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Joined: Fri Feb 22, 2013 12:02 am
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 A bill designed to regulate combat sports in South Dakota is now headed to the state's house of representatives.
If passed, the bill would head to the governor's desk, where it would either be signed into law or vetoed.
At a hearing today in the state capitol in Pierre, the Senate Commerce and Energy committee voted unanimously to pass Senate Bill 84, which would mandate the creation of a state athletic commission to oversee boxing, kickboxing and MMA.
The bill's original sponsor, Senator Mark Johnston, said the passage wasn't surprising despite a recent proposal to ban MMA outright.
"The fact of the matter is that MMA is the fastest-growing sport in the world right now," he said.
Sen. Steve Hickey, who recently called MMA "the child porn of sports," argued in favor of a proposed amendment to make boxing and traditional martial arts the state's only regulated combat sports.
Johnston added that "a couple" of lobbyists for "family values-leaning causes" also testified in opposition to the bill's passage, which was its final hurdle in the state senate before going to the house.
Johnston said the bill's primary intent was to eliminate unregulated MMA events. This past May, a 26-year-old amateur died one week after fighting in one such competition.
"That's what gives MMA the cage-fighting monkier," Johnston said. "Unregulated MMA becomes cage-fighting, and I think we all agree that's wrong. Based on [Hickey's] proposal, where do we draw the line? Do we take on football? Do we take on rodeo? Because some would also argue that whose are violent sports.
"We just concluded the high school wrestling championships in South Dakota. With wrestling be a key component of mixed martial arts, do we ban that?"
South Dakota governor Dennis Daugaard previously has called MMA "cage-fighting" and expressed concern that the state would legitimize the sport.
It's not the first time the state has wrestled with the regulation of combat sports. In 2009, the legislature voted to create the South Dakota Boxing Commission, but didn't appoint commissioners, who would have been personally liable for expenses not covered by regulated events. The law expired this past July.
The current bill needs two-thirds of the house to make it to the governor's desk.
"If we're going to have [MMA], let's regulate it," Johnston said. "Let's do what's right to protect athlete safety, as well as grab onto the opportunities that may come before us in respect to hosting a large event here in South Dakota."Source: MMAJunkie.com
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