AS I SEE IT: Should MMA be censored?
Bob Magee
Pro Wrestling: Between the Sheets
http://pwbts.com
This time, the thought police are after MMA….and not in New York state, where UFC has been fighting to get the sport made legal in the state.
On August 14, UFC will come to Boston, MA with “Ultimate Fighting Champion Homecoming,” a PR event to celebrate the return of the sport to Boston.
But now those who want to sanitize sports (entertainment wasn’t enough) for your protection, want to pass a law in Boston to keep minors from attending a live MMA event in Boston.
Boston Magazine reports that the “UFC Homecoming” event, hosted by UFC’s Dana White, at a local restaurant in Boston; is taking place in an answer to City Council President Stephen Murphy filing of a resolution seeking to prevent anyone under 18, whether accomplanied by a parent from attending a live event.
Murphy said: “Cage fighters at the amateur and professional levels have competed in public stadiums and on television bearing Neo-Nazi messages in their tattoos or on their clothing…and extensive research has associated exposure to media violence with a variety of physical and mental health problems for children and adolescents, including aggressive and violent behavior, bullying, desensitization to violence, fear, and depression.”
Groups working with Murphy include Boston’s National Organization for Women, the Boston Women’s Fund, the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, and Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment.
Following the August 14 event, UFC will have its first show at the Boston’s TD Garden since 2010 with UFC Fight Night on August 17, featuring Shogun Rua vs. Chael Sonnen, Alistair Overeem vs. Travis Browne, “The California Kid” Urijah Faber vs. Yuri Alcantara. This event will be the debut event of the new Fox Sports 1 Network.
So, media violence concerns City Council President Murphy? Is he advising imposing restrictions on the live viewing of movies (beyond what the MPAA rating system creates) within Boston? Probably not.
Hmm… so is President Murphy also planning on asking that children be prevented from seeing New England Patriots games, given the charges against a New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez of murder let alone the overall violence of professional football?
Oops…can’t do that. Gillette Stadium is outside the city limits in Foxboro, MA.
What about Boston Bruins games at TD Garden, given that fights often occur at hockey games, which is behavior certainly not good for children?
Or…given steroid use by professional baseball players and the announcement of suspensions in the Biogenesis case, is he planning on asking for the same prohibition at Fenway Park?
Or is professonal wrestling next, ala the laws of the 1950s banning children from attending WWWF shows at Madison Square Garden? Nah, Vince McMahon will just threaten to pull all avents out of the TD Garden.
Most television and video games easily available to children make UFC look tame by comparison. Hell, even the evening news does.
I know Vince McMahon likes to pretend UFC doesn’t exist, but this might be the time for he and Dana White to get together and make clear that they will find other venues outside the Boston city limits should such prohibitions be passed. If need be, directly across the city limits. Wonder what a live major UFC PPV at Foxboro Stadium would draw like?
Because, Vince, if you don’t, professional wrestling, no matter how much WWE’s been turned kid-safe for advertisers and/or Linda McMahon’s political campaigns…you’ll be next. Doesn’t take much to drag out the Attitude Era that was used against Linda McMahon by her opponents.
Until next time….
— Bob Magee