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Really, don’t click if you’re squeamish.
billy on August 20, 2007 at 6:19 PM
I don’t need to click to know the brutality animals inflict on each other. So I didn’t click.

Don’t you think a good argument would serve you better than theatrics? (You could include whatever was behind the click as supporting evidence.)

jaime on August 20, 2007 at 7:29 PM

I think it was more compassion than theatrics. Pro-lifers get criticized all the time for their ‘jelly-jar’ pictures by the pro-choicers. Theatrics or documentation?
I hate the idea of sensitivity training AKA brainwashing. But I would like this athelete to work with abused animals – only if he volunteered.

The ancient Romans thrilled to see animals torn apart. Animal torture, human torture. it is a deadly path to degradation.

The trouble is, if he is kept in the game as is, it sends a message of ‘no biggie’ to the impressionable.

It is hell to be a pit bull in Detroit City these days because dog death matches are considered the sport of real men cool in the face of death.

IMHO these ‘men’ should get a chunk taken out of them for every bite a dog suffers

I can’t believe they’d torpedo one of the top two or three talents in the league. Then again, if the fallout’s already this bad…

Ha! That’s a good one.

Rational Thought on August 20, 2007 at 4:19 PM

Everybody makes mistakes, at least you defended and stood your ground against something you did not appreciate, maybe a mistake, but an honorable one.

It’s not just dog fighting. It’s conspiracy and illegal gambling ring and this:

Yep. If credible evidence of gambling comes to the attention of the NFL, he’s probably finished.

Really, don’t click if you’re squeamish.
billy on August 20, 2007 at 6:19 PM

I don’t need to click to know the brutality animals inflict on each other. So I didn’t click.

Don’t you think a good argument would serve you better than theatrics? (You could include whatever was behind the click as supporting evidence.)

jaime on August 20, 2007 at 6:08 PM

It’s not just dog fighting. It’s conspiracy and illegal gambling ring and this:

The most damning evidence made public against Vick came Friday when co-defendants Purnell Peace and Quanis Phillips also pleaded guilty. In their plea, Peace and Phillips admitted to killing eight dogs in April at Vick’s property in Virginia and said that Vick participated in the death of the animals. The animals were destroyed because they failed to perform well enough in testing to see if they were “game” enough to be good fighter

Vick’s career over?

Dogs and wolves have well-studied means of establishing pecking orders within packs that don’t typically result in death. Packs have been known to kill lone outsiders who stray into their territories, but it is generally unusual for dogs (or wolves) to kill one another.

Pit bulls (or any other kind of dog) used in dogfighting have physical characteristics that lend themselves to the “sport,” but they aren’t acting naturally. They have to be specifically trained, via blatantly cruel methods, to behave as violently towards one another as they do. People like Vick aren’t in any way letting nature take its course: they’re going well out of their way to condition an unnatural level of violence.
Blacklake on August 20, 2007 at 6:34 PM

No doubt. That’s why I said Vick should go to jail and be suspended from the NFL.

I don’t think you’re speaking from the cutting edge of ethology.

Possibly not. But roving packs of dogs will many times KILL other dogs that cross their path, going into the dog’s yard to attack it. I knew a guy who used to put two guard dogs in his place of business at night. Occasionally they would fight, and eventually one KILLED the other.

On rare occasions my own dogs, both male, will fight over something as stupid as who is going to lay on a certain spot on the floor.

Let’s get real. They were dogs. If the dogs had been wild and running in packs they would have attacked and killed each other for territory, mating privileges, dominance at feeding, etc…

jaime on August 20, 2007 at 6:08 PM

I don’t think you’re speaking from the cutting edge of ethology. Dogs and wolves have well-studied means of establishing pecking orders within packs that don’t typically result in death. Packs have been known to kill lone outsiders who stray into their territories, but it is generally unusual for dogs (or wolves) to kill one another.

Pit bulls (or any other kind of dog) used in dogfighting have physical characteristics that lend themselves to the “sport,” but they aren’t acting naturally. They have to be specifically trained, via blatantly cruel methods, to behave as violently towards one another as they do. People like Vick aren’t in any way letting nature take its course: they’re going well out of their way to condition an unnatural level of violence.

TheSitRep on August 20, 2007 at 5:00 PM

With NIKE it is all about $$$.

They will go whichever way the $$$ tell them to go.

Maybe I gave the wrong impression, here. It’s not that I am defending any part of Vick’s activities, it’s that athletes’ crimes and violations of law, regulations, and sporting ethics are routinely papered over in favor of popularity among fans, and profit for owners.

That is what I would change, rather than overlook Vick’s actions.

Jaibones on August 20, 2007 at 4:50 PM

I agree with that entirely. Professional sports have generally been unacceptably permissive about criminal transgressions on the parts of players. That I’ve gotten rather sick of this kind of passive endorsement of “thug life” is one of the reasons I come down so hard on Vick–with the possible exception of Kobe Bryant, he’s arguably the highest-profile personality to run afoul of the law in recent years, and quite unlike Bryant the case against him is (obviously) substantial. If that doesn’t make him the perfect person to be made into an example, I don’t know what does.

I think there are a lot of kids out there involved in interscholastic football who genuinely idolize NFL personalities. I don’t want any of them thinking it would be advisable to grow up and be just like Michael Vick.

Let’s get real. They were dogs. If the dogs had been wild and running in packs they would have attacked and killed each other for territory, mating privileges, dominance at feeding, etc… Vick’s actions were cruel and illegal and should be punished with jail time. But let’s not go over the gunwales.

jaime on August 20, 2007 at 6:08 PM
Going “over the gunwales?”
Well
Here.
is a picture of a Pit Bull after a fight.
Don’t click if you’re squeamish.
Really, don’t click if you’re squeamish.

Let’s get real. They were dogs. If the dogs had been wild and running in packs they would have attacked and killed each other for territory, mating privileges, dominance at feeding, etc… Vick’s actions were cruel and illegal and should be punished with jail time. But let’s not go over the gunwales.

Some may think I’m callous, but I’m a dog owner and I care about my dogs. They’re well sheltered (live in the house), well fed, receive regular medical care, are well exercised (they’re large and need to be taken out most days and run. We walk over to the golf course just before dusk and I throw a baseball down the fairway until they’re tired from chasing it). So these comments come from someone who respects and cares about these faithful and dependant companions.

The bigger problem for Vick is the gambling. Nothing will ruin a sport faster than gambling. If credible evidence exists that Vick was involved in gambling, he should get a life ban from the NFL.

I can’t believe they’d torpedo one of the top two or three talents in the league.

Really?

How many of the “two or three top talents in the league” who are dog killers should the NFL keep around?

As part of his community service after doing time he could work in the county dog pound. When they need to kill the dog Michael Vick is your man. Everybody wins! The county is rid of unwanted kittens and puppies and Vick gets to kill defenseless animals. Sweet!

That aside, Goodell gave Vick an opportunity to clean things up with him face to face. Vick chose to outright lie.

For that Vick will never play in the NFL again.

On top of all that he gambled — Goodell would be out of his mind to allow someone who participated in illegal gambling activity of any kind and in any capacity to remain in the league.

Beyond the NFL, none of the mainstream leagues would want him (AFL, afl2, CFL), and I’m certain that even if he did end up in the lower tier indoor or outdoor leagues he’d get booed off the field anywhere he went.

I do believe he’s done for good…