ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The head of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP said Wednesday that Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has made mistakes but that they should not cost him his football career with the NFL.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/08/22/vick/index.html
What a crock! I wonder if Mr. R.L. White would feel the same if this case of dog fighting revolved around Payton Manning or Bradey Quinn.
White also said he didn't understand the uproar over dogfighting, when hunting deer and other animals is perfectly acceptable
Hunting an over population of deer for food on the table is a fry cry from dog fighting for profit. Does anyone else see the difference between killing a deer with one shot from a high power rifle (so that you can harvest the meat as a food source) and electrocuting, strangling and smashing the poor animals heads against a wall because they didn't perform up-to-par in a training areana of death?
The gambling angle alone is enough to ban Vick from football. (i.e. Pete Rose). Fortunately Mr. White does not make the rules for the NFL.
I mean after all he didn't do something terrible like calling some girls nappy haired Hos. He just tortured dogs and ran a gambling operation for dog fights.
Set aside the felonies associated with the animal issues, the gambling alone should Pete Rose him out of pro sports, but not all things are the same for all people.
The people of atlanta would take him back in a heartbeat. Maybe they can get him back on an affirmative action deferrment.
In the interest of fairness, let's allow Vick to play, under the same conditions as his dogs. If he throws an interception, he gets shocked. If he fumbles, he gets a limb broken. If his team loses a game he gets flogged. I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem with that. It adds a whole new dimension to "incentive clauses".
The NAACP is suggesting that Vick's violating the law should be overlooked. I don't agree with the NAACP. The mighty should be subject to the same rules as the so called little people. Pete Rose had to pay the price, let VIck pay the price. I don't think he should be kicked out of football, just like I think its a tragedy that Pete Rose is not in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Most of us might remember the Micheal Jordan gambling scandal. According to some reliable sources his punishment was to play baseball for a farm team. The NBA couldn't afford to have Jordan go down in the public eye so they shipped him off somewhere else until the situation cooled off and he could come back to be a hero. Well, Michael Jordan did just that.
The NBA couldn't afford to have Jordan go down in the public eye so they shipped him off somewhere else until the situation cooled off and he could come back to be a hero.
If Vick was guilty of just gambling, then maybe he could serve a NFL penalty by continuing to play and donate his salary to some charity for a set period of time. I would be OK with that. However, the nature of his crime and cruelty he imposed on "Man's Best Friend" cannot be overlooked and pardoned by some "forgive me for I am a hero" penalty.
Vick made his decission to be in-human, violate the law, become a murderer of Mans Best Friend, disenfranchise all the youngsters who may have looked up to him as a role model, brought scorn and shame to the NFL, ATL. FALCONS and his FAMILY.
Now he must pay the price for his actions....Ban him from football for the rest of his life. My life will not change because he cannot collect his millions of dollars his NFL contract gave him..
When you go out hunting and your hunting dog doesn't perform the way you want him to. the hunter doesn't take him out and electrocute him.
Hunting and Dog fighting at nothing alike. Personally I'm not a fan of hunting but even I can see that!
James Kirk!!
If someone were a plummer and they committed this awful crime, does this mean they can't be a plummer any more?
Comparing being a plumber to being a starting NFL quarterback is asinine. For one thing, there are millions of plumbers and only 32 NFL teams. If Vick was a plumber, of course he could find work as a plumber somewhere after his jail sentence (which would undoubtedly be longer than what Vick the QB will serve). Being a quarterback in the NFL is a special position that comes with high rewards and high responsibility. You make the big $$$, you pay the price if you screw up.
His fame brings increased attention and critcism. It also brings more resources for him to defend himself and more capability for him to recover financially.
Don't cry for Vick. You know some team will pick him up out of desperation if he gets reinstated. Even if he doesn't play again, I'm sure he'll have lots of opportunities to make a living that the hypothetical plumber couldn't dream of.
My take on Don Imus is this. What Don Imus did was not necessary. He was trying to be cute. I do not believe that he was part of some world conspiracy to insult Black women, but I do believe he let his ego let him think he could do almost anything, because he is "Shock Jock". He should have known better. Remember Jimmy The Greek who made some comments that Blacks were better athletes because they were bred to be bigger and faster. That was a career ending move on Jimmy The Greek's part. I don't know anyone who is not a racist about some group, but some of us have learned that by respecting our fellow man and woman regardless of their racial origins and culture creates a better environment for all us to thrive.
As to his firing, the jury is still out with me. I do wonder what was his purpose of saying what he did. The only thing I can conclude is that he thought he was being kool or being cute. Tomorrow I'm going to go to work and greet everyone by saying, " Good morning mother@#@#@@'s", and find out what my state of employment is at the end of the day.
I agree with you that Vick's violation is much, much, more severe than what Jordan did, but, I look at it this way. If someone were a plummer and they committed this awful crime, does this mean they can't be a plummer any more?
James Kirk!!
If Vick was a plumber the NAACP wouldn't give a flying rats ass about him.
I respect your opinion that my comparison is asinine. Please respect my opinion that a plummer, an electrician, the garbage man, the police, and the guy or girl who doesn't spit in my burger at
McDonalds is more important to me than some guy who runs around every week throwing a ball. By the way, he doesn't throw all that well anyway.
My grandfather would never do that but he knew men down in southern Kentucky who would send their dogs along with other mens' after a quarry. If their animal(s) didn't come in at the head of the pack they would leave them in the wilderness to starve. They wanted only "winners", no "losers". Rather like the coach of a first-rate football team.
My grandfather would never do that but he knew men down in southern Kentucky who would send their dogs along with other mens' after a quarry. If their animal(s) didn't come in at the head of the pack they would leave them in the wilderness to starve. They wanted only "winners", no "losers". Rather like the coach of a first-rate football team.
It is ridiculous to compare an NFL quarterback with a plummer. How many plummers appear on TV every Sunday to have young kids idolize them and their professions? How many plummers do you know that can signed a 10-year contract worth $130 million with a $37 million signing bonus?
If you are going to make general comparisons make sure you are comparing apples-to-apples.
It would be interesting what your take was on the Don Imus scandal. Were you for seeing him fired or did you take a more moderate view point and believe that his censorship was unbefitting his offense?
He should have to cross a gaunlet of hungry pitbulls on the day of his release. If he survives that then he can negotiate. We could all bet if he could make it. Hell, maybe they can start showing dogfights at half time.
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BRING THE TROOPS HOME-NOW!
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"They keep talking about drafting a constitution for Iraq.Why don't we give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, and we're not using it any more".
I don't view a plummer any different than an NFL superstar. People idolize these gladiators way too much. Regardless what you are in life, most of us begin our lives by being born of woman and we all end up as compost. Frankly, I have much more need for a plummer than I do a multi-million dollar quarterback.
You are absolutely correct, the NAACP wouldn't give a damn. Also, most of us would have never heard about it either. A plummer fighting pit bulls doesn't make an exciting news story.
...which might be possible to revoke. A plumber probably wouldn't have the money for a high-priced lawyer, or be in the public eye enough to warrant legal talent at a reduced rate (like a celebrity). So a plumber might lose his license in a state to practice if he went to prison, and then got out.
Football players are subject to NFL rules, and the NFL must weigh the injury he has done to the "family values" of the sport. A lot of people might not give a damn about what Vick did to some animal, while others may never spend money to go to a NFL game if he isn't punished. The league has to make their best judgement on this.
For me, given the American emphasis on"winning" I don't see where Vick is really "beyond the pale". I know there are decent men who play football, but there are also some who border on the criminal (rather like any other businessmen). Vick was just one who went over the line enough to get caught. And he won' be the last. All hail football, the great American example of "sporting behavior".
Ok thats harsh but even that, being left in the wilderness gives the dog some chance to survive or to find his way to another more loving home. Thats a bit differnt then actually putting them to death by electrocution, hanging, drowning or what ever other thing they said he had done to those dogs.
My take on Don Imus is this. What Don Imus did was not necessary. He was trying to be cute. I do not believe that he was part of some world conspiracy to insult Black women, but I do believe he let his ego let him think he could do almost anything, because he is "Shock Jock". He should have known better. Remember Jimmy The Greek who made some comments that Blacks were better athletes because they were bred to be bigger and faster. That was a career ending move on Jimmy The Greek's part. I don't know anyone who is not a racist about some group, but some of us have learned that by respecting our fellow man and woman regardless of their racial origins and culture creates a better environment for all us to thrive.
As to his firing, the jury is still out with me. I do wonder what was his purpose of saying what he did. The only thing I can conclude is that he thought he was being kool or being cute. Tomorrow I'm going to go to work and greet everyone by saying, " Good morning mother@#@#@@'s", and find out what my state of employment is at the end of the day.