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Sponsorship issue proves MMA not yet mainstream
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Kimbo Slice, a porn company and Elite Xtreme Combat's president all proved heading into CBS' primetime mixed martial arts telecast Saturday, May 31, that MMA and the mainstream aren't totally on the same page.
Slice is the big, bearded MMA fighter who took on James Thompson during CBS' Saturday telecast. One of his sponsors throughout much of his career has been Reality Kings, a company that produces and promotes pornographic movies. Earlier this month, EliteXC's Eric Shaw told MMAJunkie.com that the sponsorship was not a problem.
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"We had a lot of discussions about it, and in the end, we decided it was OK," he told the site. "We have no problem with Reality Kings."
Then, in a conference call leading up to Saturday's ground breaking primetime broadcast, Shaw said Slice would not be allowed to advertise Reality Kings on CBS.
"We understand what's socially responsible, and CBS has a very high standard for standards and practices," Shaw said, according to FiveOuncesOfPain.com. "And every logo we put on or whatever we do goes through CBS in their standards and practices."
Many times, MMA groups have no problem with fighters promoting porno during events. But once you hit CBS, the rules change, and some have screamed censorship.
The situation underlines the differences between the rebel MMA and the ma-and-pa Saturday night viewing crowd, which still have some differences to iron out before the sport can become truly part of the mainstream.
