new dog old trick: Mike Vick vs. Pacman

July 18, 2007

Mike Vick vs. Pacman

Quick - who is worse - Pacman Jones or Michael Vick? What's your first reaction to that question?

It's kind of strange, but I can think about Pacman in a detached manner, without any real emotion. Is he a first-class screw-up - sure. Is it possible he's going to jail for inciting a Las Vegas shooting that left one person crippled for life - sure. Is his being sufficiently screwed up to get suspended for the year (and quite possibly forever depending upon how the court cases go and how his behavior changes) and potentially messing up what was looking like a promising season for my home town Titans a bad thing - sure. But you know, in our current culture, especially the sports culture, is it really that surprising or that different than 10 other stories you've heard in the past few months?

But Michael Vick? Dog fighting? Horrible allegations regarding the treatment of dogs, casual and cruel killing of dogs? I can't even hear about it without feeling sick - and then immediately after feeling disgusted - and then immediately feeling very, very angry at someone, anyone, and everyone involved. They need to try him in court and if he's guilty throw the freaking book at him. In the meantime, the NFL needs to run the other way as fast as it can. And Arthur Blank (the owner of the Atlanta Falcons) needs to demonstrate his values as a human being - soon and loudly and clearly.

There's no way Michael Vick should be allowed to step onto an NFL playing field until this is resolved. If Pacman can be suspended based on mostly allegations or incidents that have not yet gone through the court system, then the NFL can suspend Vick.

And you know what - I think the general public will hold this all against Vick for longer and treat it more seriously than they will whatever Pacman has done up to this point. You can do just about anything to another human, but don't be screwing around with our pets - we just won't tolerate that. If even a portion of this is borne out in court, Vick is finished as a public figure.

Posted on July 18, 2007 at 11:31 PM | Permalink

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