I flipped on ESPN a few hours ago thinking it would be showing Baseball Tonight and I could catch the scores. Instead it was SportsCenter and there were Chris Berman, Tom Jackson and others bloviating about Michael Vick, the Eagles quarterback who spent a couple of years in jail for funding a dogfighting ring. They were all applauding his leading the team to a win over the Jaguars today. Fine. But then I heard Berman say "He's turned his life around and become a good man."
Excuse me? He spent a couple of years in jail for a crime, got out and went back to his career. The crime was pretty nasty, but it pales in comparison to some of the other things some NFL players have done. After all, Vick didn't kill anyone while driving under the influence, as both Leonard Little and Donte Stallworth have done. Neither has he been accused of rape, as Kobe Bryant and Ben Roethlisberger have been.
Ultimately, Vick didn't rape anyone, he didn't kill anyone, and he's not some terrible evil monster. He was guilty of having a perverse understanding of dogs as a vehicle for entertainment and sport. He had the money to fund this entertainment, and the friends to prod him along if doubt ever crept in. That earned him six felony charges and nearly two years imprisonment, theoretically teaching him the lesson that didn't get through when he was growing up in Newport News: dogfighting's horrible.Right. Presumably he's resolved not to do that anymore.
To me, "turning your life around" should be reserved for renouncing the booze or drugs after you drove drunk and killed someone, or after you nearly died from an overdose of Quaaludes. You've turned your life around if you've kicked a crystal meth habit which sent you from the top of your profession to the gutter.
You haven't turned your life around when you've served a couple of years in jail for felonies whose commission can easily be avoided in the future.
The words Berman used form a false narrative about Vick. It's probably not something Berman's consciously doing, but it's doing it nonetheless.
Posted by Linkmeister at September 26, 2010 02:43 PM | TrackBackThe people here in Philadelphia are so upset about Michael Vick (bet they'll stop being upset if he continues to play as well as he has been) One woman even told me he wasn't punished enough for his crime. Was he supposed to say, "Judge, that isn't enough"? I'm hoping to enjoy a good football season - and whatever he did, he did pay the price.
Posted by: cassie-b at September 27, 2010 05:48 AMI watching SportsNation on ESPN2 today (9/27), and Michelle Beadle was even harder on Michael Vick for his past dog-fighting conviction. She did admit that her hostility was due to her caring for her dog. I felt that to be a bit harsh, but she is getting paid for her opinions.
Posted by: LumFan at September 27, 2010 04:38 PMI think his behavior was unconscionable, but it's not like he murdered a dozen people. He paid the price and returned to his job. He's not a saint, but neither is he a lifetime criminal.
Posted by: Linkmeister at September 27, 2010 05:34 PM