Highlights from the NY Assembly from “Legalize NY MMA Now”
Nick Roach, one of the founders of Legalize NY MMA Now, attended the Assembly today in NY to discuss several topics, as well as help push the bill forward to legalize MMA in New York. Here is some highlights of what happened at the meeting from Mr Roach.
As you know, Matt Hu and I attended a hearing hosted by the Tourism Committee. The objective was to review the work performed by the various agencies within the committee’s jurisdiction.
The highlights follow:
- Six members of the above-mentioned committee attended. They included assembly members Englebright, Fields, Titone, Rosenthal, Gabryszak, and Paulin. Four voted ‘yes’ to the bill; two were absent. We were not able to get time with them, as intended. The bill will likely get through this committee with ease, as it did last year with a 14-6 vote. Englebright is the committee chair and helped draft the MMA bill.
- The State Atlethic Commission Chairwoman, Melvina Lathan, spoke about their organization’s mission and structure and was pleased to report no injuries or deaths reported in boxing in 2009. Speaking with her afterwards, we got the feeling that the SAC is welcoming MMA with open arms.
- Our written testimony is officially on record. The assembly members will hear our convincing voice going into January’s sessions. In fact, some Assembly members seemed interested in addressing MMA during the SAC testimony but hesitated since it was out of scope until its passage.
I was unable to attend the meeting today, however if you want an idea of what this sort of thing is like, here is one of my very first videos ever, shot over a year ago, from the first NYSAC hearing on the subject of MMA in NY. Remember, this is from a year ago, not this meeting that just occurred today (that’s why I used my real name in the vid and not just The Fight Nerd)!
Damn i didn’t make it today…. Was i suppose to wear a suit if i did come though…? because mine needed to get cleaned
Ha ha! A suit helped, but wasn’t necessary. Come join us at the fights this weekend for the Sanchez vs Penn fight at Jack Dempsey’s (http://www.meetup.com/mmanyc/calendar/11703166/?a=fd_new_rsvp_multi_tl). Help support the legalization of mixed martial arts in New York. Help legalize our sport. Join us on facebook and join other fans who want to make MMA events happen at Madison Square Garden (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=175047353870&ref=nf). You can also email us at legalizenymma@gmail.com for further information. Thanks.