In an email teaser about Michael Vick being signed by the Eagles, one Philadelphia television station wrote Vick was “remorseful” in his pledge to turn over a new leaf here in Philly. The TV station, WPVI-TV 6, wrote in its Friday, August 14 afternoon email-based headline summary that:
“A remorseful Michael Vick wants a second chance and vowed to crusade for animal rights with the Philadelphia Eagles – and knows he won’t be easily forgiven by fans.”
It’s nice to know good ol’ Michael Vick wants a second chance to once again earn a annual multi-million dollar salary for tossing around a football, and it’s nice — yet more laughable — to hear that Michael Vick vows to “crusade” for animal rights without any additional comment. Remember, it was his actions around animals, specifically the wanton killing of dogs through electrocution and other means, that ended Michael Vick’s career the just over two years ago, but also what put him prison, behind bars, much like how the dogs he ultimately killed lived out their last days.
Vick’s former coach with the Indianapolis Colts, Tony Dungy, was at the press conference called by the Philadelphia Eagles here in Philly. It was supposed to be more of a post-game show with a press conference/announcement, but this didn’t seem to be the usual post-game conference.
During his comments at the press conference, Dungy said he was “happy things turned out this way,” when asked about Vick signing on with the Philadelphia Eagles. “This is going to work out great,” Dungy added.
I have no idea what Dungy feels will “work out great.” It is probably his thoughts on Vick once again earning a multi-million dollar salary on the backs of football fans — and more specifically, fans of the Philadelphia Eagles — as well as on the backs of Philadelphia’s taxpayers who footed a large portion of the construction costs of the Lincoln Financial Field stadium, which would more aptly been named, “Corporate Welfare Nest for Losing Birds.”
In other comments, Dungy said he’d like to see it made easier for other NFL players who find themselves in similar positions — namely being convicted felons — to go back to the NFL. Sure, why not? After a criminal trial, most folks — specifically the poor, down-trodden former professional football players — likely wouldn’t have much money left in the bank. If they had to sit in prison for awhile, pay any fines or punitive damages, or pay any other costs, these poor, over-burdened people would surely be in the poor house. Why not let them back into the NFL to again pull in a nice annual multi-million dollar salary, as they deserve it, right?
In this line of thought, another “professional” football player comes to mind: Donte Stallworth, 28, wide receiver for the Cleveland Browns, who was charged in Florida back in April with manslaughter while driving under the influence in the death of Mario Reyes, said Miami-Dade County state attorney’s office spokesman Ed Griffith.
If convicted, Stallworth get up to 15 years in prison, because, Griffith said, Stallworth’s blood-alcohol content (BAC) level after the fatal accident was 0.126 percent. Florida’s legal limit of 0.08 percent.
The irony between Stallworth and Vick is that Stallworth, a former University of Tennessee player, had also played professionally — for the New England Patriots, the New Orleans Saints, and, of course, for the clincher, the Philadelphia Eagles. Are the Iggles profiling players, looking for a criminal element or criminal trait they may possess?
If you want, be sure to check out good ol’ Charlie Brown, er, make that bad ol’ convicted dog killer Michael Vick, fondling the skins of a few pigs after arriving in Philadelphia. Oh, wait! There’s no way could Vick ever be considered Charlie Brown, as first, Charlie Brown is intellectually superior to Michael Vick, and second, Charlie Brown loves dogs.
There was a time in the not-so-distant past that parents when parents could have pointed to a few athletes as role models for their children. An athlete, in my mind’s eye, could never be a role model or even one to point out to children as potential role models, as a role model should be a person who is doing something in society, in science or medicine, or in a host of other arenas that strives to bring change to society, not make money off the toil and sweat of other hard-working people. On that note, there are some in society who will argue that people like Vick and Stallworth, as well as most sports players, deserve the high salaries they earn, saying, “They’re good at what they do, so let them earn the money. Who cares?” and “They have the talent, so let them earn more than a million dollars a year for those skills.”
If being good — or having “talent” for what you do — is the deciding factor for who earns $300,000 and who earns $1.5 million, then extend that mindset — and payroll schema — across all of society, starting first with the nation’s military personnel, then on to public school teachers, and then all other occupations.
Let’s jump back to Michael Vick’s comment, where he says he wants a second chance. You know, that’s all fine and dandy, but if he were a professional, he would know better than to even drop a hint that he was looking for a second chance.
When Vicks walked to the table at the press conference where the Iggles’ Andy Reid was already sitting, Vick walked to the table, looking at those in attendance — mostly reporters — and into the lenses of the television cameras with such a smug look. In fact, it was so smug, his look alone spoke volumes, seemingly saying, “I got off easy and now I’m back.”
Anything that Michael Vick’s smug look and strut didn’t imply — which seemed to imply nothing about being a reformed person or about having remorse of his past felony criminal activities of murdering dogs for profit — he let be known, perhaps in undertones, but it was there nonetheless.
“As we all know, I’ve made some terrible mistakes in the past, but I plan to work with the Humane Society in the future,” Michael Vick said at the press conference.
That statement is about as smug as it can get. He should have just said, “Look, I did this horrible stuff, but big deal. I’m back and making multi-million dollar salaries again. Who cares. If I have to act like I’m sorry, well, the Humane Society is going to let me work with them so I can be back near dogs and see if I can figure out a way to hurt them — or worse.” It’s a sad shame the Humane Society is willing to work with Michael Vick, especially given his criminal past.
Michael Vick went on at the press conference, saying, “I was optimistic this would happen, but it was a long process.”
Who is he trying to kid, his mother? Michael Vick did not spend a long time — or endure a long process — to get back to the place he wanted to be. It hasn’t even been two years since his arrest, so what is he talking about a long process? When I heard that, I was thinking, “Get real, Vick. I have pain that’s lasted longer than two years! You want to talk about a long process, let’s talk face-to-face.”
No matter how anyone slices this deal, Michael Vick is being generously rewarded for bad behavior. In fact, because the team signed Vick, the Eagles have lost hundreds, if not thousands of fans — the very people the sports team caters to in order to meet payroll and fill the stadium paid for by the taxpayers of the City of Philadelphia — not by the team. The Eagles have shot themselves in the foot on this one and have done nothing more than give the NFL yet another black eye.
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