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CNN Live Today

'Toughman' Tragedy

Aired June 18, 2003 - 11:04   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Elsewhere in Florida, police are investigating the death of a young mother in an amateur fight competition known as "The Toughman." We have this report from reporter April Mertz of our affiliate Bay News 9 in Sarasota.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

APRIL MERTZ, BAY NEWS 9 (voice-over): They say it was a last- minute decision that took 30-year-old Stacey Young's life.

JODIE MEYERS, STACY'S SISTER: She was a little excited, a little nervous, but nobody thought anything of it. Figured it would be just a silly little thing to talk about later.

MERTZ: Stacy's older sister Jody Meyers was there Saturday night at Robarts Arena in Sarasota. She watched as her sister took the ring at a Toughman contest for the first time.

MEYERS: She went down and indicated that that was enough. And she sat back up real briefly and then laid back down and that was it.

MERTZ: Stacy's mother, Linda Lewis says like any mother she was worried from the get-go.

LINDA LEWIS, STACY'S MOTHER: We talked about it for a few minutes. I wished her well and told her to call me when she was done so she could tell me all about how it went.

MERTZ: However, Stacy was never able to make that call. After going down in round three, she was taken to the hospital where she died two days later.

(on camera): Employees here at the arena tell us that these Toughmen contests have been held here for at least 18 years. These kind of competitions have caused controversy in the past from those who say that people who are not trained to fight should not be fighting in the ring.

JACK BOSTOCK, TAE KWON DO INSTRUCTOR: It's something you don't want to go into without a lot of prior training.

MERTZ (voice-over): Jack Bostock owns Bostock USA Tae Kwon Do in Bradenton. He says he knows how popular these competitions have become, but he also knows how dangerous they are.

BOSTOCK: It's a very intense sport, it's a lot of contact, and it's pretty much rules are out the window. There's very limited rules. So, it's something you don't want to do without a whole lot of experience.

MERTZ: We did speak with employees with Toughman. They faxed us this response from the founder Art Doer. "When any contestant dies in a sport of their choice, it is a tragedy. But when it happens in a Toughman event, I am devastated." Stacey leaves behind her husband Chuck and two daughters, Kathy and Chantel.

LEWIS: Our next focus is the family for Chuck, and Stacey and Chantel. So natural to say Chuck and Stacey. For Chuck, and Chantel and Cathy.

MERTZ: Family members say they have hired a lawyer. They say Stacey never would have entered a competition if she had known the dangers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And we thank for that report. It turns out the end may be near for the Toughman contest across the country. We just learned last hour from Fred Girard, a reporter with the "Detroit News" who has been following these cases as they have been coming down the pipe over the years. He says that he has spoken with Art Doer, who is the father of Toughman contest and has been the producer of all the fights we have been covering. And Art Doer has now said that he is going to be stopping -- he will stop the promotions for all fights for the rest of the year. So we'll follow that story for you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired June 18, 2003 - 11:04   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Elsewhere in Florida, police are investigating the death of a young mother in an amateur fight competition known as "The Toughman." We have this report from reporter April Mertz of our affiliate Bay News 9 in Sarasota.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

APRIL MERTZ, BAY NEWS 9 (voice-over): They say it was a last- minute decision that took 30-year-old Stacey Young's life.

JODIE MEYERS, STACY'S SISTER: She was a little excited, a little nervous, but nobody thought anything of it. Figured it would be just a silly little thing to talk about later.

MERTZ: Stacy's older sister Jody Meyers was there Saturday night at Robarts Arena in Sarasota. She watched as her sister took the ring at a Toughman contest for the first time.

MEYERS: She went down and indicated that that was enough. And she sat back up real briefly and then laid back down and that was it.

MERTZ: Stacy's mother, Linda Lewis says like any mother she was worried from the get-go.

LINDA LEWIS, STACY'S MOTHER: We talked about it for a few minutes. I wished her well and told her to call me when she was done so she could tell me all about how it went.

MERTZ: However, Stacy was never able to make that call. After going down in round three, she was taken to the hospital where she died two days later.

(on camera): Employees here at the arena tell us that these Toughmen contests have been held here for at least 18 years. These kind of competitions have caused controversy in the past from those who say that people who are not trained to fight should not be fighting in the ring.

JACK BOSTOCK, TAE KWON DO INSTRUCTOR: It's something you don't want to go into without a lot of prior training.

MERTZ (voice-over): Jack Bostock owns Bostock USA Tae Kwon Do in Bradenton. He says he knows how popular these competitions have become, but he also knows how dangerous they are.

BOSTOCK: It's a very intense sport, it's a lot of contact, and it's pretty much rules are out the window. There's very limited rules. So, it's something you don't want to do without a whole lot of experience.

MERTZ: We did speak with employees with Toughman. They faxed us this response from the founder Art Doer. "When any contestant dies in a sport of their choice, it is a tragedy. But when it happens in a Toughman event, I am devastated." Stacey leaves behind her husband Chuck and two daughters, Kathy and Chantel.

LEWIS: Our next focus is the family for Chuck, and Stacey and Chantel. So natural to say Chuck and Stacey. For Chuck, and Chantel and Cathy.

MERTZ: Family members say they have hired a lawyer. They say Stacey never would have entered a competition if she had known the dangers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And we thank for that report. It turns out the end may be near for the Toughman contest across the country. We just learned last hour from Fred Girard, a reporter with the "Detroit News" who has been following these cases as they have been coming down the pipe over the years. He says that he has spoken with Art Doer, who is the father of Toughman contest and has been the producer of all the fights we have been covering. And Art Doer has now said that he is going to be stopping -- he will stop the promotions for all fights for the rest of the year. So we'll follow that story for you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com