“he got the living snot knocked out of him”

"He got the living snot kicked out of him during this fight. There was nobody there from a health standpoint so his two buddies grabbed him, threw him in a car…and dropped him off at home. His dad woke up, found him, rushed him to the hospital…He had a broken eye-socket…He almost lost his eye,”- Sen. Heckroth

That kid is me, Jerod Lee Botts, residing in Waverly Iowa. So much is being said about me but no one is actually asking me anything. All I want is to be heard. It does not matter to me if you take what I say negatively or positively as long as you take it. First off I am not going to try and glorify what I did. I was stupid thinking that I was ready to step into a cage three months and twenty-five days prior to my eighteenth birthday. Eighteen being the legal age to compete in a mixed martial arts bout. It was wrong of me to put my father in that position, but I can not undo what happened and will not sit here and let others speak for my actions. I know what is going on is way above my head but every voice counts in my opinion.

I will let you know a little about me. I litterally do three things with my time. I am a proud student at Waverly-Shell Rock High. I am work twenty-five hours a week at a local grocery store to pay my bills and earn my own spending money. Lastly, I am an aspiring martial artist. I train with a small group of other amateurs with big dreams at the local colleges wrestling room. We do not really have enough money or time to go to an actual MMA gym, so we come together a few nights out of the week and learn from each other. I will not pretend to be some super athlete or act like I am a top UFC fighter. I know exactly what I am and my skill level. Amateur is the key word. I, like many of my training partners, live, breath, eat, and even dream about mixed martial arts. It is just a way of life. Before I had martial arts I was an obese punk who was probably going to wind up in a detention center at some point. This sport has not only transformed my physical life but my attitude in general. I am much calmer and disciplined person. I do not fight because I like hurting but to challenge myself. I never had time for school sports because I needed to maintain my job, but martial arts gave me that oppurtunity to challenge myself on my own time.

MMA is a sport. It needs to be treated as one. I agree and even promote many of the concepts the Iowa Senate is trying to pass. These local amateur shows need more regulation. They do need medical staff present and thorough inspections. The fighters should have proof of age and physical condition. This is an evolving mainstream sport that needs to be handled gently. Although at times it seems some are less interested in regulated as they are in banning. That will not solve anything. The point being, fighters are fighters. We as fighters no what we are getting into and will still step into that cage. The blood pumping through us is that of a fighter. If amateur mixed martial arts is banned in Iowa it will not stop them. It will just cause those promotions to go underground where there would be no regulations or safety procautions.

I just watched a channel seven news report about me. It described the shadier part of mixed martial arts and my own Dad speaking on thhe subject. I have done my own research. I know about all the statistics on MMA and boxing injuries. I am in perfect health. I have beautiful 20/20 vision and am even now getting my gym gear ready to go to the gym with my training partners and break a sweat.

Thank you,
Jerod Botts

Sources:
http://www.radioiowa.com/2010/02/16/mixed-martial-arts-bill-moves-ahead-in-senate/
http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/article_d621c3f1-ab88-5b1e-a6ab-bbc2751c70fd.html
http://wcfcourier.com/news/local/article_010ad5a6-1b40-11df-878a-001cc4c03286.html