For several months now, various MMA journalists have been attempting to get the medical records of Kevin “Kimbo Slice” Ferguson from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), which oversees MMA in the Lone Star State. There were a lot of questions when Ferguson died of congestive heart failure (an ongoing medical condition sometimes confused with cardiac arrest due to the terminology) less than four months after being deemed fit to fight in Texas, and this was was the only way to get to the bottom of it. The whole situation seemed especially egregious since Kimbo’s opponent, Dhafir “Dada 5000” Harris, nearly died that night from kidney failure and two heart attacks.
On Thursday, Bloody Elbow’s Tim Bissell revealed that the TDLR had turned down his request on privacy grounds. On the surface, that seems sound, but in reality, fighters sign waivers allowing the TDLR to release records used to determine licensing status. Other states have similar regulations, including Nevada, which arguably has an even more transparent version of the rule. In correspondence, the TDLR argued that their bylaws state that the information can be released to those with a “need to know,” which they define as medical professionals and judges. “The public has no specific need to know a contestant’s personal medical information.”
Bloody Elbow is currently looking into avenues of appeal.
