While the Washington Post’s Leonard Shapiro makes no attempt to hide his disgust at the Tiffany Network’s plans to televise MMA competition in prime time (“let me say what a revolting development it is that CBS has become party to this reprehensible programming…. If CBS had been in business during the Anthony and Cleopatra soap opera years, would it also have jumped at the chance a hundred years later to air the ultimate reality show featuring Lions vs. Christians? After all, the spectacle always drew sell-out crowds of 50,000 to the Coliseum, so why not allow the entire Roman Empire to get in on the action?”). As you might expect, Mavs owner Mark Cuban — an MMA advocate/promoter himself — takes no small exception to Shapiro’s editorial, calling the Post columnist, “hopelessly out of touch, and unquestionably uneducated about MMA and it’s participants.”

Maybe rather than surfing past the fights, you should actually watch one. Or better yet, since you apparently cover Football, talk to a player on the Redskins or better yet, the team doctor and ask them if they “beat the bloody bejabbers out of each other”. Then ask them this, “are there automatic suspensions for any hints of concussions or injury after every game or simply for precautionary reasons There are after every fight in MMA

In fact, the argument can easily be made that MMA is far more science and humane than boxing has been. In MMA a fighter must know multiple disciplines in order to be successful. In MMA, a fighter need not fight until he or she is knocked out. Unlike the shame of “throwing in the towel” or “No Mas” its acceptable to tapout and avoid injury when a fighter is beaten.

Furthermore, to refer to MMA fans as ” a howling mob ” further proves your ignorance.

There does seem to a bit of a cultural divide here (and rest assured I’m uncomfortable taking Cuban’s side in such a spat), but when Shapiro sniffs about MMA’s fighters being “heavily tattooed” and he decries Budweiser’s role as a sponsor, you’ve really got to wonder what century he’s living in.

It’s far too easy to moan about the coarsening of modern pop culture compared to actually doing something about it. So MMA isn’t Sharpiro’s cup of tea, I have no quarrel with that. But unless and until he’s takes the time to introduce DC’s public school students to the subtle charms of polo and croquet, he’s got no right to complain.