Tuesday, August 21, 2007
News / Sports Roundup of reaction to Michael Vick plea
Posted by Scott Freeman on Tue, Aug 21, 2007 at 6:20 PM
The fall of a sports icon.
No wonder the Michael Vick plea is getting reaction from all corners of the country. Here's a sampling of what others are saying:
Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post:
You wonder if the people who unabashedly apologize for Michael Vick, particularly in and around Atlanta, will see Vick for what he is, for what he's been, or whether they'll continue to give him the kind of cover that allows his brand of arrogance to thrive. You wonder how many of them will come to the conclusion most of us have, that if Vick really did what his co-conspirators said and drowned dogs after trying unsuccessfully to hang them, he's pretty much scum-of-the-earth material.... Like most people who are arrogant but not particularly smart, Vick overplayed his hand. To get back into pro football -- and there's no guarantee -- Vick is going to have to repeatedly and convincingly demonstrate a level of humility I doubt he's felt a single day in his life. And it has to start between now and Monday's appearance in Richmond.
Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News:
For as long as he is in jail, Vick ought to think about what kind of person he wants to be when he gets out, whether he finds another team that wants him or not. He ought to wonder what kind of person got involved in something as terrible as dogfighting, however much he was involved, ask himself what kind of athlete thinks that is some kind of acceptable sport.He sure ought to think about what kind of friends he had or thought he had, ones to whom he always said he had to be so loyal. This case isn't about race, even though there are people who want it to be. It is about values and judgment and skewed definitions of friendship, and accountability. If it isn't some kind of alarm sounding throughout sports, where a lot of guys, white and black and Hispanic, aren't taking a closer look at all those around them, it ought to be.
John Markon of the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Torturer and killer of defenseless, domesticated animals . . . liar . . . felon. The reason prisons exist is because of guys like Michael Vick.Wasn't it just 11 days ago that Vick came to federal court in Richmond with his mother at his side and had a lawyer read a statement saying "I look forward to the clearing of my good name. I respectfully ask all of you hold your judgment until all the facts are known?" All the facts still aren't known, but there seems little reason to withhold judgments. Vick's intention, announced yesterday, to plead "guilty" to a series of charges involving dogfights staged on his Surry County property always will be the final word.
Pat Forde of ESPN.com:
From the desperately tight spot he now occupies, you wonder whether Michael Vick can grasp how far he's plummeted. How much he's lost. How much he's given away.Once — not long ago — he was the most spectacular football athlete in the world. Now, thanks to agreeing to a plea bargain on Monday, he's the perpetrator of the most spectacular fall from athletic grace in recent times.
Terence Moore of the AJC:
He needs to stop anything that resembles defiance (“Everywhere I go around the world, people love Michael Vick,†he said into a television camera after he was slapped with those illegal dogfighting charges). He needs to avoid blaming others for his predicament, because it is his house associated with this dogfighting mess, and it is his “friends†who said they were involved. Mostly, he needs to admit to everything.... Then Vick needs to cry on Barbara Walters’ couch on national television. After that, he needs to call Larry King. Then he needs to do “60 Minutes,†and with legendary bulldog Mike Wallace prodding and poking, he needs to pull a Jimmy Swaggart. Through it all, Vick needs to save a few sobs for Bryant Gumbel on HBO’s “Real Sports,†but you know exactly where I’m going: Oprah.
Bill Dwyre of the Los Angeles Times:
A message to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, concerning the Michael Vick case:Throw away the key.
The old saying fits here. Where some see crisis, others find opportunity. For Goodell, this is an opportunity.
Goodell has been clear that the New Deal in his era will be increased attention to players' off-field behavior and the ensuing upgrade of the image of his National Football League. Goodell wants this to be the league of LaDainian Tomlinson and Peyton Manning, not "Pacman" Jones. Headlines will be for touchdowns, not tavern brawls.
… The disgust level of this story seems to have no limit.
Comments (4)
Showing 1-4 of 4
Regardless of the outcome in this case, there are fans all around the world who could care less about the dogfighting that he is accused of. This a culture for many Americans, not only African Americans. Michael Vick taking this plea is probably saving hundres of other athletes and entertainers from being brought down as well. People in the African American community will support him because #1 he's our African American star athlete #2 alot of us may not condone kiling the dogs the way it was done but we know dog fighting is a sport as do the commentators who are reporting on this like they are so shocked all of a sudden. This is not new, if were anyones else other than a star athlete this would not be as big as it has become.
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If the NFL ever lets Vick take one step on the field again, they can count me out as a fan. Allowing Vick to ever touch an NFL football again would put the NFL on the shirt tails of the NBA as just another no class, redneck sport.
I am horrified by the details of dogfighting - dogs tortured, beaten, starved, maimed, electrocuted, drowned, etc. People involved in this crime have serious, intense psychological problems, and need to be helped immediately so that they may not kill again. I am glad to know that Michael Vick's crimes are being taken seriously by the public - there is no excuse for animal cruelty. Where do we go from here? People around the world will be celebrating and honoring animals on World Animal Day, October 4, 2007. For more information, or, if you would like to post a prayer for animals born into the cruel and inhumane world of dogfighting, please visit our site. Thank-you! Nancy J. Cronk Founder, Chair and Chaplain Interfaith Association of Animal Chaplains www.AnimalChaplains.com Email: AnimalClergy@aol.com
Well, he apologized! I mean really. He apologized for willful cruelty to another living creature. Ah cruelty, that would be killing in a torturous way. He's as sick as they come and deserves to face the punishment which should be stiff and painful. He's a man and prior to this he would have taken great offense if anyone suggested that he was anything less than that, so take it like a man Michael. I'll give him a very minor kudos for not having suggested he did all this because his parents didn't treat him right as he was growing up.
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