As most of you have probably read our article that was posted yesterday about fighters not being paid by Premier FC, we felt it was necessary to write a follow up piece to shed some more light on the situation.
Since our article was initially published yesterday afternoon, we've been made aware of 5 other fighters and one videographer who are still awaiting payment for their services from Premier FC. Currently the list stands at:
Marcus Davis
Cam Resnisky
Ronny Markes
Kibedy Gordon
Albert Tulley
Victor Jones
Niyaz Ahmed
Videographer from a pervious event
There may be others that we have not heard from yet, but at this point, the list stands at 8 people who are still owed for their services.
We did receive an email from Karyn Wesch, the owner/promoter of Premier FC, this morning in regards to our article from yesterday. I have offered Miss Wesch the opportunity to have a phone interview with me to tell her side of the story. I also extended an invitation to her to come on our podcast next week to have a discussion. At the time of publication of this article, we have not heard back from her on either offer. Wesch did have a few things to say, on record, within her email to me though.
"The state gave us the wrong amount that was owed and that check was given. We waited for the commission to give the correct amount and we re-wrote a check which was sent. As far as fighters, you are correct. Some didn’t get paid because, due for my lack of understanding how investors work, I needed to wait for a transfer which takes longer then I thought. That should be here soon and they will be paid."
Wesch also went on to say the following:
"I appreciate after 12 years of business (good business) that someone who has been writing for 1 year on this site, could judge someone or kick them when they are down in a sport they are trying to lift themselves up in. Karma! Not everything is always golden in business but it’s always a good look when the people you work closely with feel the need to bash you when something happens. For someone who has paid out well over 1 million dollars between venues, fighters, business, insurances and commission in this sport in the past years, I’d like to see your costs since you judge so harshly with a keyboard. Again, thanks for the article and just a word from someone who’s been so active and given her life for this sport and fighters for 15 years….. don’t trust anyone as they will always stand by waiting for something to happen so they can stab you in the back to lift themselves up."
Premier and Wesch obviously were not happy with us that we exposed this issue - understandably so, but this isn't about "bashing" someone or dragging a promotion through the mud. This is about transparency, accountability, and simply doing the right thing - paying the fighters their contracted purses.
We here at NEMMA have had this information for more than a month. We chose to sit on it to see if things would work themselves out and Premier would uphold their end of the contractual bargain with the fighters. We gave Premier a MONTH to do the right thing before we said anything. We also were not the ones who made all of this public. I give kudos to Marcus Davis for stepping up at the Massachusetts State Athletic Commission meeting yesterday and stating his grievances during public comment.
Once Davis had made those public comments, we felt it was only right to publish the article to shed some light on the issues. Based on the article being published, 6 other people came forward alerting us to the fact that they also had not been paid. This gave us a much better scope of the issue at hand, and corroborated Marcus Davis' story.
Based on Wesch's comments, the money is on its way, and the fighters should be paid "soon". Hopefully this happens and the commission doesn't have to access the Premier FC bond in order to pay the combatants, as the bond process could take up to 18 months to run its course.
We are not here to intentionally besmirch someone or their business. We are simply here to advocate for the fighters when unethical practices occur, and bring to light issues that the community as a whole should be aware of.
We will stay on top of any new developments that occur, but for now, feel free to listen to Marcus Davis' public comment at the MSAC meeting yesterday within the YouTube link below, and also check out our podcast from last night as I talked in a little greater detail about everything.
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