(Rich Franklin KO's Chuck Liddell at UFC 115 from Vancouver, British Columbia)
Ignorance is Bliss: Ban Proposed by BCMA Full of Holes
Shawn Tompkins and I shared a laugh Thursday afternoon, amazed by the story that would run in The Province, a paper I write an MMA blog for and who I represented at UFC 115, the next morning.
I told him I was ashamed to be Canadian after learning that the BC Medical Association was asking for a ban on mixed martial arts across the country we both call home. Being a BC resident made the feeling even worse, but Tompkins one-upped me..
“At least you’re in Canada,” joked the veteran MMA coach from London, Ontario. “I’m in the United States and from Canada. I have people asking me every day, `What’s wrong with things over there?’ and `why won’t they let it happen?’ I don’t know man. The fact that after all these years, people are still ignorant to the fact that there are statistics out there that prove against their points.”
That one word – ignorant – is the key.
In working on this story for the past 72 hours, that singular word is the only way I can accurately describe the decisions of the BCMA. Simply put, they are ignorant to the facts and realities of mixed martial arts, and took no initiative to educate themselves about the sport before pushing forward with this ban.
In speaking with Dr. Ian Gillespie, President-elect of the BCMA, on Friday, he addressed where cause for concern arose from in British Columbia:
During an event in Vancouver, a number of the professional MMA fighters received emergency care at Vancouver General Emergency department for lacerations and fractured limbs, and severe facial bruising, so some of the concern comes from those [doctors] that are on the frontline. Other concern arises from specialists like neurologists who see the long-term consequences of concussions and are looking at some ways of reducing that risk for the population in general.
While the physicians tending to the ER at Vancouver General on June 12 treated the broken left arm of Rich Franklin, the broken hand and foot of Pat Barry, and Chuck Liddell’s split lip among other things, these are not injuries that are uncommon to other sports or that do not occur accidentally in day-to-day life.
There is no way the former middleweight champion was the only person in the city of Vancouver to suffer a broken arm on Saturday, June 12.
Taking the concerns of the BCMA at face value, whatever activity caused little Stevie Davis or that cutie Rebecca Smith to break their arms needs to be banned as well. No more tree-climbing for you, kiddies.
The ridiculousness of that statement is apparent to everyone, and while Dr. Gillespie stated that participant safety in every sport is of paramount importance to the BCMA, it isn’t every sport that is under the microscope in this case and it never is. MMA is always the one on trial.
No one ever speaks of banning hockey, despite the incredible number of concussions that come from violent collisions on the ice. While I can’t think of an MMA fighter whose career was cut short because of taking too many shots to the head, I can name you a handful of hockey players who hung up their skates because of the cumulative effects of concussions.
By not taking the time to perform proper due diligence on this matter, I can’t help but suspect that there is more to this proposal than a collection of physicians concerned about the well-being of mixed martial arts fighters.
I refuse to accept that a room full of educated and intelligent physicians were shocked by a couple of broken appendages following the UFC’s debut event in Vancouver. Or as Tompkins put it, “You can’t tell me that people on the board are waking up every morning crying in disbelief that these things are happening?”
If this was completely about safety, the members of the BCMA who are pushing for this ban would see that while athletes in other sports rush back from injuries, including concussions, in order to maintain their place on the field, fighters are handed down medical suspensions following every fight, where in some cases clearance from specialized physician is required before resuming practice.
To quote Allan Iverson, “We talkin’ ‘bout practice.”
I’ll leave you with this:
Last weekend, the BC Lions and the Calgary Stampeders squared off in Vancouver. During the game, Lions receiver Paris Jackson crashed to the ground after trying to make a catch. When he stood up, he had a serious case of the Jimmy Legs, and took a knee.
Lions medical staff ran out to meet him on the field, spent a little time with him, and eventually helped him walk to the sidelines.
If this had happened in a mixed martial arts fight, Jackson would have received immediate medical attention on site, perhaps been sent to the hospital for precautionary reasons, and been handed at least a 30-day medical suspension, provided the doctors treating him saw nothing of concern.
But it was a football game, not a fight, and Jackson was back on the field a handful of plays later.
Don’t expect a proposed ban on the CFL from the BCMA any time soon.