The return of Vick.

Over the weekend I saw a segment about Vick on cable. Experts on the show were tearing into him for the dogfighting allegations. A few polls I saw even indicated that the jury in the court of public opinion had already reached their guilty verdict. There’s a lot of issues at play here though beyond dog fighting: athletes and violence, the cult of personality, the public and their ability to forgive, the actual legal issues, etc. I’m not here to pass judgement or play Devil’s advocate for him by any means, just trying to point out the inevitable:

He’ll be back next year playing ball for somebody.

Hear me out. First off, he’s too good not to. Despite the crime he’s accused of, he plays the game at a level few can match. Regardless of any current actions by the league, he’s done more good for the NFL than bad, even with this hanging over his head. Agree, disagree, right or wrong, doesn’t matter. Some coach out there faced with another losing season and needing a spark for his team, will take a chance after Atlanta cuts him.

If you’re an average player who can play and help your team win, who cares what you do off the field. But someone with Vick’s ability? No way he’s done. After a year of him doing the “I’m Really Sorry Tour 2007,” he’ll be snatched up by some forgive and forget team, just like that.

Secondly, the problem here isn’t the disproportionate level of violence found in pro sports and the culture of which young athletes are exposed to it leading to stories like this. It’s because America loves pets more than people. Beat the shit out of someone outside a club you weren’t supposed to be at around 3:00 am? Oops, your bad. Certainly not my problem. Kill or injure a dog though?

Timeout. Raise the DEFCON level.

Which highlights the issue: we crucify dog killers and abusers but let the spousal abusers take a pass. I hope all the people outraged at Vick for possibly taking part in this are also outraged when a player smacks his wife around time after time. Bottom line: as long as they can play, even drug users and team cancers in pro sports are given more than one chance at a fresh start. (Dennis Rodman. Randy Moss. Lawrence Philips. Ricky Williams.)

Now, I’m not equating dogfighting with some of the antics those guys pulled over the years, and there are certainly better and worse examples, but Philips had a history of violence against his girlfriend before joining the NFL and even after, yet how many teams kept giving him a shot? Apparently that’s ok just as long as you don’t kill someone?

Initial reports aside, assume for a sec that Vick is not responsible, but may have provided the house, etc. What if someone else takes the fall or is proven guilty though. Doesn’t Vick deserve a presumption of innocence now? A guy died in a fight Ray Lewis was involved in, yet today, he doesn’t seem to be any worse the wear in terms of fan popularity. I wonder if all the sponsors and fans abandoning Vick will suddenly flock back once this blows over as well.

If it blows over.

The cult of personality in this country is such that if you done wrong, just apologize, all will be forgiven. Something Pete Rose, Mark McGuire and Bill Clinton took too long to realize. Welcome to the new release of Forgiveness 3.0 where people will be willing to give their hero the benefit of the doubt, if not forgive them completely, as long they say those magic words: “I’m sorry.”

Like earlier today.

“He may be cheat, but he’s our cheat” said one SF fan after today’s Giants game when asked about Bonds and the record. (That fan is obviously still running 2.0.) Interesting comment, considering what Bonds is accused of, something that goes right to the heart of the game. Which is usually the line in the sand for my generation: Do what you want off the field but don’t fuck with the game itself.

Ever.

I bet there’s also more than just a few fans in Atlanta torn about Vick right now. The ones who already convicted him and the ones who say “He’s our quarterback no matter what.” If Michael Jackson and OJ still have delusional fans who think they’re both innocent, you don’t think Vick gets a pass over this from those same type of fans?

One other thing to remember. It’s a good thing to bring the issue of dog fighting to light across the board, not just with Vick. Given the violence surrounding the game and pro sports in general though, and if you really want to focus on the problem at hand, you need to realize Vick ain’t the only one involved in stuff like this.

Tags: Michael Vick