In a shocking story below, police have investigated the introduction of children as young as eight into cage fighting events. The children fight as adults cheer while drinking beer and egging them on. The police investigated and found no violations or crimes in such events.
The article below describes a bout that left one boy crying in the ring while surrounded by 250 cheering adults.
While Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt called the events “barbaric,” the police concluded they are perfectly legal despite what seems to be as obvious harm and dangers to the children.
Kian MacKinson is shown in the article with his father Nick Hartley. Kian has been cage fighting for nine months. The eight-year-old on the other side was left in tears in the ring. Nick Hartley, 33, insists “If he wasn’t cage fighting, he would probably be chucking stones at buses and giving people grief. But now he has learned some respect and he would rather go training than play out.” Much better to train them as gladiators in elementary school to get them ready for the big time in middle school when haymakers can fly freely on the playground.
Of course, we have seen parents who turn their living rooms into private cage fights.
Source: Daily Mail
Professor Turley,
I have been a fan of your for years – and, of course, I still am. I also happen to be a mixed martial artist, as well as a former college wrestler.
This story was shockingly misreported by the BBC, and I think you should issue some sort of retraction (nothing big. I don’t mean to be oversensitive; simply an edit to this post would do). This was a submission grappling match – with no strikes; no brutality; and nothing that goes beyond a youth wrestling tournament.
http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/9/22/2442027/bbc-news-sky-news-irresponsibly-report-cage-fighting-story-nspcc-british-medical-association
When I was 16 and weighed 175, my gym teacher who hated me had me wrestle someone who was not only strong and a great athlete, but weighed 250. Fortunately, unknown to the teacher the guy was a friend who smoked with me illicitly in the Boy’s Room. He grabbed me up and
gently pinned me to the mat. The gym teacher was pissed, but my friend
was a star football player. I was a weak 175 and couldn’t have moved him if I tried. smoking cigarettes may have badly damaged my heart, but
from 16 on it stopped people bullying me in H.S. because I became friends with the tough kids.
Oro,
That incident is horrendous and I have seen it played out at the preteen and high school level. I have not heard the coach make the comment, but I have witnessed attempts to “take out” a good player with physcality. I actually got into my first Frosh high school basketball game when the other team sent a sub in to get our top player into a fight. He succeeded and they ejected both players and all 5 feet of me came in to replace a 6 foot freshman who had scored 30 plus points! Needless to say I wasn’t as succesful! 🙂
Oro Lee,
Not the same game as player was not a sub. I can’t say I blame your daughter one bit from wanting to stay out of that town. I think of the incident I witnessed every time I drive through that coach’s town. That kind of ugliness stays with you.
It was actually a grappling competition, not really MMA, as there was no striking. I’m a fan of MMA and grappling in particular, but the kids competitions I’ve attended, the refs rewarded points and stopped action just as a submission hold was attained, but before it was applied, decreasing the chances of injury. There was also a good deal of support from all around, adults and kids, from opposing coaches and teams.
This looks like it was very crudely and thoughtlessly put together, but, again, no one was hurt. The kid crying was crying because he was a kid and he lost. Kids do that in all sports, but especially as something as intimate and intense as grappling.
http://www.cagepotato.com/and-the-idiotic-idea-of-the-week-award-goes-to-uk-mma-promoter-who-let-kids-grapple-on-his-mma-card/
Raff is right — there is a degree of difference in action, but very little in attitude. And I said pre-teen football –serious injuries at that age are life changing if not deforming. Been there, done that.
Blousie, were you speaking of my daughter? Her HS soccer team was playing a state tournament game in the town of my college alma mata, and she expressed an interest in attending same.
As my daughter tells it, she shut down their best scorer. The opposing coach subbed and told the new (and much larger) player to hurt my daughter, to take her out. He said this while looking straight at my daughter standing just a few feet from him.
The crowd cheered when my daughter went down, and booed when the new player drew the red card.
My daughter later told me that there was NWIH she would go to college in that town. I tried to explain that the college was not the same as the town. She said she didn’t even want to breathe the same air as those people.
rafflaw:
Right you are. This mixed martial arts debacle is about as much about youth football as a squirt gun fight is about water boarding.
I have to take exception to some here that think there is no difference between organized football and this nonsense. In football leagues the kids have padding and helmets and here the kids have no padding and are encouraged to harm the other 8 year old. We are talking more than just wrestling, even if they are not allowed to strike or kick the opponent. This is sick and if it happened in my town I would be making my voice heard loud and clear.
Yeah, there’s no difference between organized football for kids and cage fighting, a male coach of the girls high school soccer team refers to the other team as whores, and both these total bullshit comments indicate why the monolith hasn’t created our star child yet.
No More Kings: Sweep the leg
Oro Lee,
Very cogent point. In all society’s there is much sickness revolving around the treatment of children and what is considered acceptable
channeling of their behavior. It is little wonder that humanity remains a predatory species and that violence is the rule, rather than the exception.
Much better to train them as gladiators in elementary school to get them ready for the big time in middle school when haymakers can fly freely on the playground.
—————————
I was going to say something snarky too….but let’s do acknowledge reality here…different cage, same shit, different day. People are getting creamed out here and the black hats are winning. Maybe we shouldn’t aspire to shielding the kiddos (and ourselves!) from what really lurks behind the pretty words….
Of Course they Didn’t….Why would you expect them to find otherwise….
I remember overhearing a high school girls’s soccer team coach as he instructed one of his players on how to handle an opposing player … “I want you to take that whore OUT … GET BACK IN THERE AND TAKE THAT WHORE OUT!”
Oro Lee makes a valid point.
I was about (even tried) to write something pissy about menatl and emotional abuse of children and Protective Services and yada yada — then I thought of organized American football for pre-teens and couldn’t figure out a sensible distinction, and far be it from me to mess with such a grand American tradition (or with soccer-type moms).
Devolution demonstrated. We really do need that giant asteroid soon.
If the story were about dogs or roosters, the fights would clearly be illegal. Too bad children aren’t valued as highly.