Forgive and Forget?
Michael Vick has been reinstated into the NFL. There’s a debate running over on Facebook about whether the Seattle Seahawks should sign Michael Vick to the team.
It seems to me (and my unscientific observation) that many of the guys responding are all for it but many of the women are not. My little cousin is all for it, as is my former boss. Both love dogs. But they also love football.
Should Michael Vick, after having served his time, be forgiven? My gut reaction is no.
Yes, he served his time but he showed an complete and utter lack of respect for the law and for the basic suffering of life in his actions. I’m not sure two years in jail has ‘fixed’ his views. Has he truly shown remorse? What is he doing to become a better citizen and show others the error of his ways?
“As you can imagine, the last two years have given me time to re-evaluate my life, mature as an individual and fully understand the terrible mistakes I have made in the past and what type of life I must lead moving forward…”
Has he spoken out against dog fighting? Has he started any sort of organization to rehabilitate or rescue dogs? Kids look up to football players and sports people. I would never want my son to wear a Vick jersey…ever.
…Vick finally pleaded guilty after his three co-defendants had already done so. They told of how Vick participated in the killing of dogs that didn’t perform well in test fights by shooting, hanging, drowning or slamming them to the ground….He plans to work with HSUS in a program designed to steer inner city youth away from dogfighting.
Well, until he takes some drastic steps - speaking out STRONGLY against dog fighting and the brutality he put upon those poor dogs I can’t stomach his return to the NFL. I’m not opposed to forgiveness. And I do think people can change. But I’m really unsure in this situation. Is he really such a great football player that his past should be completely overlooked and forgotten (or forgiven)? Apparently some fans think so.
Seriously though…is he the ONLY player who is good enough to save the Seahawks? I kind of doubt it. The PR issues alone seem to trump his skills on the field.
What do you think? Would you support a football team that signed Vick? (Not that I watch a lot of football…it’s not exactly my favorite sport.)
July 28th, 2009 at 12:21 pm
We love football (go, Dolphins!), but we would probably boycott by not watching any team that signed Vick. He doesn’t deserve to be in a position of football “hero”.
July 30th, 2009 at 7:30 am
I will also boycott any team that signs him. I haven’t seen any signs of remorse from him. I don’t know if he could do anything to change my opinion of him, but it would help if he did speak out against dog fighting and animal cruelty and show some signs of remorse for the torture and cruelty of those poor dogs. Personally I think anyone capable of what he did to his dogs will probably never change - it is deep within his character.
July 30th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
HELL NO…. I’ve even signed up on sports sites so I can register my opinion. If someone killed and tortured children for kicks, got caught, did some time, and happened to be a newscaster, should they be given a chance to sign up with a network again? If they did I’m sure everyone would never watch that channel again. Why should football be different? Michael Vick is a sick, twisted sub-human, who only quit because he got caught. He’s no different now than he was then.
July 30th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
See…that’s what I was thinking too but then thought maybe I was being too harsh. Someone who actually participates in such heinous things…can he really have changed that much?
And I don’t go for the excuse I’ve read in some places “they’re *just* dogs” … people who abuse animals are much more likely to disregard human life as well.
July 30th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Don’t worry about being too harsh when you feel strongly about something. Outrage can be a useful feeling, I think it’s our body’s way of saying…. FOR GOD’S SAKE, THIS IS WRONG and it spurs us into action. Thanks for the SeaHawks link, I got to vent there too. If I should ever see MV in person I’ll leave him no doubt as to my thoughts about him because I think he deserves every bit of public humiliation he can get.
August 16th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Well, I don’t watch football anyway. But I hope his new team does poorly this year. I do not believe he is truly remorseful, other than being sorry he got caught.
January 23rd, 2010 at 12:29 am
Come back to blogging!