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Who's In The Doghouse Now?

By the time you read this, disgraced Atlanta Falcons star quarterback Michael Vick will have pled guilty to federal conspiracy charges for his role in an interstate dog-fighting and gambling ring. Vick is one of sports most gifted and highest paid athletes, with a contract worth more than $130,000,000. He is now facing up to five years in prison and the loss of his lucrative contract. Vick had little choice but to plead guilty, as three of his cohorts, having already cut deals with the feds, were prepared to take snitching to a high art. What a guilty plea portends for his football career is anyone's guess. If I were a betting man I'd bet that this will not end his football career. I seriously doubt Billy Martin, his superstar lawyer, would have allowed Vick to go for a deal that would cost him his career. As far as endorsements are concerned, he's most assuredly through. Who wants a dog killer representing them?

Michael Vick committed the ultimate sin in a country where animals, particularly dogs, are more highly valued than people. It was bad enough that Vick fought dogs for his amusement and financial gain. Far worse, he is alleged to have executed those dogs that he felt didn't measure up. He used some macabre ways to dispose of them. Some he is alleged to have mercifully shot. Others he is said to have hung, drowned or electrocuted. The American public is by and large a forgiving lot, but when it comes to endangering helpless animals, we are slow to forgive. Some might be inclined to give Vick a pass because of his undeniable talent. I am not among them. He will shortly be sentenced. The Atlanta Branch NAACP Chapter has called on the NFL to allow Vick back into the league once his sentence has been served. I call on the judge to show Mr. Vick the same kind of consideration and mercy he showed the animals that were in his care. Should that happen, he will get the maximum. Despite the statement Vick released, I'm not convinced that he understands the gravity of his past actions.

Some marvel how Vick's life has turned around. If there's a lesson in this it is this, life is a series of choices. Athletes are a pampered group in general, it is easy to see how they can lose a grip on reality. Many of them, despite their changed circumstance, find it difficult to elevate their mentality beyond the neighborhoods from which they hail. Whom one chooses to associate with tells a lot about that individual. Off the field, Vick chose to associate with an assorted variety of miscreants. Now he says he's sorry, but hindsight is always twenty-twenty. It is truly a shame that Vick chose to squander his considerable talent in unspeakable ways. Comedian Steve Harvey finds Vick predicament unbelievable. He can't understand how Vick could waste the opportunity he had been accorded. Harvey said he genuinely likes Vick. The question then becomes, what Vick did he like? Was it the public persona or the private man. The two are an obvious dichotomy, which explains why Vick now finds himself in the doghouse.

Learn more about this author, Cedric Mcclester.
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