Mass State rep lonely voice opposing MMA

D’Amico steps into the ring

Massachusetts – Whether he is opposing tax breaks for movie companies or expanded legalized gambling, state Rep. Steve D’Amico is often a lonely voice on Beacon Hill.

This time D’Amico, D-Seekonk, has picked a fight with mixed martial arts, the sometimes gory battles on TV that involve kicking, punching and wrestling.

D’Amico was one of only 10 state representatives last week to vote against a bill sanctioning and regulating the highly popular form of combat. One hundred forty-four of his colleagues voted for it.

The two-term representative said there is growing evidence that blows to the head cause brain damage, and mixed martial arts promotes punches to the head, even on an opponent who is down on the mat.

“I know this is not a popular vote, but this is a brutal blood sport,” he said. D’Amico said if two teenagers went behind the local high school and fought in the same way, they would be arrested for assault.

A recent study found dementia among former National Football League players is 19 times higher than the population as a whole because of blows to the head, he said.

Football players wear helmets and the league is changing rules to limit hits to the head so imagine the damage being done to mixed martial arts participants, he said.

Supporters of the bill, such as state Sen. James Timilty, D-Walpole, said mixed martial arts events are already being held in Massachusetts.

Regulating the sport would set safety standards, and require fighters to undergo physicals, they said.

Having the state regulate the sport would also attract big-time promoters and events, raising millions for the state treasury through a 4 percent tax on tickets and a 2 percent tax on TV revenue.

But, D’Amico isn’t buying the argument.

“Are we that desperate for money that we will have kids go to those events and be inspired by that?” he said. “It makes the world a courser and more violent place.”

D’Amico is accustomed to taking on unpopular cases.

He is one of the few lawmakers who has bucked his party’s leadership in opposing tax breaks for the film industry that he says subsidize wealthy Hollywood types without raising revenue for the state. D’Amico has also spoken out against casinos and slot machines at a time when legislators are looking at them as a way of increasing tax revenue and balancing the state budget.

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