Sunday, January 2, 2011

Sunday Redemption: A Change of Heart for Michael Vick?

Howie Long's statement from today's NFL Preshow was very provocative.
Trying to get the video to play easily here --or the transcript-is proving troubling.
(he has clearly pondered Michael Vick's 'situation')
--Hehe heh- Howie's aside to brett favre-
"ULYSSES had a shorter journey home... it's time!"
 heh...
Take Howie's statement regarding Mr. Vick, add
 Richard Cohen's statement of cynical incredulity, excerpt below)
 consider the issue part 1 of 4 here
Mix with resolutions not to judge
Then, let's discuss The Title Question.



Excerpt from the washington post partisian, Richard Cohen:
The commentary about President Obama's call to the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles regarding that adjudicated dog killer Michael Vick has now reached an apogee of stupidity that strongly suggest that too many otherwise smart people have lost their ability to reason. Obama, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie recounted, said, "'So many people who serve time never get a fair second chance.' He said, 'It's never a level playing field for prisoners when they get out of jail.' And he was happy that we did something on such a national stage that showed our faith in giving someone a second chance after such a major downfall.'' It helps, I think, that Vick has completed 63.2 percent of his passes and has 20 touchdowns. He is not your average felon.


And, yet, that is the comparison that's made. You would think from the commentary that Vick was some poor kid who got caught swiping something so he could get something to eat. You would think he had on the spur of the moment stolen a car, gone for a joy ride -- and collided with a police car at an intersection. You would think that he was anything other than in immensely gifted and immensely rich professional athlete who got a signing bonus of $37 million and had endorsement deals from Nike, Coca-Cola, Kraft and others. Vick staged dog fights and killed dogs not because he had to, but because he chose to. He's a thug.
Dog fighting was Vick's hobby. He had been warned about it. His own father had told him to stop. He persisted because, as with many great athletes, he was never held accountable. A nation of jock-sniffers always looks away when a great athlete does something wrong. Nothing is an important as winning -- we all know that -- and Vick was and is a winner.

The sanctimony regarding this dog killer is sickening. He was wantonly cruel, not only pitting dogs against one another in fights, but drowning poor performers. Didn't he know this was cruel? Didn't he know wounded dogs were in pain? Is he so stupid he didn't notice the blood, the torn skin, the...? Oh, forget it! The man's an animal himself.
\Now Vick has punched all the tickets on the road to rehabilitation. He is contrite. He loves pooches. He might even get a dog himself. How much of this is genuine and how much is synthetic I leave to you. But I'll tell you this. Vick got a second chance not because he deserves it but because he can play football. This is the lesson we can all take from this sorry episode. It's one thing to be sorry. It's much better to hit your man in the end zone.

3 comments:

  1. Bitchin from the WastelandJanuary 6, 2011 at 11:10 PM

    THANKS...and right on Sister!
    Poor Mike ..blah blah no level playing field..
    poor rich guy, so glad the Prez could pause from feeding the rich more tax breaks, so he could phone the football owner personally..
    this calls for another NOBEL fucking Peace prize I am thinking..???
    Who is gonna let Mikey have another dog??? I think we need to ask why and who? screw that! HE GETS NO MORE DOGS or cats or birds or pets of any kind, he may, indeed need to 'play with himself' just a bit longer in a padded room... oh I am off task i am so mad at this whole crappy situation..sorry.. NO PETS for VICK! Not even a stuffed toy!(A rubber duck? maybe)
    level playing field my ass... tell that to the thousands of men and women locked in Federal prisons for simply using or selling small amounts of Grass- Thanks Nixon and ReagUn for this war on drugs ie- 'war on our own citizens'

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  2. found this on a website tonight....
    Is he serious or is it Sarcasim??

    http://www.examiner.com/political-buzz-in-national/michael-vick-s-dog-would-be-the-luckiest-dog-on-the-planet

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  3. Wow- interesting post, thank you for sharing. It raises the question about redemption i guess.
    I've meant to come back and write more here but just have not found time yet.
    Maybe having a dog will be the biggest guilt trip anyone could give Vick. If he is truly sorry and redeemed, a dog is the best thing for him, for anyone.
    If not....

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