Assemblyman Bob Reilly linked to campaign contributions from national hotel union at war with Fertittas and Station Casinos
by Fernando Quiles Jr. on Feb 14, 2011 9:28 AM EST
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New York State Assemblyman Bob Reilly has been a strong adversary to the legalization of mixed martial arts (MMA) in the state of New York.
For years, Reilly has been against the sport, saying the idea of legalizing MMA to help "The Empire State" financially is "a pretty horrific type of attitude and position to have." Reilly has also claimed to be opposed to MMA because of its "brutality," but there may be more to the story.
Hotel union "Unite Here" has engaged in an ongoing feud with the co-owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Station Casinos, owned by the Fertitta brothers Lorenzo and Frank, has been targeted by the union because it wants the staff at the Las Vegas chain of casinos to unionize and has accused Station of using threats against their staff members as a preventative measure.
In a move seen by many MMA fans as sour grapes, Unite Here has refused to support the UFC's road to legalization in New York. In fact, they have continued to lobby against it.
So, what does this have to do with Assemblyman Reilly?
In 2006, Reilly had 211 identified contributions. The second largest personal contribution came from Unite Here. Yes, the same Unite Here that currently has nine affiliates/local unions in the state of New York.
Sound fishy to you?
In his hour-long interview with Larry Pepe of Pro MMA Radio, Reilly was asked about his relationship with Unite Here, and if it was really the deciding factor in lobbying against MMA.
See his response after the jump.
"I don't find the connection. I don't operate that way. I consider myself ethical. UFC has put up to Zuffa, according to the press conference I heard, $1,500,000. Zuffa just gave our new Governor (Andrew Cuomo) $75,000, so money is pouring in here from Zuffa, but I'm not accusing anybody of unethical behavior because of that."
Pepe explained to Reilly that Zuffa putting money in to get MMA legalized in New York makes sense and that there wasn't really anything that can be seen as unethical. The New York State Assemblyman responded.
"Unite Here is one of very many unions and if you go through the contributions that have been made to me, I would suppose aside from the Democratic Party which received much of their contributions from labor unions, you'll find many other unions contributing to me. I don't know the connection. Let's take your logic, ‘Bob Reilly isn't going to support the hotel workers in Las Vegas, but go against the hotel workers in New York.' In other words, you made the argument not me that the hotel workers in New York would support this because it would bring in more hotel things. So what would their purpose be? ‘Oh they're concerned about the people in Las Vegas?' I don't think so."
Pepe went on to explain to Reilly that it seems very political for a national hotel union that operates in New York as well as Las Vegas to lobby against the legalization of a sport that would bring in significant hotel revenue when the union is at odds with the organization (Zuffa) trying to get it done.
In other words, it's not about questioning the sport, it's about getting payback on the Fertitta brothers.
Reilly replied with a simple "Okay."
But is it okay with you?
To listen to the full interview with New York State Assemblyman Bob Reilly, catch the replay of MMAmania.com's exclusive presentation of Pro MMA Radio by clicking here.
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And it does stink of something fishy!
by Edgecrusher71 on Feb 14, 2011 10:53 AM EST up reply actions
what the fuck did i just read?
reilly’s response was like trying to read a doctor suess book while on mushrooms
by xquisitewretch on Feb 14, 2011 1:09 PM EST up reply actions
It was incomprehensible. Which makes me think he must be hiding something.
"Give a man a match, and he'll be warm for a minute, but set him on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
Fan of: Cole Miller, Dentist Neer, Alan Belcher, Bones Jones, Frank Mir
arent they all?
I seriously doubt that is a single politician that puts the people he/she is representing above their wallet…
by xquisitewretch on Feb 14, 2011 1:45 PM EST up reply actions
Typical. Fucking poiltician, you are there to represent the will of the people who foolishly elected you. If your constituents are opposed to MMA, then by all means you should oppose it. That doesn’t seem to be the case though. You are using public money to grind a personal ax, and in the meantime NOT acting in the best interest of your state or your citizens.
Our lives change like the weather, but a legend never dies.
Spot on. I wonder if the guy has even bothered to find out whether his constituents actually want to see MMA events.
"Give a man a match, and he'll be warm for a minute, but set him on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
Fan of: Cole Miller, Dentist Neer, Alan Belcher, Bones Jones, Frank Mir
Word, so much bullshit!
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
by xFenixKnightx on Feb 14, 2011 12:48 PM EST up reply actions
I hate unions, they are always behind some shady stuff, so I’m not to surprised they would support this ass-hat. This is coming form a guy in the heart of uaw territory. I envy those of you in right-to-work states.
It is a wonderful thing my friend
Texas and Florida are beautiful places to work, and you can fire an idiot just because he’s an idiot.
"Remember men, we are all winners in the eyes of Christ...except for the guy still bleeding on the canvass"
Not necessarily corrupt
This isn’t necessarily corruption at work here. All we’re really talking about is a union lobbying against a company because of that company’s perceived anti-union stance, and Bob Reilly happens to agree with the union. I know that the money makes it look dodgy, but the UFC also made campaign contributions, so where do you go from there?
Well, if he’s blocking the sanctioning of MMA because of some stupid union dispute, that is corrupt enough in my view. (Who knows if that’s what’s really going on.) Where are the voter’s views coming into it? He is supposed to represent them, not be their nanny and dictate what sports they can watch.
"Give a man a match, and he'll be warm for a minute, but set him on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life."
Fan of: Cole Miller, Dentist Neer, Alan Belcher, Bones Jones, Frank Mir
War Reilly!!
You gotta give it up for this guy. Hes fighting the inevitable but not backing down. He makes some good points. I love mma. but doesnt mean anytime Dana gives his arguments about football being more unsafe, etc that Im going to run with everything he says, nodding alone like an idiot because Im an mma fan. This is really groping in the dark. If anyone should be called out for being unethical its Zuffa and the UFC. They dont really care about mma, they care about money. Reilly is like a parent not allowing his kids to fight in the house. They might want to, but he sincerely sees the kids desire to fight in the house is outweighed by the holes in the walls, and shit getting broken. Remember the post about the unknown damages of mma and head trauma? Are people gonna argue that too, because it might point to mma not being safe? Or dig up something form the doctors who made the studies past so the science can be ignored? Why is this slop even on this site?
(un)Safe contact sports
If a state wants to keep players in any kind of contact sports safe from injury, there should be no more contests in that sport. There is an inherent risk when you touch someone in a less than friendly manner and if the big buzz word is ‘Safety’ then there goes football, any fighting, rugby, roshambo etc. because people WILL get hurt when there are connections between fast moving bodies. The issue has never been about safety because the people with the money could not care less about the safety of the grunts doing the work.
So many morons here
just sheep to the Zuffa name
Exactly how does anyone's opinion of Reilly's actions make one a "Zuffa sheep"?
Is that all you came here to say, or do you actually agree or disagree with any of Reilly’s positions. Do you find it at least a bit off, that he is receiving funds from an organization that is directly opposed to the largest proponent of MMA in NY? Do you realize that the UFC is not the ONLY MMA organization that will benefit in NY if MMA is sanctioned?
I just don’t get why people just jump in with virtually no stated opinion on anything, other than to call someone a “hater” or “nuthuger” of one org or the other. Look, if you disagree with MMA being sanctioned in NY, so be it. If you don’t think there’s anything fishy about Reilly taking funds from Unite Here, so be it. I’m down with a fair disagreement, but geez how simple is that to just blanket everyone with a “sheep” comment.?
"Remember men, we are all winners in the eyes of Christ...except for the guy still bleeding on the canvass"
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