Is the UFC Hurting Our Chances at Lifting the Ban?

From my Bloody Elbow editorial last year:

Furthermore, a lot of people are making a lot of money because professional MMA is banned. The unions and the UFC have presumably been contributing to the campaigns of their supporters for years. Both sides are employing lobbyists, PR firms, etc; all to address the "problem" of New York MMA regulation. Yet the "problem" is never solved.

Finally someone else is looking at this as a possible contributing factor as to why the ban on professional MMA has not been lifted in New York. From this week's Crain's New York: UFC's deep pockets may feed ban, By Aaron Elstein:

"Everyone knows these guys have a lot of money," the insider said, referring to the Fertitta brothers, who bought UFC in 2001 for $2 million and built the company into one reportedly worth $2 billion. "The ban has nothing to do with people being concerned about the morality of the sport or injuries to the athletes. This is about getting more money from UFC before the law is overturned."

 Read Mr. Elstein's entire commentary HERE