I recently read two excellent articles by Danny Acosta and Sam Sheridan that support mixed martial arts (MMA) in the midst of what has been a period of MMA bashing. True, MMA has endured its share of harsh, often times unfair media criticism for quite some time, and this will not stop any time soon. Nevertheless, these past few weeks have been particularly brutal. In support of Acosta’s and Sheridan’s work, I thought I would offer some additional input.
MMA has been fighting to gain acceptance in the mainstream sports world for well over a decade. Not surprisingly, while clearing another hurdle by debuting on network television, MMA was simultaneously met with an array of journalists (both sports and non-sports oriented), who bashed the sport while citing virtually no research.
The general public frequently relies on journalists to provide both accurate and objective information. As we all know, the media plays a colossal role in shaping public opinion. Consequently, it is essential that the information fed to us is precise and that media figureheads who present their opinions are well-informed. The logic behind this is so basic that it hardly needs to be stated and provokes the question of why credible media would offer unfounded reports and opinions.
Reaction to CBS’s airing of MMA on primetime television prompted journalists to make a number of unfounded statements, both before and after the May 31, 2008 event. Here are just three examples from various media outlets that have different reach and target audiences:
Example One: “If what's going to happen on CBS on Saturday night were to happen out on the playground, somebody would be jailed before the nightwas over ... An article in ESPN The Magazine that's overwhelmingly favorable about MMA describes it as ‘human cockfighting.’” (Scott Pierce, May 30, 2008, Deseret News; note: typographical error was in original article).
Response: Asserting that someone would be arrested for carrying out a MMA move on another in a playground illustrates Pierce’s ignorance and lack of doing his homework. Had he interviewed any MMA instructors for his story, he would have found that just like traditional martial arts schools, MMA coaches explicitly tell their students not to use the lessons learned outside of the schools. The latter half of his above statement reads that ESPN The Magazine describes MMA as “human cockfighting.” Pierce’s statement here is flat out inaccurate. The ESPN The Magazine story stated others (namely John McCain) previously referred to MMA in that manner. It is amazing that the Deseret News
7 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Evan Ross about 1 year ago
Great Stuff! The comment about the playground is ridiculous. Would you want kids boxing or playing judo or tackle football without pads? It is a poor analogy. The second quote is from an NBC analyst, so no big suprise there. The last quote is from a journalist with no knowledge of history. Fight sports have existed in about every history effecting culture.
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Derek Bolender about 1 year ago
Nice article! I have been seeing this negative trend from time to time on network television and it is indeed counterproductive to MMA. I have yet to witness a television personality state any positives about the sport of MMA and offer the other side of the coin to the public.
*Sean Hannity discussing MMA for children is another great example I have seen on FOX. He had nothing positive to say about MMA either.
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Robert DesRoche about 1 year ago
Jim Rome.
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Bryan Trafford about 1 year ago
you would think these mainstream writers, sportscasters, and analyst would be jumping ON the MMA bandwagon and not trying to kill the sport. I mean if I had a show and this new sport were sweeping the nation, I would be trying like hell to learn all about it as quickly as possible.
I could care less about people like Bill O'Reilly hating MMA, because hes too old to do MMA, so I dont expect him to get into it. What bothers me is the all the sports writers that cover mainstream sports, that are acting like MMA killed their dog. I cringe every time I hear one of them describe how they cant get into guys "rolling around on the floor" and guys "punching and then slamming and choking each other"
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Ivan Tarin about 1 year ago
So after watching Horse Racing for the first time I have derived that Horse Racing is violent and dangerous because they kill one horse at the end of the race. Can you imagine if they shot a horse in Central Park! Oh the terror!
Oh...what...if I payed more attention I would have learned the horse was injured and would have died a painful death if not shot and this is correct operating procedure. Oh snap!
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Robert DesRoche about 1 year ago
I agree with everything said by you guys. I just want to say that it's really a shame articles and pieces like this don't get more attentiom.
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Moses Maddox about 1 year ago
What a fantastic article, thank you for saying what needs to be said.
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