Earth to Michael Vick ---

by Gabe Norris

I don’t know about anyone else, but the thought of two dogs fighting to the death to me is simply repulsive. Now, I’m just a kid from a tiny town in Ohio so some may say that I'm naïve, stupid, or whatever you want to call it, but it still fails to change the reality of the situation. Michael Vick, the starting quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons, is staring down a possible FELONY CONVICTION (aka jailtime) in regards to DOG FIGHTING. The FBI has taken over the investigation and to say the least, that is usually not a good sign for those being investigated. This whole thing started about two months ago during a routine drug raid in which Virginia police seized 66 dogs and a good amount of equipment associated with dog fighting from a home owned by Michael Vick. Sadly, many of the dogs taken from the house have since been euthanized because they had been breed to be extremely aggressive and will not be able to adapt to a normal lifestyle. Various confidential sources have come out and placed Vick at multiple dog fights, also claiming that he would sometimes bet up to $40,000 on a single bout.

For starters, dog fighting is vial, vulgar, criminal, inhumane, and flat out disgusting – and that is not an opinion, it’s a fact. I’m a let’s just say it kind of person and let’s just all agree that dog fighting is all of the above. We wouldn’t sit and debate whether other felonious crimes such as rape and murder were ok; it’s a fact that they are all hideous acts and they deserve proper punishment. Anyone who watches two dogs fight to the death for entertainment deserves to be in jail. This is the same guy who was accused of sneaking weed though an airport in a specially designed water bottle, gave his own fans the double-bird after a loss last season, and allegedly gave genital herpes to some woman named Sonya Elliot, who then went on to sue him for it.

While we are at it, let’s not forget this – all of the problems that have surfaced regarding Michael Vick within the past year are just that – the stuff that he has actually been caught for and we’ve heard about. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that most likely (I’m going to go out on a limb here), he has committed more crimes than the ones we know about.

Not surprisingly, some of you may be screaming that this is now a “racist witch hunt” and blaming anyone that you can other than Michael Vick himself (the NFL, the feds, the national media, etc.), and that makes you an idiot and nothing short of it. You’re telling me that suddenly this becomes a racist issue as soon as someone even hints at criticizing Vick. Yet, none of us were racist when most of the fans and media adored Michael Vick for his first five years in the league when he could not hit an open receiver if his life depended on it. In fact, in my entire life I have never seen such a mediocre player get as much free praise for doing as little as Michael Vick actually did. I have no problem admitting that the entire country drank the Vick kool aid but when we finally decide to change our mind after seven years of on field futility, we are racists. Yep, just like that the entire country, government, and media all went racist solely because of Michael Vick. In fact, where are Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton? I am surprised they haven’t rushed to Vick’s side because we are so racist.

Now, here is the part that really gets me if you are a Vick supporter: Is he acting like an innocent man right now? Has he called a press conference to open himself up to the media? Has he donated money to some sort of charity? In the few moments that he has spoken publicly, has he defended himself at all with anything other than “no comment”? Has he been apologetic in even the slightest way? Has he publicly said that he is doing everything he can to work with the investigation? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding NO. Now, I may not be the smartest person alive but I do know this: If I was charged with some sort of felony and I knew that I was innocent, I would do everything humanly possible to plead my case. I mean, it’s like OJ – if your girlfriend got killed would you be in the backseat of a bronco with a mask on driving away from the scene being chased by a helicopter? Yep, that is how innocent people act. The only thing we have seen Vick do since all of this has come out is get a haircut. He clipped the dreads and corn rows for just a normal haircut (I guess giving up the thug look was a good idea though).

To me, Michael Vick does not need to be proven guilty in a court for me know that he is. We know OJ was guilty. We know that Pete Rose bet on Reds games. Usually where there’s smoke, there’s a fire. People know the truth a lot of times, but they are just not able to admit it. The NFL has already proven to us that they don’t need a conviction to suspend someone (see Pac Man Jones and Tank Johnson), so why do we as the public need one? The Falcons, the NFL, and all 10 Vick fans that are left just need to accept the fact that Michael Vick is who he is; he’s had plenty of chances to redeem himself and continues to do just the opposite.

I guess that if I have learned anything from this situation if would be this: You can dress up a thug in nice clothes and give him $100 million dollars, but he is still a thug. There is just no way around it. You cannot change people that have horrible judgment. I am hoping that other athletes will take note the Vick situation and do something that he is incapable of: stop embarrassing themselves and everyone associated with them. Let’s face it; you get paid to play a game. People spend a lot of their own money to support you, so the least you can do is stay out of the newspaper in the off-season. Hopefully, Vick’s colleagues will realize that in the end all the money in the world can’t buy your reputation back, or a way out of jail.