While Assemblyman Bob Reilly has become the public voice of opposition against mixed martial arts, the sport has many more opponents working in New York's legislature. For instance, here's Herman Farrell, Chair of the Ways & Means Committee (emphasis mine):
"I don't think very much of the sport," Farrell said. "Next we'll give them clubs with spikes on the end; that will be good."
I suppose I'll table my support for the growing sport of SpikeClub for the time being.
While the battle in 2011 appears lost, Klein insists positive steps were made that should approve chances in the future:
Despite the setback, there is some room for optimism this year. Indeed, there was more mainstream media attention to the issue, which I believe and have previously written will be critical if we are going to get this done. Moreover, the votes (when votes occurred) were more favorable to MMA than past years.