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This is a possibly controversial topic so PLEASE let's keep it civil!
I just wanted to know how the rest of the country feels about Michael Vick. I live in Philly and am surrounded by people who basically think he's a hero, because he's leading the Eagles in a good season.
Yes, he paid his debt to society. But does that mean that he should be allowed back in the NFL? Some people absolutely idolize football players, and I don't think that Vick deserves the acclaim OR the high salary that comes with being an NFL player. Does the fact that he's a football star cancel out the fact that he tortured and killed dozens of dogs?
Should we forgive him? Should he be allowed to play? Or should he have been permanently suspended from the NFL?
What do you think?
(I was going to add a poll, but this is a complicated subject and it was too hard to simply categorize potential answers.)
I totally agree with you that it is complicated; however, I believe that his sentence did not fit the crime and should have been more severe.
I also think that because professional athletes are idolized and paid millions of dollars that there should be a clause in their contract that they have to behave in a certain manner.
I think he is a disgusting human being and I will ALWAYS think that. I don't follow NFL; however, if I did I know that I would hate any team he played on.
I think all professional sports players, because they are SO looked up to by children, should have to abide by moral standards set forth by the industry.
Sorry. Didn't even know of Michael Vick before the whole brouhaha. Now, em, not really a fan but I do know of him and did watch the game on Monday and found myself rooting for him. And, um, yeah, I did hate what he did to those dogs BUT, and please no one come down on my head like a ton of bricks, but, I don't view dogs the way that most Americans and most hive members do. Do I think it's bad what he did? Yep. Do I think he deserved to go to jail and lose his post with the Falcons etc, nope. But that's just me. Maybe it's cultural? I know the ladies on The View once mentioned it and they almost got pelted with fist sized stones.
@Future Mrs. Martin: "I also think that because professional athletes are idolized and paid millions of dollars that there should be a clause in their contract that they have to behave in a certain manner."
EXACTLY. I think that they should have a responsibility to their fans, especially to children, to be positive role models.
ETA: @bRooklynrocks: You don't think he deserved to go to jail? Dog fighting is illegal, plain and simple, no matter how you feel about dogs.
Its a really tough topic. I think its too hard to come up with a response without making a scapegoat of him.
I feel like there are probably a lot of other people have have done hideous crimes, served their time, and are allowed to continue back in their work.
@Future Mrs. Martin:"I also think that because professional athletes are idolized and paid millions of dollars that there should be a clause in their contract that they have to behave in a certain manner."
I agree with this as well. I think the same goes for some of the other crimes/actions of professional athletes.
I'm all for second chances - but dog fighting is such a disgusting crime. I don't think he should be allowed back into the NFL.
I think he's a disgusting excuse for a human being and should have NEVER been allowed to rejoin the NFL. Sure, maybe they're "just dogs" but people who abuse and murder poor defenseless animals have no place in society. I certainly do not feel like his punishment fit the crime.
@caszos: Agreed. I still don't like him, and I hate it when DH roots for him...but at the same time, he did go to jail and serve time, which is more than some other criminals do.
Although he paid his debt to society (technically), I don't think the punishment fit the crime (was way too light of a punishment - probably because he was an NFL QB).
I know he isn't the only NFL player (or other famous athlete in any sport for that matter) to commit a crime but his crime was much worse than most, IMO. And I do think that athletes / public figures / "role models" / etc should be held to a higher standard. A "screw-up" that big shouldn't be forgiven by a league like the NFL.
I don't love that DH roots for him (he's on his fantasy team this year so he's actually helped him out a lot of weeks). I just hope that since Vick HAS been given this second chance that he makes the most of it and shows that he truely has changed his ways and can be a productive member of society.
I think he's a great athlete but not such a great person. No I don't think he should be allowed to play. Or if he is allowed to play he needs to be making much less than the typical football player.
I'm from St. Louis, and some of you may have heard of Leonard Little, a player for the St. Louis Rams. Some years ago he killed a woman, who happened to be the mother of a pretty good friend of mine from school, in a drunk driving accident. He being the one that was drunk. A short time later he was pulled over and arrested again and received a DUI. Can someone please tell me why this guy is still making almost a million dollars a season? Why is he not rotting in jail?!! I hate to say it but because he's still playing I will not watch football. And it makes me mad because I actually really like football but I can't stand behind this kind of behavior.
I think what he did was absolutely horrible and his sentence should have been more severe, but now that his sentence is over, I think it's totally find that he plays in the NFL. Playing football is his job, and I don't think it would be fair to not let him back in the NFL for his bad decision that he served his time for. Roger Goodell, the Commissioner of the NFL, didn't automaticall reinstate Vick when he got out of jail. His reinstatement is conditional, and if he breaks any of the conditions, Goodell can suspend or ban him from the league. I think everyone deserves a second chance, and Vick seems to be making the most of it.
I think anyone who does to animals what he did is a disgusting human being. I don't care what he does for a living.
i think he's a tool and should have been held to higher standards due to his high profile career choice. screw him. gently. with a chainsaw.
This is a tough one. As an avid animal advocate and lover, what he did broke my heart. It was disgusting. I don't know how to put into words how I feel about it, there just truly aren't words strong enough.
That said, I believe that he served his time, and should be allowed on the field again. I agree with the fact that as celebrity athletes, they should hold themselves to a higher standard than the general public, but the fact is, they don't. Why should he have to above others? Unfortunately the list of criminal players is lengthy - and most have been allowed back on the field after serving their time.
Do I think that he was given a harsh enough sentence? Hell no. But it is what it is, and he has served it.
sorry. but i dont agree at all. is what he did bad? yeah. do i think it should bar him from his career? absolutely not. further, i think his sentence was entirely too severe. people rape, molest children, beat their wives and children, etc, and dont get the kind of time the vick got. roethlisberger was accused of raping TWO women and didnt get kicked out of the NFL. my opinion is that as a vick is getting such a ridiculously hard time because he is a weathly black man. he paid his debt to society and now he is trying to rebuild his life.
@sloth: Well, dog fighting is illegal and he should go to jail because he broke the law. It is disgusting when one thinks about what the dogs had to go through. But honestly, I still don't believe his crime was a jailworthy crime. Yes, I know I am going against the grain here but I honestly honestly honestly know a lot of people who agree with me. Granted none of them grew up in America and the way we view dogs and dogfighting may be different but still... oh well.
I'm from Philadelphia, and frankly was appalled that we signed him. Yes, I know he 'served' his time, and yes, he 'should' be allowed back to his job. But in a city where we have sports heros like Chase Utley, known animal rights activist, it is a pity it had to be Philadelphia.
Do I agree that what Michael Vick did is disgusting and reprehensible? Absolutely. I didn't know much about him before the news came out about him torturing dogs, and it made me dislike him as a person. I also think he served his time and seems to have changed.
I am also tired of all the attention on Michael Vick for torturing dogs when there are at least two people in the NFL, a coach and a player, who have been in the news for violence against women. I'm sure there are more of them. We should be up in arms about them, but unfortunately, it just doesn't get the air time. That's what makes me really angry.
Honestly, I don't like football or anything but I don't really have a problem with Michael Vick being allowed to go back to playing football given that he suffered consequences for his actions. He lost millions and millions of dollars, lost endorsements and had to file for bankruptcy. He went to jail. I would like to believe that he has learned his lesson and is a changed person.
I am less concerned with people like Michael Vick and more concrened about the Charlie Sheens of this world who continue to to not have any consequences handed down for their actions. Those are the people that enrage me.
@FutureMrsMorgan: I dont even know where to begin, so I'm not going to because this will certainly turn into much more of a debate than I'm sure Sloth wanted. I would just like to say that I disagree with you. I really, really, really disagree with you.
as a huge animal rights advocate(and I work in the animal field as well), i am truly disguted by his actions
but
he *has* paid his debt to society and IMO it should be left at that.
did his punishment fit his crime? IMO, no.
@FutureMrsMorgan: you totally beat me to my point! Ben makes me ill.
I agree with Boston Bee.
I have to say though that he did a very nasty thing, and it's not just the dogs he endangered. By training and raising dogs in that manner he endangering many people.
@plantains: My sister clap for yourself. Right on the money. Anyhow, I don't know that you will get a balanced view on this Ms. Sloth being that most members of the hive are HUGE animal lovers. It's hard (but not impossible) to be rational about something like this.
@ CaitMarae: I would just like to say that I disagree with you. I really, really, really disagree with you.
Dogs are animals. they dont trump people. Dog fighting is very normal in certain parts of THIS country. While I personally find it abhorrent, i dont think a person should spend the rest of their lives in jail for fighting dogs. Its crazy to me that people are getting so worked up about this after he WENT TO JAIL for his actions.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! When is someone going to get up in arms about the people who rape women left, right and centre and don't even sniff suspension much less jail time? Michael Vick went to jail, he paid back a portion of his signing on-bonus to the Falcons and is now earning a tiny fraction of what he was before. I think he is fine to keep playing, and I hope he continues to redeem himself.
@FutureMrsMorgan: lol, thats fine. I guess we'll just have to agree to SERIOUSLY disagree.
There's a special place in hell for those that hurt dogs and children. Michael Vick and those he associated with deserved a far more severe sentence than they received.
The worst part is when people say "he's changed". I'm sorry, he hasn't. You don't go to jail and go back to making millions of dollars and change. Watching him tell kids that animal abuse is wrong is a joke - he doesn't believe it, and he doesn't care.
And yes, I know there is a cultural difference with this issue, but if your culture thinks torturing animals is OK, then I suggest the culture is wrong, not the existence of the crime.
@plantains: The difference is that there was proof to convict Vick of dogfighting but there isn't enough proof to convict Ben Roethlisberger of rape (in any of the cases). Roethlisberger shouldn't be banned from the NFL because someone accused him of something but Vick was tried and convicted. There is a HUGE difference.
That said - I dislike Roethlisberger and think he's a sleezy slimeball but until he is convicted of rape (or some other heinious crime), I can't support crucifying him.
@FutureMrsMorgan: no animals certainly do not trump people. there is a serious problem with our justice system. I don't think CaitMarae was saying it's ok for rapists, and wife beaters, and murderers to get off easy. But people in the public eye need to be made an example of, in the hopes that the same justice will be dealt to the regular people. His crime was disgusting, his punishment was not severe enough, and he shouldn't be making millions of dollars a year.
Yes, I think murderers and rapists and horrible people should all be in jail, but I think Vick should be right there with him, maybe not serving as much time, but he should still be there.
@UpstateCait: I'll tell you where to begin. Begin by talking to a lot of Black men. Trust me, what she said is a view held by a lot, LOTS of black men and I do agree that there is a race element at play. But since that's neither here nor there nor does it affect your stance or the stance of a lot of people nor does it make her point or yours any more or less valid. Oh well....
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