Lawmakers to examine concerns about State Athletic Commission
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State Sen. Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) is presiding over a Monday afternoon committee hearing dealing with concerns about the California State Athletic Commission.
Among the topics expected to be addressed by the Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development are the commission’s decision to entrust amateur mixed martial arts regulation to individuals who have business interests in the sport, charges that the commission doesn’t answer or return phone calls at its Sacramento headquarters, and concerns that a perceived lack of organization and inexperience is resulting in boxing mismatches and other health concerns.
One source close to the situation not authorized to comment about the hearing said the committee is seeking to ask: ‘If you can’t answer phones, how are you protecting fighters, where blood is spilled and people are hurting each other? Do we need to install more oversight? We don’t want a giant bureaucracy, but we want to be assured proper training is in place, not that it’s being handled with a wink and a nod.’
The Times examined some of the concerns last year.
The commission’s new executive officer, George Dodd, is scheduled to appear before the committee, along with Brian Stiger, director of the state’s Department of Consumer Affairs, which oversees the commission.
The committee is also scheduled to question the chief executive and president of the California Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Organization about some of the nonprofit organization’s business arrangements, including with glove-maker Everlast, and its competency in monitoring events.
-- Lance Pugmire
