Criminal records and mma

mmmm...not sure

I just want to see if this is the same with all clubs and promoters, I have a friend in his 30s that trains in mma and was with a small club but then got approached by a bigger club that could further his career but they found out he had a record for violent offences when he was in his late teens and early 20s he never went to jail or anything just fines and stuff but they said they didn't want to take him on then because of his past, so my question is this are people with records for violence allowed to compete in mma or is it just down to trainers if they let people train and compete?

cowzerp

mmmm...not sure wrote: »

I just want to see if this is the same with all clubs and promoters, I have a friend in his 30s that trains in mma and was with a small club but then got approached by a bigger club that could further his career but they found out he had a record for violent offences when he was in his late teens and early 20s he never went to jail or anything just fines and stuff but they said they didn't want to take him on then because of his past, so my question is this are people with records for violence allowed to compete in mma or is it just down to trainers if they let people train and compete?

what i want to know is what they where doing poaching another clubs fighter like that-thats not on, a record does not stop you competing in MMA unless you need a green card or something, its up to a trainer if he takes on a toerag or not, sometimes people need a chance in life too.

it really depends on wheter they want to do good, or wheter there still toerags who have no intention of been good people wheter i would take them on, i've seen people go from bad to good with the discipline and respect they get through sports such as Boxing/MMA and confidense aswell is not to be underestimated on how behaviour can change for the better.

mmmm...not sure

cowzerp wrote: »

what i want to know is what they where doing poaching another clubs fighter like that-thats not on, a record does not stop you competing in MMA unless you need a green card or something, its up to a trainer if he takes on a toerag or not, sometimes people need a chance in life too.

it really depends on wheter they want to do good, or wheter there still toerags who have no intention of been good people wheter i would take them on, i've seen people go from bad to good with the discipline and respect they get through sports such as Boxing/MMA and confidense aswell is not to be underestimated on how behaviour can change for the better.

I didn't know him when he was in trouble but over the past few year I have know him he doesn't seem the type of fella that would be a violent person outside of the cage and he has a decent job now and everything that happened was years ago. The smaller club he was with has no problem with fighters moving to bigger clubs as said they want the best for their fighters and that they can get more oppurtunites at the bigger club.

Barry.Oglesby

Who gives a **** about the past? I would train anyone who had served their time and was now on the level. Prison is supposed to be the punishment, not the rest of your life. Excluding guys on the basis of their past won't get them any more accepted back into society.

Training and physical exercise is a positive influence on a guy, exclude him from that and you push him away from starting a new life.

(Obviously, sex offenders I would exclude)

Mrs Lynch

A lot of ppl have changed their lives through MMA. I know a lot of work has been put in by particular clubs (in the North) to help guys which I can only whole heartly commend.

I have spoke with guys who have admitted their mistakes but as I have said to them their lives are changed and they are now better for leaving their past in the past. However if a person is still continuing with illegal acts/ activities they dont have a place in Irish MMA. There is enough barriers we constantly face without this.

Example Paul Cowzer been in court for GBH and goes about beating people up every Friday after clubbin this I would think would be totally unacceptable and he would not only risk losing his club/ promotion but the respect of the MMA circle. (Sorry Paul I know you would never do this in a million years:cool:)

Urs
x

Martin Walker

We wouldnt even think of asking lads if they had been in trouble with the law.
Its none of my Business. However if a lad was training with us and got jailed or fined for serious violent crimes he would be kicked out of the club. We dont need that publicity.

Mrs Lynch

Martin Walker wrote: »

We wouldnt even think of asking lads if they had been in trouble with the law.
Its none of my Business. However if a lad was training with us and got jailed or fined for serious violent crimes he would be kicked out of the club. We dont need that publicity.

Wot if their mistakes wer young and foolish????

I totally think if they are "currently" on wrong side of law then they should be kicked to the kerb until they show they hav changed their ways:)

Urs
x

mmmm...not sure

Mrs Lynch wrote: »

Wot if their mistakes wer young and foolish????

I totally think if they are "currently" on wrong side of law then they should be kicked to the kerb until they show they hav changed their ways:)

Urs
x

Yeah I think he was young and foolish he's not the same person he was back then as he is now he's now such a decent lad.

Thanks for all your feedback on this it's really helped get a clear picture of what opinions from promoters and fans are like and my mate will be glad to know not all trainers or shows will hold anything against him from his past and it's gave me a clearer picture as I thought it was a rule or even unspoken rule so thanks for clearing that up for me aswel

MrStuffins

I would find it very strange for gyms not to let a guy train with them due to a criminal past.

Every time i watch boxing, it's "a young thug from the streets.... boxing saved him and made him a contributing member of society".

Why should MMA be different?

At the same time, i suppose each story should be taken on it's merits. Someone mentioned sex offenders, that's a whole different ball-game.

Bubs101

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

(Obviously, sex offenders I would exclude)

Not trolling here just genuinely curious. You'd be more willing to train someone with a history of abuse in a fighting style like Muay Thai (no idea what you teach just a guess) than a sex offender. Surely the person with a history of assault would be the worse person to teach

Peetrik

Bubs101 wrote: »

Not trolling here just genuinely curious. You'd be more willing to train someone with a history of abuse in a fighting style like Muay Thai (no idea what you teach just a guess) than a sex offender. Surely the person with a history of assault would be the worse person to teach

Maybe its more akin to teaching web security to some kid previously convicted of making a computer virus because he was bored versus teaching hypnosis to a paedophile

BobbyOLeary

Barry.Oglesby wrote: »

Excluding guys on the basis of their past won't get them any more accepted back into society.

(Obviously, sex offenders I would exclude)

It's funny, I'd agree with you on this but at the same time I can see the glaring hypocrisy in it.

As for your mate with a violent past. I dunno, not that I train anyone or anything but it'd really come down to the person in question whether or not I'd work with them. Though as Martin said the publicity from it could be bad. The News of the World would go mad for that sort of thing. "Breeding Super-thugs" or something...

Barry.Oglesby

Bubs101 wrote: »

Not trolling here just genuinely curious. You'd be more willing to train someone with a history of abuse in a fighting style like Muay Thai (no idea what you teach just a guess) than a sex offender. Surely the person with a history of assault would be the worse person to teach

I grew up in a nice area with a stable family, however a lot of my friends were not so lucky. They grew up with instability and violence as the norm in areas where you had to take or be taken from. They made mistakes and stole or were violent and were punished for them by the justice system.

Against that, sex offenders by and large suffer from a psychological condition, not a social one.

pablohoney87

Bubs101 wrote: »

Not trolling here just genuinely curious. You'd be more willing to train someone with a history of abuse in a fighting style like Muay Thai (no idea what you teach just a guess) than a sex offender. Surely the person with a history of assault would be the worse person to teach

When you're talkin bout bjj id be cautious of teaching a sex offender too.

calex71

BobbyOLeary wrote: »

"Breeding Super-thugs" or something...

Careful , if they stumble across this thread they'll steal that for the front page for sure