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RSS FeedMichael Vick: Is he a criminal for promoting dog fighting?
Results so far:
| Yes | 89% | 1258 votes | Total: 1417 votes | |
| No | 11% | 159 votes |
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Add to FavoritesComparing dogfighting to extreme fighting/boxing is a misguided and weak argument, at best. To attempt to do so lumps one into the category of "Vick apologist," and, in a broader sense, that of apologist for the criminal subculture that has become a part of the National Football League (NFL). Professional boxers, wrestlers (although outcomes are scripted, wrestlers do incur injuries), or extreme fighters do so of their own volition. Further, law enforcement officials maintain that, as a routine part of animal-fighting "busts," drugs and illegal weapons are frequently part-and-parcel to the subculture.
ESPN and the NFL All-Access network are rife with apologists for Michael Vick. They maintain that he is "innocent until proven guilty" and has a "right" to earn a living while preparing to defend himself in court. Certainly, he IS innocent until proven guilty and indeed should have the right to earn a living while his defense is being prepared. However, most Fortune 1000 companies, as well as smaller companies, have policies concerning the continued employment of individuals charged with felonious behavior. DUIs, weapons charges, homicides, assaults, domestic abuse, child molestation, etc., will garner a "pink slip" for most of the rest of us. "Corporate America" is on sound legal ground here and Vick should be given his slip prior to the opening of Atlanta Falcons' training camp, next week. He has embarrassed his employers; namely the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons. Let him earn a living at some other endeavor, while his defense is prepared and his trial proceeds. "Innocent until proven guilty" is a feature of our legal system; NOT our corporate structure.
Boxers and martial combatants engage in these activities by their own choice. No one makes them. They have the option of NOT continuing, should personal or other circumstances dictate. Dogs do not. They are raised in an environment tantamount to systematic torture. They do not have the option of deciding not to fight. Should they prove less than adept at fighting in assessment "rolls," or in actual fights, they are killed in some very sadistic ways...ways in Michael Vick wholeheartedly participated, if the federal indictment holds water.
Federal and state statutes are very clear...gambling is illegal. Obviously, gambling is the supporting structure for the dogfighting subculture. Because large amounts of money often change hands at dogfights, it stands to reason that weapons, many of them illegal and in the hands of previously convicted felons, will be close at hand. As these are people possessed of a dark, criminal mentality and who are evidently not averse to crossing the lines between right and wrong, it stands to reason that drugs will be close at hand, as well, as has been evidenced in numerous dogfighting arrests around the country.
Simply put. Michael Vick has engaged in criminal activities. As part of these activities, he associates with criminals. He is therefore a "criminal." I am curious to see if "the other shoe will drop," regarding drug allegations on Vick's part. I wouldn't be surprised.
Learn more about this author, Russell Greer.
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No
NO: Although Michael Vick is grossly-overpaid, cruel and self-indulgent, sending fighting pit bulls into battle shouldn't be a criminal offense. If he had hired some suicidal pro wrestlers or bare-knuckle boxers to entertain family and friends in bloody combat, it would have been OK with the law, PETA, SPCA and animal lovers everywhere.
Vick is due in court in Richmond, Virginia, on July 26 to be arraigned on felony charges of sponsoring dogfighting. If convicted, he could be sentenced to as many as six years in jail and fined up to $350,000. Of course, the fine would be pocket money for the Atlanta Falcons quarterback, who's in his third year of a $130 million, ten-year contract.
However, a jail term would take away his most productive playing years, not to mention the loss of lots of money in Falcons ticket sales. Anyhow, as those who saw the Burt Reynolds movie, "The Longest Mile" know, the prison football team gets paid only in cigarettes and extra yard privileges.
As the Falcons begin training camp for the upcoming season, there have been no announcements from team owners as to whether Vick will be allowed to join. Also in question are his product endorsements, which bring him $7 million a year, primarily from Coke and Nike.
Vick has never been a model citizen nor role model for the youth of America. Last year he paid $10,000 for an obscene gesture to Falcon fans. In January, airport security confiscated his water bottle that had secret compartment with a liquid that wasn't Coke, but could have been ... uh ... coke. And, shame of shames, a woman took him to court accusing him of giving her herpes. I know Hermes and Nike are mythical creatures, but no one on Mount Olympus is named Herpes.
All that being said, I still don't think training pit bulls to fight should be a felony offense. When I was in the Navy, I served with many tough Marines who had been trained by Uncle Sam to do the same kind of fighting.
Learn more about this author, Ted Sherman.
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