Did someone follow up with the question
"Are you kidding me?"
ATLANTA (AP) - An NAACP leader said Michael Vick should be allowed to return to the NFL, preferably the Atlanta Falcons, after serving his sentence for his role in a dogfighting operation.
"As a society, we should aid in his rehabilitation and welcome a new Michael Vick back into the community without a permanent loss of his career in football," said R.L. White, president of the NAACP's Atlanta chapter. "We further ask the NFL, Falcons, and the sponsors not to permanently ban Mr. Vick from his ability to bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country."
White said the Falcons quarterback made a mistake and should be allowed to prove he has learned from that mistake.
"Are you kidding me?"
A person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol makes decisions influenced by the depth of their addiction - stealing to get money for drugs, drunk driving, etc. Once rehabilitated, giving someone a chance to get their life back on track is an act of compassion.
Michael Vick was not driven by a chemical induced haze or the manic state of an addiction. He willingly participated in and financed an operation of extreme human cruelty. It would be an incredible leap of faith to accept any apology of remorse he utters as nothing more than a token gesture of goodwill recommended by his agent and attorney. Allowing Vick to play football again would be an act of stupidity.
Pete Rose was banned from both baseball and the Hall of Fame for betting on the game*. Whether or not you believe this is just, it is a fact. Michael Vick electrocuted and drowned dogs who didn't perform well in dog fights he financed. Do you think his punishment should be any less?
For more educational information on this abuse, this link is very informative.
* Technically, he hasn't been banned from the Hall of Fame, but the odds of him getting in are slim to none. (Thanks Rob for correcting me. Nothing quite like people acting smarter than the owner of the blog! - insert cheesy smirk here)
posted by Roger C. @ 8/22/2007 03:17:00 PM
3 Comments:
michael vick should have an electric prod stuck way, way up his butt and let us have a go at him for awhile..he should never be allowed back into the game. (p.s..the first link doesn't work...or rather, it works, but there's no story in there...) great blog, roger, as per your usual...take care, hope you're doing fabulously...
What's really sad is how much this undermines the NAACP's credibility. There is so much *actual* racism in this country - for them to spend their time and political capitol backing someone like Vick just makes me wonder how far off the path they have gotten.
The good news is that ESPN - which I would consider to be a slightly more reliable source on what sports owners might think than the NAACP - said this weekend that they can't imagine any pro football owner being willing to stand at a podium and announce that Michael Vick was their quarterback. Not to mention the fact that, after 12 months in federal prison and then serving out his likely one-year ban from the NFL, Vick is unlikely to be in the sort of physical condition that would allow him to play at the level necessary.
I completely agree that Vick should be banned from the game forever. However, I did want to point out one tiny error in your post. Pete Rose has in fact been banned from baseball, but he hasn't, technically, been banned from the Hall of Fame. The Baseball Hall of Fame is a completely independent organization from MLB, and could in theory ignore the ban and vote him in. However, since the obviously rely heavily on the good graces of the MLB to get memorabilia and stuff, they would be unlikely to do it.
You left out the part where they made some half-assed comparison between deer hunting and dog fighting.
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