Vicktimized?

We all know who Michael Vick is.

Everybody has their own opinion as to what a worthless and cruel human being he is. There are many voices out there who damn Vick for all the things he’s done.

In the last few days, there was a “report” that Vick was playing organized football in prison. Shortly thereafter (the next day), there was another “report” claiming that he was in fact doing no such thing.

The question isn’t whether he’s playing football in prison or not…

The real question : Who the hell cares? Why are we reporting on it?

It’s been nearly a year since the entire ordeal with Vick began. For some reason, the media believes that it is still absolutely necessary to report every little thing that Vick does, even while he is jailed.

The same report claims that Vick is currently washing pots and pans in prison to earn twelve cents an hour. TWELVE cents.

Regardless of where Vick is seen in the social spotlight, think about this for a second…

He went from being the 2nd highest paid athlete in all of the NFL to working 9 hours to make one dollar.

Put yourself in that position. How would it feel to be publicly humiliated, hated and stripped of all your resources. Vick was the target for every media outlet in the country. If you wanted to get a good dose of animosity, you could have flipped on the TV to any channel and watched someone bash Vick.

Dog Killer. Inhumane heartless animal. Ruthless beast.

Sure, but also a human being. Just like you and me.

I understand what he did was wrong and in no way condone fighting dogs or would I do it myself, but how do we as a society allow someone to fall so far from grace?

Michael Vick resurrected the city of Atlanta. It was one of the most poverty-stricken and roughest areas to live. Vick entered the city and brought life to the faces of every individual that roamed the streets. He brought meaning to the lives of youngsters looking to play sports. He gave money to the poor and served as one of the greatest athletes we have ever been alive to witness.

And now, even once he’s been jailed, even after a public apology and several attempts to try and repair his broken name, he still cannot escape the constant surveillance and scrutiny.

Leave the man alone, allow him to pay his debt to society. Let him escape the spotlight while he is in the worst living situation he could possibly be in. A horror that many of us cannot even imagine.

I was once a big fan of his and continue to support him to this day. It isn’t right to fight dogs, but many of the things that go in on this country aren’t either.

There is some hypocrisy in the following :

I can take a double-barreled shotgun, travel into the woods and blast a buck square between the eyes. Not only will I receive no penalty, I could mount it on my wall and display it for the world to see. In fact, if it’s large enough, I may even be eligible for a reward of some sort.

In America, there are 36 million chickens killed every single day. For every four chicken wings that are eaten, a chicken was killed.

Chicken. Deer. Dog. Buck. Cat. Dolphin. Goat. Pig.

They are all animals and while I understand dogs are a domestic icon in America, why is the penalty SO MUCH greater for harming this animal when there are so many other animals slaughtered so casually.

In this case, it really does seem like the life of a dog is more valuable than the life of a human.

He has lost so much and may not ever be able to get his life back on track. The scrutiny will be too much. The media and the rabid animal-protesters will tip the scale too much for the NFL to allow Vick back in. It would hurt their image too much.

Players that have been caught with many illegal guns (Tank Johnson), been on trial for murder (Ray Lewis) or abused substances have taken minor suspensions and been allowed back. For some reason, it doesn't look like that's going to happen here.

Hopefully I am wrong.

Hopefully someone somewhere will realize that Vick is a person just like everyone else and allow him to re-join the league if he really has shown signs of maturity. It is the only thing he has ever done in his entire life. He knows nothing else.

I sure hope that Arthur Blank is one of those people and allows the man that turned his franchise completely around a chance to redeem himself.



Let Vick Live.