BCMA Wants MMA Banned in Canada

This morning news broke that the British Columbia Medical Association (BCMA) were calling for a Canada wide ban on MMA.

Here’s why:

In July, the BCMA held a caucus meeting and passed a resolution stating it wants the full-contact sport banned in Canada.

If the CMA agrees to adopt the resolution, it will lobby the federal government to bring an end to MMA contests in the country.

Dr. Ian Gillespie, president of the BCMA, said the resolution was passed because doctors are concerned about the potential for serious injury, including brain damage.

Now, the body that acts as the voice of doctors in B.C. is planning to bring that resolution to the Canadian Medical Association’s annual general meeting at Niagara Falls, Ont., from Aug. 23 to 25.

Head of the BCMA Dr Ian Gillespie in an interview on CKNW this morning (and by the way – fill in radio host Michael Smyth did an AWESOME job forcing the issue with the doctor) admits he has never watched an MMA event, did not speak with the UFC or any MMA promotion, did not contact athletic commissions nor engage sport experts. Does not sound like the BCMA wants to make an informed comments to make the sport safer – rather just ban it outright.

The Sports Concussion Report from the University of North Carolina and Journal of Sports Science and Medicine Report on Indicence of Injury in Professional Mixed Martial Arts Competitions reports contradict the feelings and non-medical data that Dr. Gillespie’s group insist is true.

I sent an email and left a voicemail message for Dr. Gillespie asking for him to share his findings and to meet to discuss MMA as a whole and his organization’s concerns in general. While it has only been 24 hours, I have not yet heard back.

Perhaps the doctor is out enjoying his pastime of kayaking – which by the way has a history of injuries and roughly a dozen deaths each year. This means kayaking is more dangerous than MMA.

Here are the audio files from Dr. Gillespie’s appearance on CKNW’s “Bill Good Show”

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and my interview on “The Christy Clark Show”. Enjoy!

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