do not know the long-term deleterious effects the sport may have on
fighters, especially those fighters who continue competing after they
have aged out of peak competitive form. I became particularly concerned
about the issue of concussions. Recent research on NFL retirees has
shown that former players who sustained three or more concussions
during their career (albeit those being reported concussions), have a
much more significant chance of being chronically depressed in their
old age for no apparent reason.
How many times have you seen a MMA competitor display signs of a
concussion in mid-fight, but continue competing? In between rounds, did
his/her corner, the ringside doctor, or the promoter step in to make an
evaluation that truly sought to protect the fighter's future well
being? Would the fans be sympathetic to a fighter "quitting" because of
a possible concussion in mid-fight?
Worse yet, the legions of mixed martial artists out there put their
bodies and minds on the line for a meager amount of money. We see the
fighter purses in the larger MMA organizations, and some of those
purses may look pretty hefty - hefty enough to cover medical insurance
and the innumerable other expenses that ensconce our daily lives. But
if a fighter walks out of a fight with $1,000, does that cover the
months of training that went into preparation for that fight? What if
s/he doesn't walk out? And as you likely know, in most of the smaller
shows, there are fighters who are seduced by the potential glamour and
unlikely economic fortune, who will fight for a few hundred dollars, or
even for free.
I began wondering if my friends truly knew the risks. I worried, and
still worry about them. We've seen more and more MMA athletes who train
as true professionals, where MMA is their sole job - as competitors and
trainers. But the reality is, most MMA athletes still work jobs outside
of the MMA industry and train when they can, while also managing family
lives and other social obligations. What happens when MMA competitors
get matched up who are uneven in experience and skill level? Or when a
competitor is too run down and fatigued from being spread too thin?
Again, MMA is safer than the general populace believes. But it is
still a violent and risky sport that is evolving at an excessive pace.
The industry must prioritize fighter safety over ticket and
pay-per-view sales. MMA promotions must compensate fighters adequately
and fairly, and educate fighters on all the health risks they face in
competition and training, and encourage fighters not to push through
head injuries. Likewise, fighters (like other athletes) need to come to
terms with the possibility that MMA may not lead to a long-term career,
especially not a lucrative one. Sure, we see those like Randy Couture,
Dan Henderson, Junior Seau, Brett Favre, and Vinnie Testeverde thriving
in collision sports well past a normal athlete's prime. They are, no
doubt, the exceptions who have an innate athleticism and durability
even the most successful athletes cannot match, as well as the fortune
to evade career-ending injury. We're not all so lucky.
David T. Mayeda, Ph.D.
Learn more about Fighting for Acceptance: Mixed Martial Artists and Violence in American Society - the nation's first MMA political book, based off of interviews with forty MMA athletes.
Or buy Fighting for Acceptance here .
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