Det har varit många turer fram och tillbaka mellan Stations Casino och Culinary Union. För er som inte hängt med i svängarna handlar det dels om att Culinary Union inte tycker om att Zuffa och Stations Casino har monopol på UFC och MMA scenen, men också att Stations Casino jobbar utan en fackförening för sina anställda. Stations Casino är ett bolag som startades av Frank Fertitta och Lorenzo Fertittas pappa. Lorenzo och Frank äger även Zuffa, men bolagen har inget annat gemensamt än ägarna. Monopolutredningen är klar och det hittades inget som tydde på monopol. Nu har Culinary Union skrivit ett nytt brev till Nevada State Athletic Commission, NSAC, där de pratat med 50 olika fighters och deras managers för att få fram ändringar på UFC:n som den ser ut idag.
”We have spoken to more than 50 professional MMA fighters, as well as their agents, and based on these conversations, we would lite to bring to your attention certain issues affecting fighters and suggest how they could be addressed through regulatory changes.
As the primary regulator of unarmed combat in the state of Nevada, this Commission has a public duty to protect the well-being af athletes and to prevent exploitative business practices that undermine the reputation of this sport.”
”Many of the MMA athletes who agreed to speak with us said that they feel exploited and undervalued. Many believe the sport of mixed-martial arts has been hijacked by business interest that are more interested in miximizing their own profits, and promoting their own brands, than in furthering the intergrity of this sport.”
Delar av brevet från Culinary Union till NSAC.
Culinary Union har också lagt fram konkreta punkter som de tycker att NSAC ska ta i bejaktande och hoppas att Stations Casino ska ändra sig.
The following is a list of rights that all professional mixed-martial arts fighters deserve and should expect.
The observance of these rights will promote dignity, uniformity and professionalism in the sport of mixed
martial arts. These rights include the following:
1. Equal protections for all fighters. You shall have the same legal protections currently afforded to
professional boxers under state and federal law. This includes extending the Muhammad Ali Boxing
Reform Act of 2000 and its protections against exploitative treatment of boxers to professional
mixed-martial arts fighters.
2. Right to work. You shall have the right to sign non-exclusive contracts to participate in any
professional mixed martial arts events of your choosing, where such opportunities are available. This
right includes the right to refuse to sign exclusive or ³automatically renewing´ contracts with a
promoter that does not guarantee sufficient opportunity for you to fight in professional events and
earn a living.
3. Inalienable right to your own name, likeness and image. You shall have the right to refuse to give
any promoter and/or manager the right to your own name, likeness and image beyond the duration of
the contract you have with the promoter and/or manager. This right includes the right to participate
in professional mixed martial arts events, where such opportunities are available, without being
required to sign additional contracts to give the promoter, manager and/or anybody else the right to
your own name, likeness and image.
4. Free market of sponsorships. You shall have the right to choose your own sponsors outside of any
professional mixed martial events in which you participate under a promotional contract. Outside of
such events, no promoter shall restrict or prohibit you from signing sponsorship contracts with firms
that choose to support you; nor shall any promoter or other entity require you to sponsor a particular
product, business, or individual as a condition for participating in a professional mixed martial arts
event.
5. Transparency of contracts and payments. You have the right to receive a detailed and written
financial accounting, certified by your local athletic commission, of any and all revenues associated
with a professional mixed martial arts event in which you participated. The report shall be provided
to you by the event promoter in a timely manner and shall include a description of all payments, gifts
or benefits the promoter received from the event, including, but not limited to, gate ticket sales, pay-
per-view sales, other TV revenues, and other sponsorship payments.
6. Fair share of revenues. All professional mixed martial artists who fight in a professional mixed
martial arts events shall have the right to receive no less than 25 percent of all revenues as reported
in the detailed financial accounting to which they are entitled. The accounting report shall include,
but is not limited to, gate ticket sales, pay-per-view sales, other TV revenues, and other sponsorship
payments.
7. Freedom of association. You have the right to join an association or union of professional mixed-
martial arts practitioners in order to negotiate with a promoter the terms of your participation as a
fighter in any professional mixed martial events without fear of retaliation or reprisal.
8. Right to healthcare insurance for training and fighting. You have the right to healthcare
insurance that provides medical coverage for, at a minimum, all injuries sustained during, or while
training for, your participation in a professional mixed martial arts event. This insurance shall be
provided by the promoter at the time when you sign a promotional contract, and the cost of this
insurance shall be borne by promoter.
9. Right to fair fights. You have the right to be ranked publicly by an independent mixed-martial arts
sanctioning body that uses objective, consistent and written criteria for measuring professional
fighters. The sanctioning body shall not have any financial interest in or any financial association
with any professional fighters, promoters or professional mixed-martial arts events. You shall also
have the right to have independent judges and referees to officiate any event in which you
participate. These officials shall not have any financial interest in or any financial association with
any professional fighters, promoters or managers except their compensation by the athletic
commission for their work at the event.
10. Professionalism. You have the right to be treated with common courtesy and professional respect by
other fighters and by promoters and managers. For mixed martial arts to become a mainstream sport
accepted by the general public, participants in the sport must act in accordance with commonly
accepted standards of courtesy, decency and respect in their public interactions with one another and
in their interactions with the public.
Vad tror ni läsare? Kommer detta förbättra eller försämra MMA-och UFC scenen som den ser ut nu?
MMAnytt har skrivit om detta innan, läs HÄR
