Monday, August 17, 2009

The Whole Michael Vick Fiasco

[Being a guest blogger, I feel it's necessary that I distance my own opinion from that of joaj's. He didn't write this, so don't blame him for my rantings!]

The big Michael Vick interview with James Brown played the other night on 60 Minutes - which you can watch below, after the jump - and it begs the question: is he remorseful? I can see you opening your mouth to answer, and I already have another question: does it really matter at this point? Now that he's gone to prison, served the term, lost most, if not all, of his money, does the public need another remorse litmus test of some kind?

The basic sentiment online is that people don't think he showed any remorse and that he should be punished to an even more extreme degree, and, while I love dogs as much as the next guy, when does punishing Michael Vick for what he did stop? In my circle of friends, I was a pretty outspoken critic of the guy (and I wasn't the only one), and though I don't think he necessarily deserves another shot at playing in the NFL (would John Wayne Gacy have been given his old job as a party clown after prison?), for the crimes he committed, Michael Vick has paid his debt to society.

Secretly, most people probably were ready to let go. If he had gotten out of prison and sunk into obscurity, perhaps they would have just let the whole thing slide from here on out. But the fact that he's out in the public eye has reignited personal ire for the guy, and I guess he should have anticipated that. What he probably doesn't realize, however, is that there is now more pressure on him than perhaps in his entire career. The sort of glee that people will take in his every misstep this year will dwarf the sort of hope he encountered the first time around in the NFL. It's not even going to be a contest.

Hate the guy or not; doesn't matter to me. But think about why. It's an important exercise to get at the root of this kind of stuff. The dog torture conviction? The lack of remorse? The fact that he was presumptive enough to try a second run in the NFL, rather than shrink into obscurity? Drugs? Falcons fan?

4 comments:

  1. As a Falcons fan:

    I always said we should have traded him before he got hurt or went to jail. He was a terrible leader and shitty passer. I love Matty Ice.

    And, as an animal lover:

    He needs to address WHY he did what he did and thought it was OK. Devaluing of life in poverty is one thing, torture is another. It's the first step to serial killing. Once he addressed that, he'd have to problem solve on what we need to do to prevent others growing up like him from doing the same thing.

    That is all. Nice Post -

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  2. Those are both reasonable requests, and ones I support as well. And I should be careful with the rhetoric I use, b/c I don't think he should be FORGIVEN, necessarily. I don't. What he did was reprehensible and I make no defense of him or his actions.

    And, though he shouldn't be commended for doing time - it was required of him - he did do the time (which so few *celebrities do), so whether or not he gives a satisfactory answer for why would only serve to mollify the public and not vindicate him, I think.

    I do agree that, unless someone addresses what draws people to dog-torturing in particular and dog-fighting in general, it won't stop. So maybe staying on M. Vick will bring about some kind of newfound awareness, as long as the inquiry remains pointed at what he did.

    The pitchforks and torches will be out for him until he finally does go away, I'm sure.

    As for the Falcons, they're far better off without him.

    Thanks, BTW. I wondered whether or not I should post it. I didn't want to look as though I was endorsing his antics, or somehow defending him.

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  3. this is like when i was a kid, and said sorry to my parents, then they would make me come back and say it again "and this time mean it"

    i want vick to be sorry! -he is.
    MORE SORRY!!!! -oh, come on

    even the fucking DIRECTOR OF PETA is okay with him right now.

    why dont we try getting angry with people who vehicular manslaughter people while drunk driving and only getting 30 days in jail? or do we relate to that more than killing an animal?

    i think, like you said, we'll find out what he's made of by his actions.

    good post!

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  4. Thoughtful post. Me, I've over it. I'll never be a fan (again), but I couldn't care less about hearing more from/about Michael Vick. He's going to play. Fine. He'll do his usual, 10 bad passes for every 1 spectacular, jawdroppingly awesome highlight. (That's probably a tad generous too.)

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