Michael Vick indicted

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

Because of the media attention?

That, and the PETA people who will no doubt protest it.

 

I'm not defending his crimes. But he served his time, and is trying to move on. I don't see why he shouldn't be allowed to do so.

[Guest Jules]

That, and the PETA people who will no doubt protest it.

 

I'm not defending his crimes. But he served his time, and is trying to move on. I don't see why he shouldn't be allowed to do so.

I'm with ya.

[Shakespeare In The Alley]

I'm with ya.

 

I'm hoping someone does sign him, honestly. Say what you will about him, and whether he should be allowed to play (or work, as Jules pointed out), the guy was an exciting football player. I can't be the only one curious about whether or not he's still got it.

[isadorah]

More time wouldn't accomplish anything.

 

 

 

well, it would set a standard and precedent for future punishments of dog fighting ring leaders. there's a massive dog fighting ring in New Orleans that authorities have been working for years to break up and get a solid conviction of the mastermind behind it. with such a light sentence for Vick, the precedent is set so the future busts will have equally light sentences. i personally think that kind of behavior merits a much longer jail time than 18 months (part of which wasn't even at a prison). animal cruelty and abuse is a leading sign of future abuse and violence.

[Sir Stewart]

He's got Tony Dungy on his side. Five years from now, Vick will not be best known as a dogkiller.

[mpolak21]

i think he should have gotten at least 5 years. actually i think it should have been longer than that, but to be realistic i'll go with 5.

 

I'd have given him at least that for breaking my 13-year-old heart by leading Virginia Tech to a last second game-winning field goal in the 1999 WVU-Va. Tech game.

 

Edit: Bad Newz Kennelz was obviously horrible too. This spring my childhood dog died in my arms at 16, it was excruciatingly sad. In July we adopted a new puppy named Jack, who has essentially increased my general happiness to very high levels. Essentially I think what Vick did was unconscionable. It's tough seeing any athlete break the law, but there was a brutality and to this point uniqueness to this case. No it's not worse than Mike Tyson or Leonard Little or Jason Kidd, but all of those crimes are horrible at the end of the day.

 

--Mike

[So Long]

There are rumors that The Patriots are looking into potentially signing Vick as a backup to Brady and expand on that Wildcat offense nonsense.

 

This...would be a mistake.

 

I doubt it will happen. Bob Kraft knows all to well the unfavorable opinion a lot of folks have about the Pats already, adding Vick into the equation will give the Pats the undisputed title of "most hated".

[jenbobblehead]

Well, the Patriots are already the New York Yankees of football so who cares? But yes, I think it would be bad PR. Vick needs to go to one of those southern states where no one cares about such things. Arizona maybe. Does Alabama have a team? NE is not going to be thrilled Michael Vick. At least I don't think.

 

agreed. who is his agent? Scott Boras? They should be looking at franchises in states with lax animal rights laws if they want him to play football again.

[mpolak21]

There are rumors that The Patriots are looking into potentially signing Vick as a backup to Brady and expand on that Wildcat offense nonsense.

 

This...would be a mistake.

 

I doubt it will happen. Bob Kraft knows all to well the unfavorable opinion a lot of folks have about the Pats already, adding Vick into the equation will give the Pats the undisputed title of "most hated".

 

You can't have two headcases on one team, unless you want to become the Portland Jail Blazers. As long as Randy Moss is a Pat, they'll stay away from Vick.

 

--Mike

[caliber66]

You shouldn't be able to work? It's his job.

Who says he can't work? He's already got a construction job. Banning him from football would not keep him from being able to work.

 

I also think he should have gone to jail for longer, but Michael Vick has done things mostly correctly at least since it became clear to him that he was not going to get away with killing and torturing dogs. He seems genuinely contrite, but it's tough to say how much of that is real or how much of it is the millions he stands to make again once another NFL team takes a chance on him. I will say that this "conditional reinstatement" deal is bullshit waffling by Goodell. He should either ban him or let him fucking play.

[isadorah]

i think our culture needs to be a bit more cognizant of who our role models are. then again, this is the culture that idolizes brittany spears and reality tv so does it really matter that a star quarterback was a dog fighting ringleader...probably not. if someone is talented, they seem to get a free pass in society.

[caliber66]

To be fair, going to jail for two years ≠ a free pass, even adjusted for inflation and current exchange rates.

[Guest Speed Racer]

if someone is talented, they seem to get a free pass in society.

 

Or is it just that we notice when stars get "free passes" because of all the publicity? Do you know what the average sentence for dog fighting is in Vick's jurisdiction? Your own jurisdiction? I always thought stars' DUI/DWI sentences were really light until I met a few people with them, who received roughly the same punishment.

 

Banning convicted felons from public/role model positions is as good as telling them and the world that they are bad people who cannot reform. Regardless of whether or not that's the case for any given felon, I think that would be more harmful to them and the people they have contact with than allowing them a chance to make things right would. And I don't mean 'make things right' in any sort of pollyanna sense, I just mean going to work and being a law-abiding asshole; if anything better comes from that, great.

 

I'm not a parent, but I sure as hell was a kid, and I think you're giving the 12-and-under set a little too much credit for the lessons they glean from these stories, if they're following them at all. Any messages they get that are mixed, misinterpreted or simply messages their parents don't want them to get should be discussed and monitored by their parents. I IDOLIZED Aerosmith from about when I was 10 to 16ish, and I don't think that had a damned thing to do with any of the trouble I got into.

[isadorah]

I wonder how many convicted felons out there easily get their old jobs back and are welcomed back into society after they've gotten out of prison.

[Atticus]

are we still trying to look at professional athletes as role models? yikes.

[caliber66]

Not for nothing, but Michael Vick got fired from his old job and isn't getting it back. It is likely that he will get hired by another team, though.

 

He hasn't exactly been welcomed back into society with open arms. Public opinion is pretty divided on him, as well. I'm sure that highly skilled plumbers who commit felonies, are able to get jobs as plumbers after they have served their sentences. Doctors, lawyers, maybe not so much, but these people are in positions of trust, which doesn't exactly apply to a guy who throws a football for a living.

[Guest Speed Racer]

I wonder how many convicted felons out there easily get their old jobs back and are welcomed back into society after they've gotten out of prison.

 

First, he hasn't been signed yet. Let's not count our chickens before they hatch.

 

I would wager that the answer to your question is, however many convicted felons used to work for companies that allow for HR to hire convicted felons. His employer's policy allows for that (the NFL, that is); seems to me like something best handled on an employer-to-employer basis, no? I imagine if I highly-talented executive/chef/professor/parking lot attendent were released and his/her employer knew that having them back on board would improve their bottom line, they would rehire them if they could.

[isadorah]

it is extremely difficult to get any form of a conviction in animal cruelty cases, have animal cruelty laws enforced, and as I had noted earlier, there isn't much of a precedent for what the sentencing terms are for the leaders of dog fighting rings. i have worked with animal shelters and rescue groups for over 10 years and spent time in New Orleans post Katrina helping with the animal rescue efforts. We worked with hundreds of newly rescued pitbulls a day that came through the temporary shelter. Pitbulls that were so damaged it was extremely obvious they weren't in that condition from the storm. There have been attempts for years to break up the pitbull fighting ring in Louisiana with very little success. I guess there is an upside to the celebrity of Michael Vick, if he hadn't been a star football player his dog fighting ring wouldn't have been broken up.

[Guest Speed Racer]

So it sounds like you are in a position to answer, then (because I really don't know the answer to this question): did Vick get a standard sentence for dog-fighting? A quick glance at wikipedia yesterday said the maximum sentence was 3 years, but I don't know how accurate that was.

 

And yes, you're absolutely right to point out that Vick's incident did put dogfighting in the spotlight, if only briefly - not unlike how Chris Brown highlighted incidences of domestic violence among teens. I followed the latter incident more closely than the former, and I think the media did as good of a job of providing a discourse on the greater issue, as well as following the individual crime.

[Good Old Neon]

Prior to this whole dog-fighting thing, I was unaware that Michael Vick existed. The entire situation is sickening, very much so – with that said, he served his time, and like anyone else, should be entitled to further employment – whether that be inside or outside the NFL. With the exception of running a dog sitting service, or maybe even working in a pet store.

 

[Guest Jules]

Remember when Charles Barkley actually got shit from people when he did that commercial, saying "athletes are not role models...parents are" or some such thing? Sir Charles was ahead of his time.

[JUDE]

Yeah, but Charles is from a southern state and was once pretty close to the Republican party.

[Guest Jules]

Yeah, but Charles is from a southern state and was once pretty close to the Republican party.

No shit? Well, fuck him then.

[Sir Stewart]

Ron Mexico is not a role model.

[Good Old Neon]

I think I was in 6th grade when I first realized that jocks, those future football players, etc, were maybe not the best role models. I think it occurred to me while witnessing some hapless victim being suspended by his Fruit of the Looms, while another asshat repeatedly hit him in the sack with a polystyrene bataka. What brought about this punishment? The simple fact that he existed.