Mixed Martial Arts combines the skills needed in wresting, kickboxing and jiu-jitsu into one violent sport.  In this century, MMA has gained popularity and consequently been legalized in most of America.  This past week, the New York legislature, Governor Cuomo and the State Athletic Commission entered the cage.

While MMA matches have been going on in New York for some years, legalization means that there will be regulations.  Specifically, these regulations include classifying 31 Acts that constitute a foul in the arena and would result in “disqualification from a mixed martial arts contest or exhibition… as determined by the referee.”  Five of these fouls specifically involve violence to the brain: Butting with the head, striking to… the back of the head, kicking the head of a grounded opponent, kneeing the head of a grounded opponent, and spiking an opponent to the floor surface on his head or neck.  Other rules are not specifically directed to the head, but could easily result in head trauma, such as “attacking an opponent on or during a break”.  Additionally, “New York [is] to Require $1 Million Brain-Injury Coverage for Mixed Martial Artist,” to be provided by the promoters.

However, the safety of the athletes was not directly the reason of the legalization… it was the money.  It is estimated that legalizing MMA will bring $140 million to New York in economic growth.

In covering this story, Forbes magazine notes that, “insurance doesn’t provide for fighter safety.  It provides compensation after fighter safety has failed.”  (On the other hand, the NYS Athletic Commission says it, “has taken another step toward ensuring the health, safety and integrity of its athletes and event.”)  Some people still want the sport banned.  Currently, the State is seeking comments from the public on this issue.  The proposed legislation can be found on this link and comments can be submitted for review until August 27, 2016.

He ran for the ball, knocking head-first into a concrete wall in a game versus the Washington Senators at Washington’s Griffith Stadium.  He then lay on the ground, unconscious, for five minutes.  Eventually, he arose, shook off the trauma and returned to play.

Such a story as the one above seems unfathomable in current athletics.  Now, if a player is hit on the head and falls unconscious, he would never be permitted to return to play immediately and, most likely, would be taken to the hospital for neurological testing.  However, this is what happened to America’s famed baseball player for the New York Yankees, Babe Ruth, in 1924.

Compared to many other sports, baseball does not have a high concussion rate.  Between ten to twenty players are put on the disabled list yearly because of concussions.  However, even one concussion is one too many.  Most prone to concussions are outfielders and catchers.

Recently, this was brought to my attention because of the story, Ex-Met Josh Satin explains why retiring is ‘the right thing’ after suffering head injuries.  Specifically, while playing for the Louisville Bats, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, Satin collided with his team’s third baseman, as both were going for a pop fly.  After being unconscious for five long seconds, Satin says he had a “weird feeling” and later was “never the same”.  He further stated that his depth perception, once his best skill, never fully recovered.  “The ball was always in a different spot than I thought.”  (Officially diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Satin sat out most of last season.)

Similarly, in December 2012, Toronto Blue Jays’ utility player Ryan Freel, the first pro-baseball player diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) who had to retire from playing the sport because of his injuries, committed suicide.  In 2013, Freel’s family donated some of his brain tissue to Boston University for study.  Though Freel’s behavior after his accident pointed towards CTE, he was not officially diagnosed until this postmortem study.

Dr. Robert Stern, co-founder of the Center of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University, said, “I cringe [whenever] I see two guys going after the same ball.”  The MLB has said, “[it] will remain proactive on concussion and head injuries.”  Home plate collisions are no longer allowed and, in 2013, the MLB said it was instituting educational programs and rule changes to protect from concussions.  The prior year, the MLB mandated that any player who suffers a concussion must be put on the “disabled list” for at least 7 days.

This year, Major League Baseball established a lobbying office in the District of Columbia.  Lobbying is not new for the MLB, as they have always spent time and money lobbying, most notably in the 1998 – 1999 seasons when they spent $1.6 million on it.  (In comparison, last year the MLB spent about $320,000 lobbying.)  The office is run by Josh Alkin, a lawyer who, before the appointment as Vice President of Government Relations in this office, had been handling issues relating to the MLB for 15 years at the firm BakerHostetler.  In 2013, the MLB also stated that it aims, “to remain proactive on concussions and head injuries.”

I don’t think there is a way to entirely eliminate concussions from baseball but the MLB has instituted mandatory educational programs and certain changes to the rules to minimize these injuries. It is a good sign that the MLB, as of this year, has a lobbying office in the country’s capital to address a wide range of key government-facing issues including player safety.  With these steps, the MLB hopes to eliminate some concussions, but still keep the excitement of watching a game of America’s pastime.