As always special thanks to Joe Leonard for filming these for everyone.
1. Roll Call
2. Approval of Minutes from June 24, 2019
3. Approval of Medical Advisory Board Minutes from May 15, 2019
4. Application for SEAK Judge and Referee – Joel Bekker
5. Application for Boxing Judge and SEAK Judge - Marcel Varela
6. Application for Mixed Martial Arts - Joseph Cavallaro
7. Southeast Asian Kickboxing
Regulation Review
8. Matters not reasonably anticipated 48 hours in advance of meeting
In accordance with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 30A § 20, notice is hereby given that a meeting of the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission will be held on Monday August 20, 2018 at 11:00AM at 1000 Washington Street, Boston.
It is anticipated that the following topics will be discussed at the aforementioned meeting:
1. Roll Call
2. Approval of Minutes from July 16, 2018
3. Application for Promoter and Matchmaker –Daniel K. Kelly
4. Application for Promoter –Frank J. Smith
5. Application for Matchmaker –Eric V. Bottjer
6. Application for Mixed Martial Arts and Kick Boxing Time Keeper –Alexius S. Phoenix
7. Deputy Commissioner Training update
8. Application for Appointment as Deputy Commissioner –Scott Gierlich
9. Application for Appointment as Deputy Commissioner –Joseph Leonard
10. Update of Medical Requirements within New England States
Open meeting at 1000 Washington St., Boston, MA
Room 1D
NOTICE OF MEETING
In accordance with the provisions of M.G.L. c. 30A § 20, notice is hereby given that a meeting of the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission will be held on Monday July 16, 2018 at 11:00AM at 1000 Washington Street, Boston.
It is anticipated that the following topics will be discussed at the aforementioned meeting:
1. Roll Call
2. Approval of Minutes from May 21, 2018 and May 25, 2018
3. Application for Promoter –Yvonne Grealish
4. Application for Judge –Ernest Forte
5. Application for Referee – Daniel J. Miragliotta III
6. Approval of “Amateur Unarmed Combatant Medical Waiver/Informed Consent” Form
7. Fee schedule for alternate Ringside Physician at weigh-in
8. Review of MSAC Applications
9. Upcoming MSAC Event Schedule/2018 MSAC Board Meetings
10. Matters not reasonably anticipated 48 hours in advance of meeting
11. Closed Session pursuant to G.L. c. 112 §65C
Item 3 - Revision of draft document title to better reflect the document's purpose. The Amateur Fighter Informed Consent Medical Waiver is undisclosed to the general public until the M.A.B. submits it to the M.S.A.C. for executive action. That meeting will be held on May 21st at Springfield Technical Community College prior to a "Listening Session" for public comments regarding the current Unarmed Combat Rules and Regulations.
There is a fair amount of debate on an unrelated topic not listed on the agenda. The ringside physicians discuss data collection concerns for a voluntary study they're conducting without official documentation. The study is not clearly defined or organized and the Chair halts further discussion until DPL legal counsel can issue guidance on how to proceed. Very interesting though and worth watching if you are a fighter, corner, coach, or state official.
Finally an announcement is made about three upcoming "listening sessions" hosted in Boston on May 1st / Springfield May 21st / and again in Boston May 25th. The sessions are for the general public although it is hoped that all licensees (fighters/trainers/seconds/deputy commissioners/commissioners/ringside physicians) will attend and give the board members the critical feedback they need and deserve to better regulate the sport.
Special thanks to Joe Leonard for sharing this with us and taking the time to do all the video/audio work. Thanks bud!
The annual conference of the Association of Boxing Commissions is fast approaching. This year it's going to be on the Vegas Strip. I've never been and I am pretty excited. I've reviewed the agenda and I think we are in for some great changes to our sport as a whole thanks in large part to the efforts of the ABC's newly elected Executive board where one of my long time acquaintances, Mike Mazzulli, presides over the organization. Mazzulli is joined by other determined commissioners from across the country who share his passion for combat sports and finding the right balance between entertaining events and fighter safety. Their focus is clearly on fighter Safety though as we can see by the shear number of agenda items related to medical topics and rules evaluation. In the area where fighter safety overlaps events perceived entertainment value there will be presentations on keeping the playing field as level as possible with increasing knowledge on PED use and Dehydration risks. As if that weren't enough to greatly impact the fight scene we move through today there will be legal experts speaking to the membership about what types of litigation might arise from the increase in regulation of those same issues and other issues that have cropped up in the last decade as a result of widespread adoption of regulations on a state to state level.
If you aren't able to view on your mobile device please visit Youtube https://youtu.be/Ps_4I6ClCPc
Mitrione Vs Browne hearing concludes with a majority vote by the commission to not change the official TKO win by Travis Browne. They also declined to discipline referee Gary Forman with a similar majority vote. That wraps up the months long item and gives all of us a deeper look into what is needed to make a case to the MSAC when asking for a change to a fight record and or finding an referee responsible for their lack of action when fouls and injuries occur in the cage. Honesty is always the best policy would be the overall message that both ringside physicians would impart to all fighters now and we'll into the future. They only know what we tell them when it comes to our abilities without more specialized equipment and or tests. Neither can be administered in the cage. Big props to Matt Mitrione for taking the fight to the commission. We can't wait to see both Travis and Matt in the cages soon.
Big thanks to Frontier Community Access Television for the equipment to bring you this public safety meeting.
The meeting begins with item number 5: Mitrione Vs Browne Change of Decision January 17, 2016, Boston with both fighters calling in.
Matt Mitrione is asking for an extension 'til after his fight on June 24th. The Commission is reluctant to grant the extension due to the various people that can't be there in person after this date. Travis Brown is protesting because he is frustrated with the continued delay. However, if Browne hadn't fouled Mitrione there wouldn't be an inconvenience in his training camp so maybe it's for the best and will help him to remember that eye pokes cause inconvenience for everyone involved. Both Browne and Mitrione have upcoming fights in June for the UFC and Bellator respectively therefore are unable to travel to MA in the coming weeks. It's probably for the best since the commission is in flux having lost two members in the last two months and bringing in two new members who are virtually unfamiliar with the issues being raised. The new date is June 7th at 11 am with most if not all the participants opting to teleconference. It was also a good decision to postpone due to the absolute absurdity on display with regards to managing the participants who called into Thursday's meeting. There were no less than four cell phones in use at once with speaker phone activated. The acting chair, Gary Litchfield, couldn't keep track of who was on which device and with tempers flaring the outbursts from both Referee Gary Forman and Travis Browne added to the confusion. Litchfield was at one point interrupting the commissioners who'd been recognized and had the floor for speaking to silence both men repeatedly.
Rod Walkey, an investment specialist and campaign contributor of Gov. Baker is newly appointed. His enthusiasm, attentive nature, and desire to be informed before casting votes can only bode well for the sanctioning body as a whole. The other member attending Thursday's meeting was Matt Carlin. Often unseen in meetings of this nature Commissioner Carlin gave the MSAC the numbers needed to hold a quorum.
MSAC Chairwoman LaTeisha Adams called in for the UFC related agenda item, but promptly disconnected once the decision to reschedule the item for the following week had been voted. This sent a strong message to the promoter and fighters attending in person. The general consensus being one of increased importance on the well known professional fighters complaints and less concern for the local pros who's complaint mirrored that of the UFC veteran Matt Mitrione and were up for discussion on the same warrant. It was noted that she is rarely seen personally monitoring the weigh-in process at the local shows in the way she has for each of the UFC events held in MA over the past few years by Cage Titans co-owner, Michael Polvere.
The chair circled back on the first few items which were to approve the minutes from last month's meeting and the approval of suspensions for the New England Fights Aka NEF May 14th event out on the Cape.
Following these votes the commission then took testimony from Mark Cardarelli, Remo Cardarelli, and reviewed a 20 min. video of last month's meeting where Andy Aiello and Joe Lauzon made their case to have the Aiello Vs Cardarelli decision changed to a "No Contest". Below is the portion of Thursday's meeting dealing specifically with Item 4: Request to Appeal Change of Decision April 9, 2016, Plymouth - Aiello vs Cardarelli. The video is nearly an hour in length, but that is due to the inclusion of the 20 mins recorded on May 5, 2016. Feel free to skip ahead to 47min 36sec once you come to the replay of the May meeting at 26min and 40sec or I suggest you watch that as well so that you can get both sides of the coin which may help you to understand how the commissioners came to make the decisions they did in both meetings.
There was a brief discussion with ABC board member / instructor Referee Kevin MacDonald concerning an upcoming referee and judges training/ refresher course to be held at 50 Maple St. sometime following the ABC convention in Vegas later this summer. Look for an announcement directed to the currently MA licensed refs and judges in late July or August. This will not be open to the general public, but should you be interested in taking the only currently approved MSAC courses contact Kevin here.
The final item of the day dealt with a new physician moving from Florida that would like to be a ringside physician. The application was reviewed and forwarded to one of the active physicians already working with the commission as is the usual protocol. The doctor will review the credentials, interview the applicant, and issue an advisement to the commissioners before a vote will be taken to approve the licensure.
The meeting was approximately 2 hours long. I'll work on getting it trimmed into chunks so that those wishing to watch for themselves may do so without having to muddle through the items they aren't interested in.
Congratulations to Mark and Remo Cardarelli. The commission took your request very seriously and made what I personally feel was the appropriate action once all the facts had been reviewed, testimony given, and brief discussion. Unforeseen circumstances are just that, unforeseen. No one was to blame in the end, but had the ruling stood and the decision to declare the fight a "no contest" remained in effect it is my belief the precedent would have been made which would have allowed many more fights to be reevaluated potentially causing financial hardship to the fighters and promoters as well as staining the pride of MMA in MA for years to come.
~Joe Leonard is a mixed martial artist with 7 amateur fights to his record. He is a regular contributor of articles, photographs, and videos you all enjoy here at WesternMassMMA.com and loves that he has the opportunity to be present for so many exciting moments in and out of the cages across New England. To his credit he's filmed for some of the most well known promotions in ME, MA, CT, NY, and RI as well as the obscure events you only read about here. He currently is a member of the Go Fight Live Streaming Service New England Team, an active mixed martial arts coach at Ravenous MMA in Greenfield, MA, is a 3 time NAGA No-Gi division champion currently working his way onto the podium in the Mens and Masters Lightweight Expert No-Gi divisions as well as Mens and Masters Purple Belt Gi divisions, and has his sights set on an invite to the EBI submission only grappling tournaments. He aspires to be an official working in the cage someday soon and maintaining a presence in the MMA community for as long as he is physically able.
In April of 2016 the MSAC and the President of U.S.A. Boxing along with certain members of his administration began a discussion to draw up a variance to 523 CMR 19 which details the exact criteria that must be met in order to obtain a license to compete in unarmed combat in the Commonweatlh. Chairwoman Adams and Commissioners Joseph Krowski Jr. and Gary Litchfield had a fifteen minute discussion about the variance. The U.S.A. Boxing organization has been concerned since January that any additional financial burdens placed on youth competitors would have a negative impact on the organization's ability to operate and provide events in the Commonwealth. They are perhaps the only unarmed combat organization in operation currently that has more than fifty percent of it's combatants under the age of 18.
The item needed an affirmative vote from the commission in order to maintain the variance that had been temporarily granted in the February MSAC meeting. I've included all meeting minutes available relating to this issue. I've also provided you with a copy of 523 CMR 19. Please take a few minutes after listening to the discussion and familiarize yourself with these articles. I believe the outcome of this variance will impact all amateur unarmed combat licensees in the state.
Jen Cobis was kind enough to call and inform me this afternoon (4/5/16) to let me know that the Mitrione Hearing will take place in May. A date has not been confirmed, but she says it will likely be the first Thursday of the month following the regular meeting schedule.
So it's April folks and no fooling the time has finally come for the commission to address the elephant in the room concerning the events surrounding the UFC's visit to the Baystate. On April 7th Matt Mirtrione will sit before the Hon. LaTeisha Adams, Com. Guy Licciardi, Com. Joseph Krowski Jr, Com. Gary Litchfield, and Com. Quion T. Riley to make his appeal heard regarding the submitted complaint shown above. He's asking that his loss be removed from his record. He's not the first fighter licensed by the MSAC to make this request, but certainly a very high profile figure with worldwide visibilty.
He's also following a process that most don't prepare for when they launch a complaint and I believe he'll be successful. I've sat through many hearings such as this and the number one mistake most make is not being prepared to be questioned by multiple people for any length of time. He has been preparing for nearly four months so it should be no problem for him. Legal council will help the commissioners, but for the most part they'll be able to ask anything they like that may prove useful in a future decision on the matter. I think it will be unlikely that we'll see the governing body make a ruling at this hearing. Rather they'll likely collect all the evidence and testimony and make a ruling at a later date the result of which will be made public at the next public meeting in one of the following months.
There will also be another item on the agenda that most people locally will be interested in and that is if any penalties/ suspension/ revocation will be levied against the referee that officiated the Mitrione Vs Brown match at the January '16 UFC Boston Fight Night event where Mitrione was fouled twice by Brown with what seemed like preventable eye-pokes. Brown seems to have adopted a fingers forward style of guarding against opponents that rush inside his range. Twice over the course of the match, which was to be Mitrione's final contracted match for the UFC before renegotiations took place, Brown purposely used a straight arm with extended fingers directly in his opponents right eye and injured the encroaching man. The match seemed to take a nasty turn with each succession of the foul as Ref. Gary Forman, M.S.A.C. lic. ref and matchmaker, failed to use sound judgement when issuing warnings. Instead of cautioning or penalizing the offending fighter he instead issued a verbal warning to the injured fighter then in the same match failed to act according to regulations and deduct a point for the second foul and or call the match a "No Contest" when mitrione complained of not being able to see. This gave the impression that Forman didn't fully understand the rule set he was responsible for enforcing. Mitrione lost the match choosing to go out on his shield and give the fans what they came to see, but once the event had concluded and his senses came back to him he lamented the fact that no official stepped in to stop the match and prevent him from further injury. He's been criticized by many for that position, but it is totally acceptable in my humble opinion. He's in the cage to entertain and to earn a wage. The officials know exactly what is on the line if they allow sport fighting to become more than that. Fingers have been pointed at the commission over the years as having conflicts of interest across different aspects of the sport. One such example is mentioned in the formal complaint submitted by Mitrione. He asserts that an unnamed commissioner has ties to the CFX "Cage Fighting Xtreme" promotion owned and operated by Gary and Linda Forman. We'll have to see how that effects the proceedings. He also complains that Forman should never have been assigned to officiate such a high profile match due to an indisputable lack of officiated matches over the course of his time as a licensed combat sports referee. He asserts that the unnamed party currently seated as a commissioner may have been involved with the favorable assignment.
I've yet to see the actual agenda, but I've been contacted twice by other local refs who wanted to know if I'd be in attendance. Com. Guy Licciardi has reached out to Ref. Kevin MacDonald and asked him to be present which leads me to believe that the commission is prepared to discuss the grievances in earnest. MacDonald is by far the most active and knowledgable MMA official we have in MA and his testimony will be critical. It is possible and I think probable that this may turn into a "Closed Meeting" and that all public attendee including media & press will be barred from the hearing and that the outcome will be unavailable to the public. However, if we don't see the Referee in any of our cages for a length of time it will be a win and have had the desired result. Which by the way is to protect the fighters from unnecessary complications in the cage.
The meeting is being held in Milford, MA today. Commissioner Adams called the meeting to order at aprox. 11:15am and the group quickly got down to business approving the minutes from the last meeting. They then moved onto the suspensions for the Jan. UFC in Boston (item 3). Item 4 was tabled as the medical recommendations have not been completed.
There were a few names worth noting from item 3:
Matt Mitrione 180 days and needs an opthomolic exam
Travis Browne 180 days and needs medical clearance for an injury to his ankle.
More will be added once I see the list personally.
Item 5 was tabled to accommodate the gentlemen that have assembled for Item 6: USA Boxing New England Sanction Fees and Medicals Requirements for Amateur Boxers
This topic is quite interesting as it will ultimately effect the potential number of amateur boxing matches occurring in the Baystate. This current rule is already in place, but the organization has asked the commission to relax the rules that require all amateur boxers to submit blood tests for Hep B/C and HIV/Aids.
USA Boxing conducts 60 events in Massachusetts. A variance seems to be in order to allow the organization to lic. amateur fighters without the blood work.
Edward Santoro challenges Guy Luciardi on a fees discrepancy that impacts the Third Party event organizers. A result is that non-profit organizations hosting USA boxing events are being charged a $1000 fee to host a boxing event. MSAC counsel seems to be handing the USA boxing a fair amount of background on a 2014 commission meeting that has already decided the sanctioning fee for third party promoters at $900. The fee will continue to be $900. Commissioner Luciardi continues to challenge what USA Boxing provides that adds value to an event and warrants an larger fee to these events. He contends that it really isn't the USA Boxing's business to take more money due to an event raising large amounts of money for a non-profit event and it not benefitting the clubs that are participating in the event as the entertainment. An updated fee breakdown will appear on the USA Boxing website soon.
Legislation is in the works to revise the blood work requirements for all combat sports in MA from every 6 months to annually.
At 12:36 Commissioner Adams brings the meeting to order and brings Item 5 back to the table. There is some confusion as to the number of physicians needed for the advisory board. The commission will table the topic until there is clarity as to the numbers needed at a minimum.
Item 7 brings matters not reasonably anticipated within 48 hours before the meeting. The first items is an application for referees license. The applicant is licensed in 3 other states and has shadowed under Ref Kevin MacDonald. The Commission votes to approve the license unanimously. The next meeting is scheduled for May 3rd, 2016 at 11pm. Michael Polvere steps up to speak before the Commissioners with regards to the unfortunate event at his Jan 30th event. There is a strong plea for the commission that they visit there procedures for pre-fight inspections and the Commissioner Adams verifies that there is an ongoing investigation.
As we close out of 2014 into the fresh new year ahead I made it into Boston one last time for the monthly State Athletic Commission meeting at 1 Ashburton Place to get as much info as I could for all the fighters, coaches, promoters, matchmakers, and everyone interested in the decidedly less exciting side of our sport. Nevertheless this information is of great importance and with luck I will be able to regularly attend these meetings and pass on the info.
The video is hosted on my television station's on demand server, here.
I would like to thank Jesse Camp for his generosity in providing a comfortable ride into Boston. It isn't everyday I get to ride in a car that nice with someone who can make a long trip seem short between our MMA conversations and the brief moments we hit Mach 1.
