Alberta mayors to debate combative sport safety, fixing 'patchwork' of oversight
Death of 34-year-old boxer sparked criticism about lack of provincial rules for matches
The mayors of Red Deer and Edmonton are asking other Alberta municipal leaders to join their campaign for stronger rules to keep professional fighters and boxers safe.
A 34-year-old boxer and teacher, Tim Hague, died from a traumatic brain injury he received in a June fight in Edmonton.
His family and other critics have said Hague, a former mixed martial arts athlete, shouldn't have been in the ring and that there were multiple opportunities to stop the match before the fatal blow.
His competitor, former Edmonton Eskimos defensive end Adam Braidwood, knocked Hague down four times in two rounds. Hague was knocked unconscious by a left uppercut in the second round.
Right now, Alberta is the only province in Canada to leave regulating of combative sports matches to municipalities — and some, like Red Deer, don't even have regulating bodies.
"We're in a situation where the city does not have a commission. It would not be sustainable for the city to have a commission," Red Deer Mayor Tara Veer told the Calgary Eyeopener on Thursday.
"And yet there is an ethical need for us to have an oversight standard for events of this nature."
Death of 34-year-old boxer sparked criticism about lack of provincial rules for matches
The mayors of Red Deer and Edmonton are asking other Alberta municipal leaders to join their campaign for stronger rules to keep professional fighters and boxers safe.
A 34-year-old boxer and teacher, Tim Hague, died from a traumatic brain injury he received in a June fight in Edmonton.
His family and other critics have said Hague, a former mixed martial arts athlete, shouldn't have been in the ring and that there were multiple opportunities to stop the match before the fatal blow.
His competitor, former Edmonton Eskimos defensive end Adam Braidwood, knocked Hague down four times in two rounds. Hague was knocked unconscious by a left uppercut in the second round.
Right now, Alberta is the only province in Canada to leave regulating of combative sports matches to municipalities — and some, like Red Deer, don't even have regulating bodies.
"We're in a situation where the city does not have a commission. It would not be sustainable for the city to have a commission," Red Deer Mayor Tara Veer told the Calgary Eyeopener on Thursday.
"And yet there is an ethical need for us to have an oversight standard for events of this nature."
