On the NFL and Vick
August 23, 2007
Now that Michael Vick has agreed to plea guilty, the question running rampant through the media is “Should he be banned from the NFL?” CNN.com asked readers to e-mail their responses to that question, and they published some of those e-mails online here.
There are some very interesting thoughts here…I, for one, love Patricia Reese’s idea of putting him back to work and letting him make his millions, but forcing him to give a huge percentage of his salary to the Humane Society. At least that way, something positive could come out of all of this.
On the other hand, I also had a light bulb turn on when I read the response from John Robinson:
“Pro athletes are constantly getting in trouble with the law. Unless we make a policy that all players who are convicted of a felony are banned from the league, then Vick should be allowed to play after a suspension.”
John’s on to something here. I think ALL NFL players convicted of felonies should be banned from the league. Period. End of Story. Think about it: this would eradicate the problem we have with these “superstars” thinking they are above the law. Clearly, these people do not think our laws apply to them. The law does not scare them. But I bet losing that multi-million dollar paycheck would make ‘em think twice. I am sure that at some point Michael Vick has thought to himself, “What are they gonna do, fire me? I was the number 1 draft pick. I’m the best QB in the NFL. Please.” Wouldn’t it be nice if instead he thought, “Man, if I do this and get caught, I could lose everything!”?
And I don’t think it should be just the NFL. The MLB should get on board, the NBA, the NHL…EVERYBODY! Hell, if there were an organization over the Parises and Lindsays, I’d say they need to sign up, too!
Some might call this harsh or argue that we’re holding these people to higher standards than those to which we hold “ordinary” citizens. I “fart in {their} general direction” and say, “Would you get to keep your job if you were convicted of a felony?” I know I wouldn’t. I’d be fired quicker than a New York minute.
Another good point made in these e-mails is one I myself have made on a number of occasions when addressing the debate about Michael Vick’s future: animal abuse is an indicator, a predictor of people abuse. As Andrea Ziegler points out, “Remember Jeffrey Dahmer started as an animal abuser!” And most serial murderers began small, torturing animals before moving on to human prey. Thus, Michael Vick’s abuse of dogs is more than just a matter for the Humane Society or PETA. It is a matter for all of us in society. Yes, all of us. Because at the end of the day, as George Dohrmann of Sports Illustrated says, “six years of animal cruelty is not a blip, not a momentary lapse in judgment. It says something about who Michael Vick is at his core.” Dohrmann’s article, though, unlike others, places Vick’s future squarely in the hands of NFL fans. If NFL fans are willing to forgive and forget Vick’s transgressions, he has not played his last game. But if, once a few years have passed, he’s served his time, he apologizes and writes a big check, NFL fans still stand up and declare that he should not be raised again to his former glory, he will not.