I’ve sort of been out of the loop the last few days. I had family in town and was busy enjoying their company and playing tour guide. Not much time for keeping up with the news.
I did hear Michael Vick will plead guilty to federal conspiracy charges involving dogfighting. Which should make us animal lovers feel vindicated, right? His endorsement deals had been suspended or canceled altogether, he’d been banned from attending training camp –heck, his career in the NFL looked shaky altogether. All because us animal lovers spoke up, expressed our outrage and demonstrated we’re a force to be reckoned with.
Or did we?
Today when I popped online Comcast had a bunch of stories about Michael Vick and what pleading guilty will mean to his career. Basically, depending on what kind of sentence he gets, he might be able to return to life as normal. (Most likely will return to the NFL and having the endorsement deals he once enjoyed.)
Okay, so he’s fessing up. (Not only him, by the way. The other three people charged with operating the Bads Newz Kennels dogfighting ring also plead guilty.) There won’t be a trial now. But what does all that mean?
For one, facts about what really happened to the dogs won’t come to light.
For another, will he really learn a lesson? Will he learn to respect dogs? Is he sorry for what he’s done and does he understand it’s wrong? Or is he pleading guilty just to speed things up so he can get back to playing football? Will it prevent him from getting back into the dogfighting business later on? After all, his football career can only last so long. He’ll need something to do after he retires.
But most disturbing to me are the supporters now coming to his defense that feel he should be entitled to return to life as normal. Like Stephon Marbury, a guard for the New York Knicks, who said dogfighting is a sport like hunting.
“I think, you know, we don’t say anything about people who shoot deer or shoot other animals. You know, from what I hear, dogfighting is a sport. It’s just behind closed doors.” ~-Stephon Marbury-~
This is the kind of thinking that’s the real problem.
And then there’s R. L. White, president of the NAACP’s Atlanta Chapter, who says Michael Vick should be allowed to return to football after serving his sentence. He regrets all the negative press Michael Vick has gotten since, “His crime is, it was a dog.” White feels as part of Vick’s rehabilitation back into society he should be welcomed back into the football scene because otherwise it’ll be deprived of a great talent.
Um, it was not just a dog. It was multiple dogs. And it’s not “just” anything. It’s innocent life that was brutally disrespected.
If Michael Vick is allowed to return to life as he knew it, what does he learn? The message being sent is: Do wrong, admit to it, do a little time, but basically no harm no foul. If you have a great talent that’s the most important thing.
I’m all for rehabilitating Vick, but instead of returning to football to “please his fans” he should learn a harsh lesson. That there are consequences for your actions. That a simple sorry doesn’t always suffice. That life sometimes is never the same as it once was.
It’s over for those dogs. It should be over for Vick too. (At least as far as his football career goes.)
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