Tina Pike gets to sit close enough to touch the ring for boxing, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts bouts. “I remember the first event I attended, with a new director who had just been appointed to a new position,” Pike recalled. “The punches started flying, and all I could hear was the director say, ‘I just got blood in my eye,’ because it was going all over the place.” If Pike wishes, she has full access to weigh-ins and locker rooms, too.
Pike can sit at the best seats in any fight venue in the state because she is chair of the Florida Athletic Commission (FAC). The Commission’s primary function is to protect and serve combat sports. It is a part of the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation, and licenses and regulates professional boxing, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts. It is also responsible for approval of amateur sanctioning organizations for boxing, kickboxing, and mixed martial arts. It oversees all combat sports, and has more than 2,900 people who are licensed with the Commission. “There are those who believe we are overreaching and should let the athletes fight to near death,” Pike commented. “Then there are those on the opposite end of the spectrum who believe that there is no room in the state or country for any kind of combat sports. Our commission is charged with maintaining a balance.”
The FAC has an executive director and a staff to run day-to-day operations. FAC commissioners are appointed by the governor for four-year terms, and go through a confirmation process with the Florida Senate. Pike has been appointed for three terms in a row and is the sole female commissioner. The five commissioners function as a quasi-judicial court. A quasi-judicial body is a non-judicial body which can interpret law. For each meeting, they review hundreds of pages of documentation that they rule on, ranging from approving amateur sanctioning organizations, to rules and policies, to disciplinary cases of fighters, to promoters that may have violated the rules.
“This shows what you are made of….I have never seen people work on how to beat up on each other fiercely, then, when it is all over, give each other a big hug,” Pike commented. “That says a lot, especially when you are sitting right there and watching the whole thing. There is nothing like it. It is just fascinating to watch all of that unfold before you—to watch them try to figure out how to get to each other, to take each other out, then at the end, they are friends. That’s life. When you get kicked down, you get back up again, and learn to do it better.”
How did this happen for Pike?
In 2017, “I received a call from a friend that I used to work with on the Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee,” Pike said. “He had taken the role of Secretary of the Department of Business and Professional Regulations. He asked if I would be interested in applying for a position.” After he explained the duties of the position and some challenges, Pike said, “Let me talk to Gary [her husband] first, because I know nothing about combat sports except as a spectator.” The friend said, “Tina, I have worked with you. You’re feisty. You do the right thing.”
So, Pike consulted with her husband. “Knowing how he feels about combat sports and what it has taught him helps me understand the importance of the sport in other people’s lives,” she said. “It isn’t for everybody. But, for some, it is a way to get off the streets—to understand the streets—to navigate the streets. Should you get punched, kicked, or knocked down, do you get back up, continue, learn from mistakes? I have a lot of respect for those that work hard and soldier on. So, I applied for the position, and surprisingly, got it. I have been grateful for the honor and lessons learned ever since.”
Pike became chair of the FAC in 2022 and, since then, has continued to be selected by the other commissioners for the position. “My first order of significant business when I became chair was to pass the rule, if you’re born a female, you fight as a female; if you’re born a male, you fight as a male,” Pike said. “It was a unanimous decision. We had doctors’ input and used the in-depth studies of World Rugby to come to our decision. When a person has been a male his entire life and has all the physiological changes that goes with it, taking estrogen/hormones for a time to get numbers to a prescribed amount will not lessen the muscle mass and bone density that was developing as a male for all those years.” Pike also has insight into this issue from her experience. She grew up in Upstate New York and is no stranger to participating in sports. She was captain of her high school girl’s basketball and volleyball teams and a member of the track and softball teams. She held her high school’s discus records for years. “It goes to what we as commissioners are charged to do—protect and serve while maintaining a balance for all those involved,” she said. “I’m proud of our Commission”
“These fighters are life’s warriors,” Pike commented. “Like my husband, many started life in humble means. Fighting taught them perseverance, what they are made of. They come out swinging and are really tough. But, then to see the other side of how they can get beaten down, and humbled—then rise to the occasion after a brutal loss and shake the winner’s hand. This is analogous to life and how to live it. It is another cultural life that I have grown to respect—to see how they take care of each other.”
In addition to Florida Athletic Commissioner, Pike also identifies herself as a wife, mother, homemaker, and homeschool teacher, but she has served Plant City and Hillsborough County in other ways that led to her current role. Pike served two four-year terms in the role of State Committeewoman for the Republican Party of Hillsborough County, on the boards of the Plant City Library Foundation, United Food Bank, the Pregnancy Care Center, and the YMCA. She also has volunteered at St. Clement Roman Catholic Church. She has Master’s degrees in General Education and Adult Education.