Vick feels the bite of kennel business
by Bob Benedetti on 08/29/2007
Certain topics arise that elict a response from every talking head known to man. The item I’m about to hit on falls into that category. For the longest time, I’ve resisted the impulse to join into the fray, due to repetition and sheer revulsion. But seeing the recent press conference, one that displayed a contrite, apologetic Atlanta Falcon superstar Michael Vick, was the nudge I needed to join the media dog pack. Unlike Vick’s canines, I hope that my takes are of enough substance to avoid electrically charged prodding or an eternal drink of water – the kind that led to their demise. You be the judge.
For Vick, a guilty plea to federal dogfighting charges was the backfield sack the Federal Department of Justice had long pursued. Vick’s participation in aiding and abetting dog fighting and related gambling were a long, reckless scramble; one that even the finest line of protection provided by legal counsel Billy Martin and Company were not capable of keeping the former quarterback from being hit with a loss of millions of dollars and an extended stay at a neighborhood federal penitentiary.
This week, in the first statement since an April 28th meeting with NFL commission Roger Goodell, Vick delivered an apology on national television that described his actions as “not honest” and “immature,” while explaining that he was “disappointed in myself” and needs to take actions to better himself as “the person, not the football player.” It was contrite discourse — and seemingly genuine — as the muscular All-Pro used only palm-sized scratch notes, made considerable eye contact with the public and cameras, and qualified his communication efforts as “…I’m not a public speaker,” insisting that his words were “from the heart.”
But were they? Were Vick’s words genuine, or they merely the rhetoric you’d expect from a social elite who’d recently been forced to face the realities of justice? Hopefully, Vick’s words have as much bite as the dogs he’d previously pitted against one another. Well… better said, its hope that Vick’s words are followed by tangible positive outcomes. It seems only fair and reasonable in the quarterback’s request for “forgiveness and understanding” that he harness some of his lavish resources to reciprocate. How? That is for Vick and his supporting cast to figure out. He is accurate about one thing: he’ll have plenty of ‘downtime’ to figure out that, and a host of other issues.
For as much as the intellectual side of me sees Vick’s past actions of animal cruelty as evidence that humans can be capable of unbelievably heinous acts, a more centered, antagonistic side roots for the possibility of the stellar QB’s redemption. Before the planet’s animal rights activist contingency wishes death upon me by blunt-force trauma, I’d hope pet lovers would take solace in this: the sheer bulk and darkness of Vick’s crimes has created a long, convoluted path he’ll need to traverse for any hopes of doing much of anything — let along ‘getting himself right.’ Should he fall short along the way, and he’ll merely become an older, formerly adjudicated dog killer. I hope he proves himself equal to the task, although I’d not wager on it as an odds-on favorite.
Although book keeping and betting are illegal by statute, an abhorrent violation of the NFL player code of conduct and an act I do not condone, they pale in comparison to the deep emotional sting rendered by the torturing and killing of dogs. Tell me, how callous is a person who places animals in a confined ring with knowledge aforethought that its occupants will likely become maimed or killed in the name of entertainment? It’s alarming. Anyone who’s aware of a bulldog’s disposition realizes one thing: it is a very tough creature. I imagine the bulldogs doomed to a watery demise did not go gently, but with a protracted, violent struggle to the bitter end; one requiring a certain sociopathic numbness and inhumanity by Vick and cohorts. It simply seems so wrong and vicious, not only sending Fido out to have half of his face ripped off or be killed to satisfy a perverse need for violence and/or a gambling Jones, but worse yet, the inevitable end result: Fido’s execution by drowning as punishment for poor performance.
Whether viewed as effeminate or merely an animal advocate, I see it as difficult enough to have to lay down an animal for functional reason such as extreme birth defect, terminal injury or disease — let alone muster the needed venom or vindictiveness to kill a creature because it didn’t ‘deliver’ and put me on the short end of a recreational bet. Growing up in a semi-rural suburban area, I’ve cared for a variety of God’s 2- and 4-legged creatures. I’ve harvested some for food, some for resale and some for pets. Through the process, I’ve been forced to see some of nature’s harsh realities; and occasionally pressed into putting a harmless, crippled animal out of its misery. Those were dark moments. In contrast, how sinister is a person who’d torture or kill animals as a punitive measure, or, worse yet, for fun?
How about Vick’s behavioral self-assessment as “immature, dishonest” and “not forthright”? The more times I listen to it, the more his euphemistic attempt to placate viewers with acceptance of a few lightweight hits on his character infuriates me. Memo to Mike: try these word substitutions; dog killer, criminal and liar. They’re significantly more bitter - and far more accurate.
For Vick, a long look in the mirror will reveal a man who not only has to “grown up,” but has a bagful of statutory and psycho-social problems to keep him busy — for quite awhile. His downtime will serve everyone.
The laws of physics states that “for every action is an equal and opposite reaction.” Michael Vick is just beginning to see the result of his actions, and needs to pay the price for them — in full.
In a world where microfibre-adorned, rhyming legal representation is adept at circumventing the law for its high-dollar clientele, this writer is hopeful that the recent assertion of Vick’s NFL employer to clean up league gangsta-ism is aided by the criminal justice system.
Officials, do your job: toss all of your yellow flags and assess Vick the full penalty.