Will you watch?
Tomorrow night, Michael Vick will be taking his first snaps as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles. Are you interested in watching to see how he performs? Will you refuse to watch Eagles games because he's a member of the team? I'm in the latter camp. If on a particular Thursday or Saturday or Sunday or Monday this coming season, the Eagles game is the only one on the tube, I'll watch something else. The problem is, every time I see Vick, all I can think of are the horrifying images of the violence and death he perpetrated against innocent animals. Sure, there are plenty of other people playing in the NFL who carry baggage, some of it criminal, but no one else in my memory carried out such a long-term, sickening assault on fellow living beings. And it's not like Vick is some solid citizen who just had a fall from grace. He was a known scumbag before any of this dog-fighting mess came to light. I don't think he should be banned from playing, but I don't have to watch it. Unless, of course, they guarantee that I'll see something like what’s portrayed in the photo above.
posted by Brant at
1:45 PM
25 Comments:
No, I will not be watching either.
I won't be watching Thursday night, but only because I have no interest in seeing the Eagles' scrubs play in the 2nd quarter of a meaningless preseason game.
Not that I have to try hard to miss Eagles' games... I will purposefully not be watching them this season.
Yes, he served his time and repaid his debt to society... That doesn't mean I am obligated to reward him with my viewership.
He got a job, good for him.
I've heard both sides of this very passionate issue, but I think those who say that he "paid his debt" are missing the point.
I think it takes a special kind of sicko to do what he did and it's different from those athletes who perpetrate other crimes, like DUIs, rapes, domestics and even murders.
It's takes a unique kind of individual to torture animals and see nothing wrong with it.
Yeah, I know our criminal justice system lets athletes slide all the time for other atrocities, but I think beating, electrocuting, and otherwise tormenting defenseless animals really triggers just a basic realization that this person is irretrievably f***ed up.
This guy is a waste of oxygen.
Newslady, you're not saying Vick is more demented than a rapist or murderer, are you? If so, I would strongly disagree.
P-G reporter Paul Zeise took a lot of heat a couple years ago by saying Vick would've been better off had he raped a woman. I certainly hope the public doesn't agree with that sentiment.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20199030/
Mike, I don't know what it says about our society, but it probably is correct that Vick would have been better off had he committed a rape. If he was convicted of a murder, he's in the big house for so long that his return to the NFL isn't even a matter to be considered. But there's a lot of "wiggle room" in rape cases. He could have turned any criminal/civil trial into a he-said, she-said kind of affair, hired the best attorneys money can buy and quite possibly gotten away with it. Also, we are a people who almost idolize dogs. They're pretty much everyone in TV advertising, even in ads for products that have nothing to do with dogs. We might like to say that a man who harmed women would be shunned by society, but the James Harrison case certainly proves that's not the case. He could be beating a woman on Main Street, and there would be some sick, sycophantic Steelers fans who would ask if he needed help holding her down.
MJ,
Hell YES he's more demented that your typical rapist/murderer.
do you even watch the news? do you know anything at all about psychopaths?
Newslady, if I may, I think what you're getting at is that while it takes a very sick person to attack another human, it takes in incredibly evil, twisted individual to systematically torture, hang, beat, electrocute and otherwise wreak hellish pain on a defenseless animal whose only instinct is to try to please you. Vick may have done his time, but he'll always be a worthless piece of human excrement in my book.
The Stillers are the only football I ever watch anyway (I'm much more interested in baseball), so, no, I won't be watching.
--Brad Hundt
So, this Victor, he playa the football?
Is he forward? Goalie?
And that, my friends, was my best "furrin" impression. I'll be here all week... make sure you tip your waitress
I don't think he was punished like you or I would have been punished. I'm a Steelers/Seahawk Fan and not real interested in the Eagles
There has been much hypocrisy in the discussions surrounding Vick. I am certainly not defending his actions -- I think they were horrible. But, why do we so casually overlook other behaviors that have serious impacts upon PEOPLE? One Denver Bronco player fathered eight children with seven different women (or some numbers like that). Locally, we have Holmes who fathered several children with a couple of different women. How many NFL players have been involved in domestic disputes, including Harrison. Lewis of the Ravens has no shortage of a long list of behaviors that have been swept away.
My point is that the NFL has no shortage of people who exhibit behaviors that are immoral, and have a negative impact on the lives of others. Yet, these people are held in his regard -- as long as they catch a pass, run for touchdowns, sack a QB, or intercept a pass. Their off field behaviors, often having serious consequences in the lives of others, are overlooked.
So, before we paste up Vick as a villain, somebody to be avoided, let us look at others who choose to do damage to PEOPLE. If we are going to paste one on the wall for their behaviors, lets not be slow to paste the others on the wall too.
[Please don't come back to tell us that all those illegitimate children fathered by these players are OK, just because he can pay (e.g. big salaries) for their well-being. Children are a product of their family foundation, and these players are not fostering strong family environments for them to be raised.]
Newslady, you are entitled to your opinion, but I definitely disagree with you on this one. I am a dog-lover - always have been - but I think someone who tortures a woman by raping her, or intentionally takes another human being's life, is way off the spectrum compared to Mike Vick. What he did was heinous and I do not condone it, but it undermines your argument when you say rape and murder are less demented than dog fighting.
To the last anonymous, I agree with you about the absentee "fathers." This problem seems to be rather epidemic among pro athletes, but it's also a major problem in society as a whole. Sure, the pro athlete can afford to pay to support these children he has strewn across the landscape, but where is the guidance as these children grow up, and what happens when the player is no longer active, has probably pi$$ed away most of his money and can no longer meet the support payments. It's shameful.
I see now that the NAACP is going to embarrass itself by rallying in support of Vick outside tonight's game. Just stupid.
Ain't Photoshop great? Sad part is, how many of us will watch in hopes that Vick gets his neck broken?
Football been berry berry good to him.
I will probably watch the game tonight and it is not because I am hoping for harm to be brought to Mike. It is not my job to judge, I will leave that to a better man. We all make mistakes and we all should be allowed ONE chance to redeem ourselves depending on what that mistake was. I do not agree that harming a dog is more heinous than raping a person (man, woman, child) or murder and I have been a dog lover since I was old enough to know what that being was. I cannot imagine bring harm to a dog or for someone else to bring harm to a dog but how long has dog fighting been going on? Longer than most of you know and now that a famous figure was caught participating in this disgusting act we want to send out the lynch mob. Why haven't we been so passionate about this before? Because we didn't know the people invovled or because they weren't famous enough. Why wasn't the media been the mouth piece for these poor animals a decade or so ago? Why now? Probably because they have never known the people invovled and because they weren't famous enough to broadcast the story and crucify the participant or participants. I am sure most of the people who are jumping on this ban wagon have never given a thought to the dog fighting in this country or how to stop it or how to get the word out about it until now. It is sad that it takes a person with a little fame to bring things to light. Happens all the time. Be it dog fighting, domestic abuse, alcoholism, drug addiction etc., that is when you will hear the most chatter. Once the drama dies down and the passion about the subject dissipates the interest will die with it and once again it will be just another afterthought until someone else famous does something stupid.
I won't watch it but only because I could care less about pre-season games. I haven't watched any yet.
I say if you want to watch him, go ahead. If you don't want to, then don't. It's all good by me. :)
I will watch him this year though. I love dogs, but I also think he paid his debt to society. (If we don't want criminals to have second chances, we shouldn't let them out of jail.) I have no problem with him coming back to the NFL as long as he uses his celebrity to help prevent dogfighting. The Eagles owner said during his press conference about Vick that more than doing well on the field, Vick has to do well in community or he won't stick around. We'll see if that's true ...
It has always been interesting to me how people respond to animal abuse vs. the abuse or murder of people. When I worked in Altoona, a woman was arrested for stealing a dog. She admitted stealing it because she said the owners weren't taking care of it properly. So she thought she shouldn't be arrested.
We had HUNDREDS of calls about that, from all over the world too. Yet where are all the calls when we write about children being abused or someone being murdered.
It's not even close to the same. I love my dogs, and animals in general.
But every time that happens (and everyone in a newsroom can attest that it does) it blows my mind.
I lied... my roommate is an Eagles fan and the NFL Network is breaking in on the local game coverage. Vick takes the second snap of the game, shovel pass to Shady McCoy for six yards. Exhilarating. Apparently McNabb and Vick are swapping snaps.
Uh oh, he's back in and he rolls right for no gain. Mr. Electric is putting on a show here.
I find it odd that Michael Vick was punished harsher for animal cruelty and some only get county jail for taking a life. I do think he should be punished. It is unthinkable what he has done but shouldn't someone's life mean as much if not more? I have been keeping up on all the stories on this blog and one just makes me shake my head in disbelief. What is going on in our court systems today?
I saw the highlights on ESPN. I thought Vick's passing skills looked pretty good for not playing for two years.
Vick deserves to eaten alive by a lot of redneck's dogs. In addition anybody that tries to end their feast of Vick meat should be shot dead on the spot!
For so much negative talk about Vick, I read in the paper that three, yes three, protesters shows up at last night's game. Apparently all the threats of protests and boycotts were void of action. All their words were hollow, and had no bite.
Maybe more protest interest will show later. Usually, these kinds of things have the most interest initially. The three have vowed to be out in force all season, but will more follow?
Never before has so much attention been given to the backup quarterback. Or should I say, the first-string clipboard carrier? Much ado about nothing.
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