Without getting into any particular value judgements, what should not be at issue is the fact that Vick has broken the law. Standing before the court, Vick must now face the penalties for doing so.
This seems clear to me. Nevertheless, his cohorts have a need to see things in shades of grey where there is only a stark line...legal or illegal.
Deion Sanders, back on July 22nd, had quite a bit to say. Granted, this came well before Vick's recent guilty plea. However, Sanders was one of the few to not dismiss the idea that Vick had actually done what he was being accused of and still felt a need to justify Vick's actions.
This is all the result of perspective.What a dog means to Vick might be a lot different than what he means to you or I. Hold on, don’t start shaking your head just yet. Listen to me.
Some people kiss their dogs on the mouth. Some people let their dogs eat from their plate. Some people dress their dogs in suits more expensive than mine, if you can believe that.
And some people enjoy proving they have the biggest, toughest dog on the street. You’re probably not going to believe this, but I bet Vick loves the dogs that were the biggest and the baddest. Maybe, he identified with them in some way.
You can still choose to condemn him, but I’m trying to take you inside his mind so you can understand where he might be coming from.
I’m sure all of the animal activists and Humane Society folks have a dart board with Vick’s picture in the center of it. And if he plays this season, PETA is going to picket every stadium where he plays.
Still, I must ask the question: Where is all of this going?
By now you’ve read all of the accusations about the cruelty involving the dogs — and I’m not just talking about their duels to the death. All of that is enough to make me cringe because I have three highly-trained protection German shepherds, just in case someone wants to rob my family.
Believe me, you don’t want to deal with them. With one German command, our dog Yascho turns into Cujo. And for the record, I live around the corner from the police station, so it won’t take them
long to show up and save you from the dogs.Now back to Vick.
Why are we indicting him? Was he the ringleader? Is he the big fish? Or is there someone else? The
fights allegedly occurred at a property that he purchased for a family member. They apparently found carcasses on the property, but I must ask you again, is he the ringleader?This situation reminds me of a scene in the movie “New Jack City,” when drug dealer Nino Brown is on the witness stand and eloquently says, “This thing is bigger than me.”
Are we using Vick to get to the ringleader? Are we using him to bring an end to dogfighting in the United States?
The only thing I can gather from this situation is that we’re using Vick.
Was he wrong? Absolutely. Was he stupid? Can’t argue with that. Was he immature? No doubt. But is he the ringleader? I just can’t see it.
I believe Vick had a passion for dogfighting. I know many athletes who share his passion. The allure is the intensity and the challenge of a dog fighting to the death. It’s like ultimate fighting, but the dog doesn’t tap out when he knows he can’t win.
It reminds me of when I wore a lot of jewelry back in the day because I always wanted to have
the biggest chain or the biggest, baddest car. It gives you status.
NFL RB, Clinton Portis, had his time in front of a microphone on July 18th, before the NFL forced him to retract his statement.
"It's his property. It's his dog. If that's what he wants to do, do it."
"It can't be too bad of a crime. There's lots of stuff that's (a crime). There's killers on the loose...You want to hunt down Michael Vick over fighting some dogs, you know, I think people
should mind their business."
"It's prevalent in life...I know a lot of back roads that got some dog fighting, if you want to go see
it. But they're not bothering (anybody)...I'm sure some police got dogs and fight them, some judges got dogs and everything else."
On August 3rd, Eagles QB, Donovan McNabb, made public statements supporting Vick. There is nothing wrong with McNabb's statements, but he echoes the fraternal instinct to protect. McNabb publicly dismisses the idea that Vick could be guilty, though overwhelming evidence and, if Sanders is to be believed, a prevelant culture among male athletes would indicate the opposite.
"I'm a supporter of Vick," McNabb said. "That's because I'm a good friend of his and also we're guys that obviously compete to win the Super Bowl. We push each other. Now, I don't know exactly what happened in that situation, and I think for all of us that have read over the stuff that was over the Internet, the report, you look at it as kind of like, 'Wow, you've got your so-called friends and family members turning their back on you now to make their situation better.' They're throwing you under the bus so that they can clean their name. That's unfortunate. That goes to show, I always have a saying that I've always lived by: If you can't trust family, who can you trust? It's an unfortunate situation, and I just hope everything works out well for him where he can get back out on the field."
"As a football fraternity member, you just want those guys to have that opportunity to get back out there and maybe put that stuff behind them and change their life," McNabb said. "I think for some of the guys that have made the mistake and now that their season is taken away from them, the question goes out of what happens next? Because when some people get things like that taken away from them, they just continue to go down. You hope nothing but the best, that they've learned from their mistakes to move on where they can get back out on the field and play. Being suspended for a year? That's tough. That's tough.... You just want everything to kind of work out well for everybody, work out well for us as well as work out well for those guys."
Most recently (August 21st), NBA star, Stephon Marbury, made public comments regarding the Vick situation.
"I think it's tough. 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. I think it's tough that we build Michael Vick up, and then we break him down. I think he's one of the superb athletes, and he's a good human being. I just think that he fell into a bad situation."
There are common threads throughout, whether looking at the most egregious (Portis and Sanders) to the more subtle commentary from Marbury and McNabb.
- Relativity
- Ignorance
- Responsibility
There seems to be a group of people that have determined that if something worse has happened, then the rest of us should lighten up about the particular barbarity in question. Indeed, why carry on with the niceties of life when there are BABY KILLERS ROAMING FREE! This is mob mentality. The sort of lawless thinking that, gone to the extreme, results in riots and looting. Intellectually, I can actually grasp the ideas espoused regarding cultural differences here. Anyone can look about and know that people just don't think the same across the globe...no matter how elemental an issue seems to each of us. Regardless of this intellectual exercise, there is a law in place regarding dog fighting. All justification falls short in the face of that point. Besides, which enclave of cultural mores should be allowed in opposition to US law?
Secondly, there is quite clearly a significant amount of ignorance among US residents, particularly in regards to what is legal and what rights people actually have. In many peoples' minds, the law is akin to a code from the wild west where property ownership overrides. Watch an episode of Animal Cops. You would be surprised what peoples' views are on their legal responsibilities in regards to animal care. However, I find it hard to believe that anyone even casually connected to organized dog fighting is unaware of the illicit nature of the activity.
And what of responsibility? How is it that supporters can make Vick a victim here? Was I really supposed to believe that the property owner and registered dog breeder was unaware of what was occurring at his house and is now a victim of circumstance? Marbury, an often negatively-portrayed NBA player, seems to think people are "breaking" Vick down. I think Marbury fully believes this. There is an overwhelming trend toward ignoring one's own behavior as the source of woe. I love Mike Vick, the NFL player, but that is entirely separate from this behavior. Vick orchestrated this downfall without my help and without the help of the general media.
Having said all that, I don't think Vick need be punished beyond the limit of the law. Analysts seem to think Vick will be out of football until at least 2010 after serving his time and a one year NFL suspension, though many quietly wonder if he will (or should) ever play again. If he does his time, he can make or break himself as far as I'm concerned. Leonard Little and Jamal Lewis made it back into the fold for good or ill. It seems a little disingenuous (though, I'm sure some of Vick's dogs would find it appropriate that the once great gladiator be tossed aside like an old newspaper) for the NFL to cast Vick loose after making billions riding his back and the backs of other players like him (Nike "The Battle" commercial with "dog fight" clip sound good to anyone?).
Unfortunately for Vick, I think recidivism is more the norm than not in these situations. There is something deeper gnawing at the innards of the sporting society. It is reflective of the greater world and it stinks. I'm quite sure the NFL is leery of looking much deeper.
