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Old 06-20-2020, 02:30 PM
 
1,031 posts, read 636,448 times
Reputation: 289

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way back in the late 80s I used to go to the Douglas Community Center with a group of friends from high school and work out in the gym

having grown up internationally I had developed an intense love for Martial Arts and was unhappy with the for-profit mentality of the local gym purveyors

We were always friendly and respectful because we recognized how lucky we were to have such a beautiful facility available to us

Over the years as martial arts became more popular our numbers grew and in 1993 the Ultimate Fighting Championship changed the martial arts World As We Knew It

Once the Ultimate Fighting Championship aired our ranks exploded and we gained a fair amount of notoriety

I was a local record-breaking wrestling coach with a thriving mixed martial arts program all available for free to the community
And then everything went wrong

Once our TV show became relatively popular the big bosses of the parks department got wind of our utilisation of the community center and decided they had had enough us using the Douglas Community Center

One of the employees even expressed reticence because we had an individual in his 60s who enjoyed boxing and they feared liability above all even though we had never had an injury or damage to the property in our entire history at the facility

They had been trying to get rid of us for many years however I was smart, careful and very respectful thus able to survive as a third class citizen flying just under the radar of the Parks Department but my anger grew as it was clear that we would be harassed during our entire existence at the facility

Long story short I worked for the city in those days and when they found out that I was fighting back against the parks department in order to maintain my Mixed Martial Arts Club they sat me down in an office and gave me an ultimatum

I knew at that point my career was in Jeopardy so I had to walk away from the mixed martial arts Club I spent so many years developing at the Douglas Community Center

One has to wonder that today as mixed martial arts has proven to be a safe and reliable sport instead of the human cockfighting it was portrayed to be back in those days perhaps we would be treated differently in modern times

What a terrible shame that public facilities are able to discriminate against martial artists in order to reduce their perceived liability

Did you know in Muhammad Ali's Hometown you can get kicked out of a park or Community Center for engaging in the sport of boxing these days!!!

AMAZING!!!

Our modern society has become a PC liability crap show

From the ancient Greco-Roman days that society recognized that martial arts training was an important aspect and in fact a civil right

They built public sports facilities called palestras where people could learn martial arts for free as they recognized a society capable of Defending itself is in less need of public protection like the police

The Louisville Mixed Martial Arts Club existed at the Douglas Community Center from the late 80s all the way through to 2010 when the parks department finally forced us out of our tax-funded facility for good

I continue to pop into the gym over the years to see what they did with the space we were using and it was no surprise to see the gym completely empty

We had a thriving group of martial artists and a fantastic community of friends and neighbors who really enjoyed using the facility their tax dollars paid to fund and operate however they were denied the opportunity to utilize the facility based solely on the city's unfounded fear of liability

https://youtu.be/-413MxpGUvg
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Old 06-20-2020, 02:38 PM
 
Location: Southwest
2,597 posts, read 2,302,994 times
Reputation: 1973
People, orgs, and lawyers are quick to sue, I guess. The law field is crowded, last I heard. I suppose they use authority and implied threats.
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Old 06-20-2020, 08:24 PM
 
1,031 posts, read 636,448 times
Reputation: 289
Quote:
Originally Posted by curiousgeorge5 View Post
People, orgs, and lawyers are quick to sue, I guess. The law field is crowded, last I heard. I suppose they use authority and implied threats.
High level management asked me to "back off" the parks department as i was trying to MAINTAIN access by somewhat litigation means

I had a good job with the city and i knew it was game over for me if i kept at it

Shame they get away subjugating the taxpayer and maintaining an empty facility with our coffers
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