By: Billy BeerSlugger
You know when everyone and their Mom was slurping Michael Vick when he came into the league in 2001 I was hating on this guy. Ask anyone who knows me, I’ve never been a Michael Vick fan. Great Athlete Yes, Great Quarterback No. I don’t think that you were going to get a legit Super Bowl run out of this guy even if the dude wasn’t incarcerated for a couple years.
So as you probably know Vick was indited on Federal Charges of running a dog fighting ring. Regardless of whether that’s part of the culture in the South or whatever, it’s just wrong. Getting dogs to fight each other and wagering on this dog and that dog is ludicrous (notice correct spelling and not the spelling of rapper Ludacris who also hails from Atlanta). He should have been jailed etc and it was handled appropriately by the authorities but was a media circus.
So now Vick is supposed to get out of jail soon. Reports claim that he will resume football workouts as soon as he gets out. If he gets reinstated into the league, would you want him on your team? Not just the Eagles but any team in the NFL? The majority of people will say no, he killed dogs they shouldn’t let the guy play anymore and those people are entitled to their opinion.
I’ll just point out some other things that have happened:
1) In 2000, Ray Lewis and two companions were indicted on Aggravated Assault and Murder charges which were eventually dropped for lack of evidence. Though the murderers were never found, it was Lewis and his entourage that got into a fight with the people that were later murdered outside on the street. Coincidence? Maybe, but as anyone who watches the Soprano’s knows, money can buy you a lot in the justice system. Witnesses, good attorneys etc.
What I do know is that after a year or so of public scrutiny, Ray Lewis is one of the more admired and respected players in the NFL right now.
2) In 2005, Cornerback Fred Smoot was charged with organizing a boat party in which prostitutes were hired for sexual favors upon the boats which also had a good portion of the Minnesota Vikings team on them. Sounds like good old clean American fun to me but shit hit the fan when several of the Minnesota Vikings were accused of urinating on a womans yard. Then the cleaning crew for the boat company found empty KY-Jelly packets, sex toy wrappers and used condoms.
Yes there was some backlash about this, some fines were handed out and I think Smoot was the only one even suspended for a game. All in all though I guess it’s less harm than killing dog’s but worth mentioning.
3) Former Eagle Donte’ Stallworth was recently arrested of DUI manslaughter for hitting someone in the early morning while driving in Miami. As I can attest shit does go into all hours of the night in Miami. He has yet to be tried I beleive but if he was convicted and probably given a light sentence similar to Vick’s, would he be allowed to play in the NFL again?
4) Don’t even get me started on Pacman Jones. He was suspended for the entire 2007 season for his role in a mele that left s strip club owner paralyzed. There’s too much other stuff to list for this dude but allegedly he tried to hire people to kill a witness in an on going investigation. True or not? I don’t know but this dude got several second chances.
I guess in Vicks case he repeatedly and knowingly defied the law but I don’t see a hell of a lot of difference in his misdeeds than the list NFL players above.
I still don’t like Vick personally or think he will come back into the NFL and make a great impact on a team, but now that all the people who were slurping him in the early part of the 2000’s are now on the opposite side of the fence, I think I’m kinda rooting for Michael Vick now. He’s an underdog (pun intended). Everyone loves an underdog and America loves to build someone up just to tear them down and them build them back up again.
As I said I don’t like the dude, I’m a dog lover, but I am rooting for Michael Vick.