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When a man is in the spotlight, in front of an audience of millions on a weekly basis, he has to watch everything he does, good or bad since it is the people who decide on the fate of his career.

Football is rooted in American culture and the NFL is a way of life for millions of Americans. Sunday is the day the arm chair quarterback kicks back with friends and family and watches the Gridiron Gladiators give their all for one common goal. You begin to follow players and follow their personal lives and look up to them and respect them.

With that being said, Micheal Vick has perpetuated an African American stereotype and took it to another level. Even with money, the "hip-hop" culture is still the driving force for many of these black athletes. Forced into them at a young age by media and music is "rims, grillz, money and b*" and "if you can't ball..or rap..your stuck in the ghetto" the hip hop culture has given the neighbourhood drug dealer the respect of a city mayor. So with this being a known fact, can you expect Mr. Vick to act any different? To go against the grain? To make a difference in society? Of course not. Why? Cause he is being paid well over $100 million dollars from the Falcons and Nike and he made it to that spot being a "ghetto thug".

Now, in Mike Vick's mind, street cred is key, instead of being a good role model to youth, being known as a "gangster" or a "baller" is whats more important to him. The fact he is breeding dogs to fight each other is borderline barbaric and should not be tolerated. He has become a PR disaster for the Falcons and the fans are outraged.

I love Mike Vick, he just makes bad choices, he is a very talented player, but with talent comes responsibility. Peyton Manning is a talented player in the same position, he is a role model to youth. Now people will say, well Peyton Manning is white, he didn't group up wit the "hip hop shoot em up make money f* b*" culture, and thats true he didn't. But what about LaDanlian Tomlinson, Reggie Bush and Vince Young? They are young, black and rich like Vick, why aren't they taking part in illegal animal cruelty? Cause they are the rare few who are trying to break the mold.

Mike Vick should really take this as a wake up call, and if he does there is no doubt in my mind that he is in a position to make a positive difference for millions.

Learn more about this author, Rawad Hassan.
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