Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Legislative Leanings: Assemblyman Michael Benedetto on MMA

NEW YORK


Thanks to Speaker Sheldon Silver resigning over corruption charges and Assemblyman Carl Heastie - an MMA supporter - taking his place, the bill that would lift the ban on professional MMA in New York has some legislative traction. Now, for the first time in years, we can start playing the politics game and begin counting who in the Assembly would likely vote "yes". But who, beyond the 2015 MMA bill's 53 sponsors, would give their thumbs up?

To answer that, The MMA Journalist has reached out to every Assembly member whose name isn't attached to the bill and asked for their stance on the matter. Not everyone has responded, and I don't expect them all to, but I will post the responses of those that do here.

First up: Assemblyman Michael Benedetto from the Bronx.

I believe mixed martial arts is a particularly brutal and dehumanizing sport. However, I believe New York is the only state in the country that retains a ban on this sport and that, therefore, it is foolish not to recognize and regulate it.

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