House Weighing Measure on Panel to Oversee Sport
July 1, 2004
Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, said a major piece
of his long-term agenda to reform boxing hasn't been acted on by Congress
but is hopefully not out for the count.
McCain, an ardent fan of the sport—and especially of the late Sugar Ray Robinson—said in an interview yesterday that he is waiting for the House to act on his Senate-passed measure to establish a federal commission to regulate boxing.
Asked what the holdup was, McCain said there may be resistance to adding to the federal bureaucracy, "and, of course, very few of them [House members] have any knowledge of the sport."
The senator championed two laws, approved in 1996 and 2000, respectively, to establish minimum standards for boxers' health and safety.
But he says his mission remains incomplete.
"I think that boxing has to have a national commission, as the other major sports do, and I think they need a union, and I say that as a conservative Republican," McCain said.
"It's tragic because so many of these fighters, even if they made some money, end up broke and disabled."
This article originally appeared in The Baltimore Sun on July 1,
2004 and was written by Jeff Barker.
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