Storied athlete Herschel Walker appeared on this week’s episode of John McCarthy and Sean Wheelock’s “Let’s Get it On” Podcast. Among the topics covered were Walker’s views on the future of the sport where he voiced strong support for the need of a fighters union. McCarthy asked “What do want to see from the sport. What do you expect the sport to be doing in the next 5 years and how are you going to be a part of it?” to which Walker replied as follows –
“…I think this sport needs to have a union. And the only reason I’m going to say that is…I see guys that are signed to a contract that may not be fighting for a long period of time and I think that’s very difficult. I think guy’s need to get better insurance, I think they need better pay, I think the sport is growing and I think if they get a union it really can balance it out a little more. Where guy’s are gonna get more fights, and I know its kind of hard cause this is a tough sport, but I think when you sign a guy, when a guy is on a contract and he has not fought in 6 months his contract should be void. You gotta get fights and you gotta be fighting. You can’t train all the time and not get fights. So I think a union can help that out. And I’d love to be a part of that to help guys out.”
It is unclear if Walker is part of the Mixed Martial Arts Fighters Association but the more high profile athletes like him take the lead and are vocal about the need for balancing the landscape in greater favor of athlete rights the quicker Walker’s desire for fighter representation will become a reality.
Combat Sports Law 