Why NYSAC is under fire
WHEN Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill in April revamping combat sports in New York including legalizing mixed martial arts, it gave the New York State Athletic Commission 120 days to prepare for the changes. With approximately three weeks to go before the Sept. 1 deadline, the chance of a fluid transition is bleak.
The NYSAC is under fire again after the release of a report by the Office of the Inspector General, which investigated the events surrounding the brain injury Russian boxer Magomed Abdusalamov sustained during a 10-round heavyweight bout with Mike Perez on Nov. 2, 2013, at the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
After the bout a badly hurt Abdusalamov went by taxi to Roosevelt Hospital where he was diagnosed with a brain bleed and underwent emergency surgery. Abdusalamov remained in a coma until mid-December before being transferred to a rehabilitation facility. He still cannot speak and has no use of his right side.
The report blasted the commission saying its “practices, policies and procedures were either nonexistent or deficient, specifically those relating to post-bout medical care, tactical emergency plans and communication and training.”
The immediate fallout was the resignation of Commission chairman Tom Hoover, who was appointed after the Abdusalamov incident
Hoover’s resignation is the second major change at the commission since the socalled MMA bill was signed. David Berlin was removed as the commission’s executive director in May after having conflicts with Hoover.
Ndidi Massay has been named the interim chairman though it’s unclear whether she has any experience in combat sports. She obtained a journalism degree at Northwestern and law degree from Notre Dame.
The credibility of acting executive director Eric Bentley is now in question after the report detailed how Bentley prefilled temperature questions on urinalysis forms during the time he served as the commission’s medical coordinator from 2009 to 2014. Urine containers include a temperature indicator taken within four minutes to prevent a fighter from submitting another person’s urine. “Bentley’s practice of prefilling the temperature sections on the forms raises questions as to the validity of the urine testing for his entire tenure,” the report reads.
The new MMA bill called for expansion of the NYSAC from three to five commissioners. But at present only two remain: Edwin Torres, a retired N.Y. State Supreme Court judge appointed in 2008, and John Signorile, a former amateur boxer, firefighter, and professional boxing judge, appointed in 2013.
The Post has learned the NYSAC is going to allow third-parties to regulate amateur MMA in the state. The United States Muay Thai Association (USMTA), a sanctioning body for Professional and Amateur Muay Thai, Kickboxing and MMA, is said to be one of the regulators being considered along with the World Kickboxing Association. Kim Wilson Sumbler, who worked for Seneca Nation, has been hired to a temporary position as the NYSAC’s new project coordinator to help with the transition into MMA.
The commission still has to address language in the new MMA bill requiring promoters to provide an additional $1 million of insurance in case a fighter receives a traumatic brain injury. That requirement stems from the injury to Abdusalamov, who has filed a lawsuit against the state.
With all the chaos at the commission, one knowledgeable source offered a gloomy outlook.
“It’s hard to believe they can get their act together in time to adjust it,” the source said. “There’s been no movement to suggest they’re close to doing anything. It’s a complete mess.”