Big Dakota
New Member
- Messages
- 11,876
- Reaction score
- 0
Vick deserves shot at redemption
Jason Whitlock
FOXSports.com,
I agree with the president of Atlanta's NAACP. The NFL should welcome Michael Vick back to its league once he has finished serving jail time for his involvement in dog fighting.
"As a society, we should aid in (Vick's) rehabilitation and welcome a new Michael Vick back into the community without a permanent loss of his career in football," R.L. White said on Wednesday. "We further ask the NFL, Falcons and the sponsors not to permanently ban Mr. Vick from his ability to bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country."
Again, I concur with Mr. White. Michael Vick and every other convicted felon deserve an opportunity to re-enter society and earn an honest living. Now that Vick has acknowledged his wrongdoing, offered an apology through his attorney and is prepared to accept his fate, we should treat him with compassion, and support his rehabilitation efforts.
I also hope that our modern-day civil-rights leaders stake out a consistent position on compassion. We can't demand it for Michael Vick and deny it to those we don't like, especially when it comes to high-profile public figures such as Don Imus.
You see, this is the problem when every misdeed or slip of the tongue by a broadcaster, celebrity, athlete is turned into a major political issue worthy of protest and calls for dismissal.
Vick and Imus are both flawed individuals. They made gigantic mistakes from which they should be allowed to rebound.
"Michael Vick has received more negative press than if he had killed a human being," White said.
He's right. Imus' defenders would probably say the same thing, and they would add that Imus didn't kill anything (human being or otherwise).
We have to put an end to the political game of "racial gotcha." It's backfiring on everybody. We no longer seek understanding. We seek vigilante justice. We want high-profile people to serve as examples of the kind of harsh punishment America is willing to dole out if you make a mistake. We think if Vick and Imus lose their jobs and are totally disgraced, their demise will make the world a more civil place.
I'm not so sure. I think we're becoming more bitter. We look for chances to screw the "other" guy.
Maybe I'm pro-second and third chances because I've had them throughout my life. I've been outspoken, flip and irreverent my entire life. I've crossed lines. A decade ago, I got in a taunting exchange with New England Patriots fans and cracked an inappropriate joke. People wanted me fired. They thought one public lapse in judgment said all there was to know about me.
I know there's more to Michael Vick than dogfighting. He can learn from this. He can evolve. We need to give him room to do it. When he is freed from incarceration, I hope PETA and other groups concerned about animal welfare reach out to Vick and make him part of a solution, not a target of harassment.
I have the same wish for Imus. He's going to return to radio. I hope he's learned a lesson and reserves his harshest barbs for legitimate public figures, not college girls. I hope people allow Imus to work in peace. He's been punished. He's been used as an example. Now we have to demonstrate that we will allow people to recover from their mistakes. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been aggressively trying to police the behavior of his athletes. He wants to change the growing negative image of NFL players. There will be a lot of public pressure on Goodell to ban Vick for a year or more after he's been released. I think that's a mistake.
Vick is likely to receive 12 to 24 months of prison time. The Falcons are likely to demand the return of a large portion of his signing bonus and void the remaining years of his contract. Vick is going to receive a very stiff penalty.
If he hasn't been scared straight by now, he's unsalvageable. Having him sit out of the league once he's freed will not be a deterrent, aid his rehabilitation or do the NFL any good. Rather than slap Vick with a suspension, Goodell should slap him with a host of stipulations regarding his return to the league. Require Vick to work with animals, speak to kids about his troubles, etc. Treat Vick better than he treated his pit bulls.
FOXSports.com,
I agree with the president of Atlanta's NAACP. The NFL should welcome Michael Vick back to its league once he has finished serving jail time for his involvement in dog fighting.
"As a society, we should aid in (Vick's) rehabilitation and welcome a new Michael Vick back into the community without a permanent loss of his career in football," R.L. White said on Wednesday. "We further ask the NFL, Falcons and the sponsors not to permanently ban Mr. Vick from his ability to bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country."
Again, I concur with Mr. White. Michael Vick and every other convicted felon deserve an opportunity to re-enter society and earn an honest living. Now that Vick has acknowledged his wrongdoing, offered an apology through his attorney and is prepared to accept his fate, we should treat him with compassion, and support his rehabilitation efforts.
I also hope that our modern-day civil-rights leaders stake out a consistent position on compassion. We can't demand it for Michael Vick and deny it to those we don't like, especially when it comes to high-profile public figures such as Don Imus.
You see, this is the problem when every misdeed or slip of the tongue by a broadcaster, celebrity, athlete is turned into a major political issue worthy of protest and calls for dismissal.
Vick and Imus are both flawed individuals. They made gigantic mistakes from which they should be allowed to rebound.
"Michael Vick has received more negative press than if he had killed a human being," White said.
He's right. Imus' defenders would probably say the same thing, and they would add that Imus didn't kill anything (human being or otherwise).
We have to put an end to the political game of "racial gotcha." It's backfiring on everybody. We no longer seek understanding. We seek vigilante justice. We want high-profile people to serve as examples of the kind of harsh punishment America is willing to dole out if you make a mistake. We think if Vick and Imus lose their jobs and are totally disgraced, their demise will make the world a more civil place.
I'm not so sure. I think we're becoming more bitter. We look for chances to screw the "other" guy.
Maybe I'm pro-second and third chances because I've had them throughout my life. I've been outspoken, flip and irreverent my entire life. I've crossed lines. A decade ago, I got in a taunting exchange with New England Patriots fans and cracked an inappropriate joke. People wanted me fired. They thought one public lapse in judgment said all there was to know about me.
I know there's more to Michael Vick than dogfighting. He can learn from this. He can evolve. We need to give him room to do it. When he is freed from incarceration, I hope PETA and other groups concerned about animal welfare reach out to Vick and make him part of a solution, not a target of harassment.
I have the same wish for Imus. He's going to return to radio. I hope he's learned a lesson and reserves his harshest barbs for legitimate public figures, not college girls. I hope people allow Imus to work in peace. He's been punished. He's been used as an example. Now we have to demonstrate that we will allow people to recover from their mistakes. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been aggressively trying to police the behavior of his athletes. He wants to change the growing negative image of NFL players. There will be a lot of public pressure on Goodell to ban Vick for a year or more after he's been released. I think that's a mistake.
Vick is likely to receive 12 to 24 months of prison time. The Falcons are likely to demand the return of a large portion of his signing bonus and void the remaining years of his contract. Vick is going to receive a very stiff penalty.
If he hasn't been scared straight by now, he's unsalvageable. Having him sit out of the league once he's freed will not be a deterrent, aid his rehabilitation or do the NFL any good. Rather than slap Vick with a suspension, Goodell should slap him with a host of stipulations regarding his return to the league. Require Vick to work with animals, speak to kids about his troubles, etc. Treat Vick better than he treated his pit bulls.
