I am glad to see Michael Vick finally released from prison. He got more time than he deserved only because he lied to the Feds about his role in his dog fighting operation. It has been documented that he received this sentence because he didn't cooperate with the authorities when first approached about this problem. This may be true, but how many people do cooperate when they are caught doing something illegal and you have no proof? They never could have convicted him without the testimony from his partners, who had gotten busted for something totally different, which led the authorities to the home where the dogs were kept. No, I am not condoning dogfighting or any other illegal activity, but let's compare a few cases that have involved high profile athletes in the past, starting with the most recent controversy in the news.
Everyone hated Barry Bonds for allegedly using steroids and not admitting it to the Grand Jury. They have no proof he used and everyone supposedly connected to Bonds, meaning his trainers that allegedly supplied him with steroids, refuse to roll over on him, going to jail to keep from testifying against him. Yet people have told on Roger Clemens and he continues to openly deny his roll in using steroids. Meanwhile players like Andy Petite, Jason Giambi, and other Yankee baseball players have been forgiven. Alex Rodriguez has admitted using steroids and has even lied about when he used them, but he is still being hailed as one of the greatest players of all time and the league still is promoting his image and counting his home runs as if he had done nothing wrong, hoping that one day he will surpass Bonds' record.
Let's go way back now to someone who lost time for standing up for what he believed. He didn't commit a crime, he just refused to enter the military because he didn't believe in the Viet Nam war. Yes, I'm talking about Muhammad Ali. At the time, many people were not going into the military and using their religion as a valid reason and were called "Conscientious Objectors", but when Ali refused to be inducted into the military in 1967, the Government refused to accept his religious stance and stripped him of his boxing license and took away his passport while he appealed the ruling. He was 25 at the time, and although Ali loses three years of his career due to this and is hated by many who feel he is unpatriotic, eventually Ali regains his popularity as the whole country starts to sour on the war during the 70's and Ali becomes a hero for standing up against the war.
The other boxer who missed time for a real crime was Mike Tyson who was convicted of rape, also at the age of 25 and also missed three years of his career while he sat in prison. But even though the evidence proved that he raped a woman, a lot of people couldn't wait for Mike to return to boxing because of his explosiveness in the ring. Kobe Bryant later found himself in almost the exact same situation as Tyson, but the woman he was with was not as believable as the woman Tyson raped. The strange thing about both of these cases is the perception most people have about hotels. It seems that if a woman comes to a man's hotel room alone it's ok to do whatever you want to her because that is what she is there for, especially if the man is a celebrity. So does that mean that every time I took a woman home from the club to my house I could have done whatever I wanted to her and gotten away with it, even when she objected? Or every time I invited a woman to my house for dinner and a movie, if she didn't leave by a certain time it meant she was fair game? Tell me what time that is so I know in the future.
The last example is something totally different. Michael Jordan retired from basketball in 1993 after winning his third straight NBA title. He had been criticized for being in a casino in Las Vegas the night before a playoff game, and later was said to have a major gambling problem. About a month after winning the title, his father was murdered and it was speculated that his death may have been related to gambling debts, although the official story attributed it to a random act of violence. In October he officially announced his retirement from basketball, saying he had lost his love of the game. That spring, he got with the owner of the Chicago White Sox, who also owned the Chicago Bulls, and signed a minor league contract to play professional baseball, claiming it was a wish he wanted to fulfill for his father. He stayed retired until March of 1995, returning just in time to lead the Bulls to the playoffs. They lost to Orlando that year, but won the title the next three years.
My point being is that we have accepted athletes back after layoffs. Michael Jordan missed just over 1 1/2 years of his career, while the two boxers missed over 3 1/2 years from their careers. Michael was 30 when he "retired" the first time, while the two boxers were both 25 when their careers were halted. Michael Vick will be 29 in about a month. Just like the other athletes, it's going to take awhile to get back to professional sports shape, but he's still young enough where his skills can still reach that professional level. Unlike the other three, Vick never reached that championship status, but Ali, Tyson and Jordan all regained their titles. So to think that Vick cannot play again is absurd, and I know he is determined to prove he can.
I know a lot of you animal lovers don't want him to succeed, but I'm a people lover, especially a woman lover. So if the American public can cheer for rapists like Mike Tyson and Kobe Bryant, I don't see a reason why Vick can't return to the career that he loves, as long as he proves he can still compete. Tyson never showed any remorse for what he did, yet he was released from prison early, serving only three years of a six year conviction. Besides, you never see PETA complaining about dogs that are put to death for attacking humans. I have never before seen so much publicity given to dogs, documenting that his 51 dogs could be rehabilitated after a career of fighting. A CNN report states that only one had to be put down because it was deemed too dangerous. If that is true, why can't they be rehabilitated after biting a human instead of being put to death? It also stated that half the dogs are in homes and the other half in a special sanctuary and not a shelter where they would have been put to death if no one claims them, like they do all other animals.
Lastly, Vick has served his time. This man has a lot to deal with and he should be bitter. I'm sure he had a chance to follow the case of Clifford Harris, better known as the rapper T.I, who was convicted of purchasing machine guns with silencers after being set up by his bodyguard. Now I like his music, he is a very talented young man, but he was already a convicted felon and if you know anything about his background, which he eloquently expressed in his TV show, you know his intentions were bad. But Vick had to spend more time in prison and is being vilified much worse than Harris, and he has lost much more money than Harris.
Plaxico Burris and Adam "Pacman" Jones had weapons related incidents that only warranted suspensions from the league, although Burris still faces weapons charges and his future is uncertain. What if Burris' gun had fell at a different angle and wound up shooting someone else? Why did he need a gun in the club anyway? How can you put Vick in a category that denies him a chance to return to his livelihood after he has served his time? What kind of society are we living in where we value animal life more than human life? I wish you the best Michael Vick and I hope you do the right thing.
Everyone hated Barry Bonds for allegedly using steroids and not admitting it to the Grand Jury. They have no proof he used and everyone supposedly connected to Bonds, meaning his trainers that allegedly supplied him with steroids, refuse to roll over on him, going to jail to keep from testifying against him. Yet people have told on Roger Clemens and he continues to openly deny his roll in using steroids. Meanwhile players like Andy Petite, Jason Giambi, and other Yankee baseball players have been forgiven. Alex Rodriguez has admitted using steroids and has even lied about when he used them, but he is still being hailed as one of the greatest players of all time and the league still is promoting his image and counting his home runs as if he had done nothing wrong, hoping that one day he will surpass Bonds' record.
Let's go way back now to someone who lost time for standing up for what he believed. He didn't commit a crime, he just refused to enter the military because he didn't believe in the Viet Nam war. Yes, I'm talking about Muhammad Ali. At the time, many people were not going into the military and using their religion as a valid reason and were called "Conscientious Objectors", but when Ali refused to be inducted into the military in 1967, the Government refused to accept his religious stance and stripped him of his boxing license and took away his passport while he appealed the ruling. He was 25 at the time, and although Ali loses three years of his career due to this and is hated by many who feel he is unpatriotic, eventually Ali regains his popularity as the whole country starts to sour on the war during the 70's and Ali becomes a hero for standing up against the war.
The other boxer who missed time for a real crime was Mike Tyson who was convicted of rape, also at the age of 25 and also missed three years of his career while he sat in prison. But even though the evidence proved that he raped a woman, a lot of people couldn't wait for Mike to return to boxing because of his explosiveness in the ring. Kobe Bryant later found himself in almost the exact same situation as Tyson, but the woman he was with was not as believable as the woman Tyson raped. The strange thing about both of these cases is the perception most people have about hotels. It seems that if a woman comes to a man's hotel room alone it's ok to do whatever you want to her because that is what she is there for, especially if the man is a celebrity. So does that mean that every time I took a woman home from the club to my house I could have done whatever I wanted to her and gotten away with it, even when she objected? Or every time I invited a woman to my house for dinner and a movie, if she didn't leave by a certain time it meant she was fair game? Tell me what time that is so I know in the future.
The last example is something totally different. Michael Jordan retired from basketball in 1993 after winning his third straight NBA title. He had been criticized for being in a casino in Las Vegas the night before a playoff game, and later was said to have a major gambling problem. About a month after winning the title, his father was murdered and it was speculated that his death may have been related to gambling debts, although the official story attributed it to a random act of violence. In October he officially announced his retirement from basketball, saying he had lost his love of the game. That spring, he got with the owner of the Chicago White Sox, who also owned the Chicago Bulls, and signed a minor league contract to play professional baseball, claiming it was a wish he wanted to fulfill for his father. He stayed retired until March of 1995, returning just in time to lead the Bulls to the playoffs. They lost to Orlando that year, but won the title the next three years.
My point being is that we have accepted athletes back after layoffs. Michael Jordan missed just over 1 1/2 years of his career, while the two boxers missed over 3 1/2 years from their careers. Michael was 30 when he "retired" the first time, while the two boxers were both 25 when their careers were halted. Michael Vick will be 29 in about a month. Just like the other athletes, it's going to take awhile to get back to professional sports shape, but he's still young enough where his skills can still reach that professional level. Unlike the other three, Vick never reached that championship status, but Ali, Tyson and Jordan all regained their titles. So to think that Vick cannot play again is absurd, and I know he is determined to prove he can.
I know a lot of you animal lovers don't want him to succeed, but I'm a people lover, especially a woman lover. So if the American public can cheer for rapists like Mike Tyson and Kobe Bryant, I don't see a reason why Vick can't return to the career that he loves, as long as he proves he can still compete. Tyson never showed any remorse for what he did, yet he was released from prison early, serving only three years of a six year conviction. Besides, you never see PETA complaining about dogs that are put to death for attacking humans. I have never before seen so much publicity given to dogs, documenting that his 51 dogs could be rehabilitated after a career of fighting. A CNN report states that only one had to be put down because it was deemed too dangerous. If that is true, why can't they be rehabilitated after biting a human instead of being put to death? It also stated that half the dogs are in homes and the other half in a special sanctuary and not a shelter where they would have been put to death if no one claims them, like they do all other animals.
Lastly, Vick has served his time. This man has a lot to deal with and he should be bitter. I'm sure he had a chance to follow the case of Clifford Harris, better known as the rapper T.I, who was convicted of purchasing machine guns with silencers after being set up by his bodyguard. Now I like his music, he is a very talented young man, but he was already a convicted felon and if you know anything about his background, which he eloquently expressed in his TV show, you know his intentions were bad. But Vick had to spend more time in prison and is being vilified much worse than Harris, and he has lost much more money than Harris.
Plaxico Burris and Adam "Pacman" Jones had weapons related incidents that only warranted suspensions from the league, although Burris still faces weapons charges and his future is uncertain. What if Burris' gun had fell at a different angle and wound up shooting someone else? Why did he need a gun in the club anyway? How can you put Vick in a category that denies him a chance to return to his livelihood after he has served his time? What kind of society are we living in where we value animal life more than human life? I wish you the best Michael Vick and I hope you do the right thing.
