I’ll come right out and say this; I’ve never been a fan of Michael Vick. Certainly, he is talented in terms of football, however, I’ve always considered his style of play to be problematic in that he plays as an individual, not as a part of the team. That said, I can’t say it any better than does John Venlet:
Individuals who raise and train dogs to fight and kill each other are scum.
I will add my voice to the pig pile:
Have a look at some of the damage done.
A long jail term is fully justified.
Further; a total loss of endorsement income is in order.
Any company not removing Vick has an endorser of their product, should pay the price of that connection.
That, by the way includes the NFL, and the Atlanta Falcons. Useless Toady is telling us that The Falcons face an “incredibly difficult decision’ with Vick.
“It’s an incredibly difficult decision for the team,” said NYU professor Robert Boland, who teaches sports law. Boland is an active sports agent and also has worked in the past on an animal crimes task force in New York.
“The broader issue in sports is the bad behavior of players and its impact on fans and sponsors,” Boland said. “Teams just don’t know what to do with it.
If they really think it’s that difficult, it’s probably because the NFL and the ownership aren’t tremendously principled people. To such an individual, the choice here would be a no brainer. s it is, and as the article points out, Vick sells merchandise, Vick sells tickets. Or, at least, he did until this news came out.
If we were dealing with principled people, Vick would be removed from the team before the echo dies. If that means that the Falcons are out of playoff contention before the season even starts, so much the better. That’s part of the price you pay when you take on such people. of course if you were principled, you wouldn’t be taking on such people.that his removal from the team hasn’t happened yet, suggests to me that principle, and the owners acting on same, isn’t in the cards.
I will guarantee you, that Vick won’t be selling as much merchandise, he will decidedly NOT be selling as many tickets, if he is still with the team. It’s my judgment at that the fans are more principled than the owners, in this case. And they certainly will not, and should not, be happy with the Falcons franchise if they decide to hang on to this Mongrel mutt. I hope I’m wrong, I hope they’re letting him go, but the bottom line is I don’t think they will.
For too many years, we have seen too many NFL players getting away with antisocial, and downright criminal behavior. It’s about time we started reversing that trend, and I can’t think of a better place to start them with Michael Vick.
It needs be said, that this is quite probably the outcome of someone with two much money and too little brains. I personally consider that the NFL should be looking seriously at whether not the exorbitant pay schedules for its players isn’t at least indirectly responsible for some of the behavior we see by those players. The NBA, and MLB should also look to their houses.
Personally, I doubt that it’ll happen, but I think sticking Vick into a ring with a couple of his dogs and letting them take a bite of a crime, would not constitute cruel and unusual punishment, within the context of the crime… but that’s just me. Or, maybe not by some of the screaming I’m hearing this morning.
That said, it’s not all bad; The state prison football team is going to have a hell of a quarterback this year.
By the way, see Verdon’s comments at OTB.
Tags: BitsBlog, Social Issues, Sports
