"Mixed Martial Arts Violent, Shameful" - Yeah, So?

NEW YORK

Mixed martial arts was attacked in a brief editorial in the Albany Times-Union today. The assailant: the Reverend Joseph W. Shook, who called the sports "violent" and "shameful" (yikes!). He went on to say:

Steven Greenberg, a spokesman for what the article describes as the largest MMA promoter, UFC, said, “The general public is supportive of (legalizing the professional sport in New York state). This is a mainstream sport.”
I don’t know what metric Mr. Greenberg used to conclude the general public is supportive of mixed martial arts; but, if it is true the general public is willing to pay to see the violence of MMA and calls it sport and entertainment, our society is in deep trouble.

This editorial apparently came in response to last week's pro MMA press conference in the state's capitol.

Folks, I'm not sure how the legislative effort is going to recover from this grave blow.