Michael Vick
So are we meant to hate this guy or feel sorry for him? I mean, he came from the worst of the worst in terms of housing projects, the ghetto as it exists in Newport News, VA. Probably pretty gritty. He somehow showed enough athletic ability to get noticed and eventually spirited away from there. He went to two years of college, then entered the NFL draft -- probably before he was really ready for it.
Then, just as he entered the pros, his father told a local newspaper (at least non-national) that Michael had a thing for dog-fighting. This particular practice was a crime then as it is now. A felony. But, notwithstanding the publication of this fact, a fact that ALL of his future employers were thereby informed of, he continued to do "his thing." This comprised setting up a stud farm for predators, and woe betide the poor puppy deemed unworthy.
Then his buddies get busted and roll on him. All of a sudden, back to the wall for probably the first time in his life without the protection of the machine, he tried to lie his way out -- but it was a pretty lame try, given that it was his house and his buddies fingered him executing dogs. But, this was NOT news to the Falcons or the NFL. At no point was he ever told to cease and desist, except by his dad. The dog poop hits the fan and all of a sudden, their poster boy, their golden goose is laying poop-eggs. And they are horrified. Liars. Frikking stinkin' liars.
Bad Newz (local speak in Newport News for his home town ghetto) Kennels is a major operator and Vick is up to his eyeballs in gambling. Only this time, the Falcons and NFL can't fix the problem. It is national news and a federal prosecutor is going to take him down. No way are they going to get in the firing line, they cut Vick loose.
Make no mistake, Vick is beyond the pale in his practices and ideas of "fun." But up until this point in his life, he has never been forced to take responsibility for anything that he has ever done. His athletic prowess has always served to protect him from reality -- and before he stepped aboard the gravy train in high school, he was just another ghetto kid and largely beyond the reach of the application of the laws anyway. But once in high school his talents were really appreciated for what they were -- extraordinary. And with that came the American fondness for excusing their athletes almost any transgression. Heck, if we were talking about a little rape here, he'd still be starting the season as the first string quarterback for the Falcons, pending his hearing and eventual trial. Remember Kobe?
Vick has a interesting history of court tussles that have ended in settlement. Why not? This guy was worth boatloads of money to companies interested in endorsements and the NFL circus. But this time his little secret was executing dogs, not only fighting them. Raising dogs to become weapons against other dogs, vicious pitbulls, and America cannot forgive that. So he has been cast to the wolves of the press and public opinion, his endorsement contracts cancelled, the prospect of money gone. He is cast aside by the machine as worthless -- not that a scumbag like this should ever have been worth a damn in the first place. But consistent with a great deal of American sports. Ever see any statistics on felonies and the NFL roster? Or forbid, the NBA?
Then, just as he entered the pros, his father told a local newspaper (at least non-national) that Michael had a thing for dog-fighting. This particular practice was a crime then as it is now. A felony. But, notwithstanding the publication of this fact, a fact that ALL of his future employers were thereby informed of, he continued to do "his thing." This comprised setting up a stud farm for predators, and woe betide the poor puppy deemed unworthy.
Then his buddies get busted and roll on him. All of a sudden, back to the wall for probably the first time in his life without the protection of the machine, he tried to lie his way out -- but it was a pretty lame try, given that it was his house and his buddies fingered him executing dogs. But, this was NOT news to the Falcons or the NFL. At no point was he ever told to cease and desist, except by his dad. The dog poop hits the fan and all of a sudden, their poster boy, their golden goose is laying poop-eggs. And they are horrified. Liars. Frikking stinkin' liars.
Bad Newz (local speak in Newport News for his home town ghetto) Kennels is a major operator and Vick is up to his eyeballs in gambling. Only this time, the Falcons and NFL can't fix the problem. It is national news and a federal prosecutor is going to take him down. No way are they going to get in the firing line, they cut Vick loose.
Make no mistake, Vick is beyond the pale in his practices and ideas of "fun." But up until this point in his life, he has never been forced to take responsibility for anything that he has ever done. His athletic prowess has always served to protect him from reality -- and before he stepped aboard the gravy train in high school, he was just another ghetto kid and largely beyond the reach of the application of the laws anyway. But once in high school his talents were really appreciated for what they were -- extraordinary. And with that came the American fondness for excusing their athletes almost any transgression. Heck, if we were talking about a little rape here, he'd still be starting the season as the first string quarterback for the Falcons, pending his hearing and eventual trial. Remember Kobe?
Vick has a interesting history of court tussles that have ended in settlement. Why not? This guy was worth boatloads of money to companies interested in endorsements and the NFL circus. But this time his little secret was executing dogs, not only fighting them. Raising dogs to become weapons against other dogs, vicious pitbulls, and America cannot forgive that. So he has been cast to the wolves of the press and public opinion, his endorsement contracts cancelled, the prospect of money gone. He is cast aside by the machine as worthless -- not that a scumbag like this should ever have been worth a damn in the first place. But consistent with a great deal of American sports. Ever see any statistics on felonies and the NFL roster? Or forbid, the NBA?
posted by Zaphod at Sunday, August 26, 2007
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