NFL: Gee, Would You Want Vick to Dog Sit for You?
Posted July 17th, 2007 by George Thomas
How would you like to be NFL Commish Roger Goodell now?
Sure, the league has issued its statement about Michael Vick' s federal indictment related to dogfighting. Accordring to a Virginia grand jury, Vick wasn't exactly dog's best friend. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.
But let's be realistic, is anyone really surprised that he was indicted? If nothing was coming this would have blown over weeks ago. It didn't, like I'm sure the Atlanta Falcons wanted. There's little wonder why these soon-to-be-caged birds won't be singing this year - they won't have Vick. And if the NFL's new sheriff, Goodell, is true to precedent he established, Vick will be gone.
Here's the league's official stance on the Vick situation:
We are disappointed that Michael Vick has put himself in a position where a federal grand jury has returned an indictment against him. We will continue to closely monitor developments in this case, and to cooperate with law enforcement authorities. The activities alleged are cruel, degrading and illegal. Michael Vick’s guilt has not yet been proven, and we believe that all concerned should allow the legal process to determine the facts. The matter will be reviewed under the League’s Personal Conduct Policy.
Ruh-roh, Shaggy. Yes, that sounds very omninous. But we will see what happens. Goodell has knocked Adam "Pacman" Jones of the Tennessee Titans down and Chris Henry of the Cincinnati Bengals, but this is an entirely different animal.
Why? Because the NFL and the Falcons have promoted Vick as one of the faces of the league since he arrived from Virginia Tech expected to re-invent the position of quarterback. Notice that hasn't happened yet. Perhaps, just perhaps, that explains the interest in dogfighting. He needed a hobby. Yeah, that's it.
Yes, Vick is guilty until proven innocent, but Goodell, in the interest of fairness will have to smack him too - and he should. That being the case, Vick should expect to have at least one season to consider new hobbies.
July 18th, 2007 at 9:21 am
I am as sickened and outraged as I have ever been over a "pro" athlete. I had to stop reading what they did to those dogs…the hangings, drownings, shocks…WHAT KIND OF A SICK PERSON CAN DO THAT TO ANOTHER LIVING THING?? "Proven guilty" or not, Michael Vick and his ring of associates are heartless criminals who need to be locked away.
You can tell so much about a person by the way they treat their animals. Vick & Co. have no regard for LIFE, and don't think for a minute he wouldn't pull the trigger on a human. You know it's true.
I challenge all of his deranged "supporters" to fully read the accounts & charges in these indictments. You'll have nightmares forever. The NFL needs to have the b***s to issue their first LIFETIME SUSPENSION to this thug.
July 18th, 2007 at 9:53 am
Great post.
Found a pretty interesting debate on what should happen to vick.
http://www.sportsdopes.com/?p=5
tom
July 18th, 2007 at 1:36 pm
There better be NO plea deals, no slap on the wrist, no probation for Vick. He belongs behind bars, just like his gunslinging brother (it's an even-money bet that Vick totes an illegal revolver, too). They have that criminal mentality and do not care to distinguish between right and wrong. Let's stop kidding ourselves: Vick is the enabling ringleader of this entire dogfighting and dog-slaughtering operation. It's HIS property, which he bought for just this purpose, and he's the only one with the finances to fund such an elaborate perverted business. America must stand up and DEMAND a lengthy prison sentence for this egomaniacal moron.
I don't care how fast he can run, how bright his teeth are, how pretty his face is. The man is a hardcore felon who has proven he is a danger to society. Nice choice, there, Atlanta, trading your popular backup and keeping this loser on your roster. Feds, do your job without regard to "celebrity" or "millions" with this case; no alternative will be acceptable.
July 18th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Anybody know how to contact Mr. Goodell? Considering his most recent disciniplinary moves, I've been impressed. But when you take what Michael Vick was clearly involved in and compare it to the activities of Johnson, Henry & Jones, he must be suspended. Goodell has shown that action will be taken without a conviction. He must remain consistent - even with one of his [previously] most valuable assets.
The details released by USA Today are gruesome and warrant a very stiff punishment from the league and potentially the federal government. We've all read them, so I don't care to repeat them, but his disregard for animals and careful preparation of the facilities show a malicious nature that exceeds the gun & alcohol charges the previously mentioned players found themselves involved in.
Mr. Goodell, this is not Vick's first brush with the law. Last year, he was found with marijuana at the airport. Again, consistency must be kept. You said that repeat legal offenders receive larger suspensions. Commissioner, suspend Michael Vick for the season or at least until his trial is over.
July 18th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
You are absolutely right…you can tell the way a person truly is by the way they treat their animals…Michael Vick and Thug Co. need to be sentenced to lengthy severe prison terms. I'm talking like 10 years. After, he needs to serve 10,000 hours in community service for the Humane Society. The NFL needs to kick this THUG OFF THEIR MEMBERSHIP ASAP!!!This guy needs to also be slapped a $5 million dollar penalty to the humane society. He needs to cough up the money right now to pay for the treatment of the surviving 52 pitbull dogs in his Thug Gladiator Arena bull pen. The truth of the matter is, I hope when he meets his death bed it will be as gruesome as the way he tortured these helpless poor dog souls.
Michael Vick is a THUG BASTARD. NFL Please Kick This Thug off TODAY!
Please send a message to bastards like Michael Vick that this behavior is not tolerated.
July 18th, 2007 at 5:31 pm
I wrote earlier and have since found a forum at the Humane Society specifically lobbying the NFL to immediately suspend Michael Vick. Take a few minutes to be heard:
https://community.hsus.org/campaign/US_2007_dogfighting_nfl2?rk=jdqRCu61Nbs8E
July 18th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
There were actually some Vick defenders on the radio today. So deluded. Could you stand by and watch someone grab a dog by its tail or leg and continually slam it against the concrete until it cruelly and most-painfully died? If you ask me, Vick and his cohorts don't even deserve to live. They are not human, they are monsters. How about someone ramming an electrical current up your dog's rear end to make them "fighters?" My God, my God…
July 18th, 2007 at 9:14 pm
Dogfighting is a disgusting, uh…hobby. But can we please keep all references to the various nutjobs and whackjobs at the Humane Society and/or PETA and/or whoever out of this? Yes, what Vick allegedly did is a crime. But half the guys in the NFL, NBA and MLB beat their girlfriends and wives to a pulp, and nobody on the street says a thing. Then Michael Vick shoves a red hot poker up Spot's butt, and suddenly he's Public Enemy #1.
July 18th, 2007 at 10:14 pm
Mr. Tucker, you're on thin ice. Girlfriends and wives who you claim are beaten to a pulp have chosen that life for themselves. They want the money and perks, or they'd be long gone. They have free choice. What Vick did to defenseless animals is akin to abusing a baby or small child. They have no choice other than to be tortured in the most hideous, agonizing ways that only a demonic mind could invent.
To label the Humane Society and PETA folks as nutjobs (a blanket statement) just makes you look like a heartless mental midget. At least their hearts are in the right place, preserving and protecting life instead of treating it like garbage. Would you actually wish that treatment on your own pet? Your last sentence just enrages me, and I hope it gets you a lifetime ban from this website. You are disgusting.
July 19th, 2007 at 12:24 am
Oh, give me a break. A creep is a creep. Vick is a creep, the women-beaters are creeps. I have two Siberian Huskies myself, I love both of them and treat them peachy. I make no apologies, your position and the positions of those like you is pure emotional nonsense. A guy like Jason Kidd beats the living crap out of his wife, and people whine that the Cavs have no cap room to get him. A guy like Michael Vick beats the crap out of a dog, and people want to literally kill him.
The issue isn't those poor defenseless killer canines. The issue is if Vick, a star that's the face of an NFL franchise, should be disciplined like Jones and Henry. Tough call. It would be hypocritical if he's not.
I'll tell you what, if Vick was now a free agent, when the emotional outcry from this mess eventually subsided, there would be at least 15 NFL general managers burning up his agent's phone lines until the fiber optics disintegrated. That's reality. That's life.
No doubt those geniuses at PETA are at Sherwin-Williams plotting their next move. Tomorrow Vick's mother will be coated with 20 gallons of red paint.
July 19th, 2007 at 8:26 am
Little man, you are one despicable excuse for a human being. There won't be one tear shed when someone finally shoves a hot poker up your behind, or strings you up from the nearest oak tree. It's about "compassion" for living things, and your post above just shows everyone here that you are not fit for this society. You're closer to Michael Vick's way of thinking than normal people. A sad, pathetic little old man you are.
July 19th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Women aren't living things, Rich? Please, do me a favor, even if you make it to the NFL, remind me not to let my daughter date you.
July 19th, 2007 at 1:52 pm
I believe an earlier poster pointed out the obvious, you self-absorbed idiot. Women "choose" the beaters the hook up with because they want the cash and all it brings. They can choose to leave at any time. These dogs were subjected to horrors along the lines of Nazi treatment of Jews, and had no choice but to endure it. Shall we draw you a coloring book picture so you can "get it?" Sheesh.
July 19th, 2007 at 2:06 pm
You're saying that wives who get beaten are asking for it? And you're likening a backwoods dogfighting ring to the Holocaust? I must say that's some pretty offensive stuff!
July 19th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
No worries, A.T. No guy with half a brain would lower himself to spending a dime on your offspring. Especially seeing what she's been indoctrinated with all of her poor life.
July 19th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Rich, your last post was simply unbelievable, but I'll let it slide.
Tell you what…bullfighting is a pretty disgusting sport. At least from where I sit. Bulls die, the horses die. The bulls are stabbed. Just like some of those pit bulls. But many in Latin countries are fans of this LEGAL sport. So let's go through the rosters of the Latin guys on MLB rosters, and ask each one if they like bullfighting. Then let's hang 'em high. Kill them all. The Tribe will be cleansed of this human filth. Perhaps the NBA can rid itself of Pau Gasol and Luis Scola while they're at it.
Talk about losing sight of an issue. Who cares specifically what Vick (allegedly) did? If he did it, it was very illegal. That's the point. The question is if the NFL commissioner should suspend him.
July 19th, 2007 at 11:35 pm
Boy, larry d. and Alan T. sure know how to twist words to suit their own reality. Any defense of this athlete's actions, or trying to degrade those who protect defenseless, helpless animals, is just as low as it gets. Why are you two trying to subtly justify it by tearing down others or minimizing the crime by comparing it to girls and their kook boyfriends? Of course no woman asks to be abused, but a person can call the police or leave the abuser. What are chained, electrocuted, tortured living creatures supposed to do? That's why there's such outrage. And if you two lunkheads can't comprehend that, then go on your merry way and continue supporting felons. You're irrelevant.
July 20th, 2007 at 12:15 am
Chuck, what does ANY of what you just said have to do with whether or not Vick should be suspended in the same manner as Jones and Henry? It's almost comical, in a really sick perverted kind of way, the reactions this Vick thing is getting.
Jeez, a guy got shot and paralyzed during Jones' latest escapade. Few fans cared. But if a dog was shot instead of a guy, millions of people would be coming out of the woodwork looking to lynch Jones. To paraphrase Prince, folks would be partying like it's 1899.
July 20th, 2007 at 7:57 am
I haven't defended Vick at all. He should definitely be suspended if he's guilty, but hopefully he'll be cut from the team and thrown in prison anyway.
I wrote that it's misinformed and misogynistic to argue that abused women more or less ask for it and are paid for it. It's also ridiculous to compare the dogfighting to the Holocaust. It's disturbing that no one else seems to see that.
August 25th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Please people most of your comments are qoutes from the meadia. There is nothing I could think of to justify Vicks actions but let's don't make the man out to be the devil in the flesh do I think these allegations agains Vick's are appropriate for someone who is suppose to be a role model to a younger generation that looks up to him (NO) to his fans (NO)to his teammates(NO) he came foward and there for I think he is prepared to accept the consequences when have any one of you who posted a negative comment about Vick ever spoke in the defense of animal rights until Vick's incident probaly not many how many chinchilla's you think it takes to make a fur coat more than 52 or how about the meats you eat everyday I guest people just wait until those animals to drop dead before they are slaughtered and and put on the market for a profit do you think about those animal rights before you take a bite out of one Vick made himself vulnerable to somthing that takes place in society everyday but the issue is ignored until someone of his status commits it