Michael Vick hasn't even begun to get what he deserves

Take a good look at this dog's face. This is the kind of damage admitted dogfighter Michael Vick has caused animals for the past SIX YEARS. The man fought, tortured and killed innocent animals. He gave his blessing, if not his own hands, to drowning them, electrocuting them, and slamming their heads into the ground.

And yet after he speaks for a whopping 4.5 minutes today, it seems like half of America is ready to forgive him. To that portion of the population, I ask this: Are you really that stupid? What part of your moral character is so misguided that you think someone who tortures animals for SIX YEARS should be forgiven because for the first time in his life, he accepts a bit of responsibility for his outrageously offensive actions?

ESPN's Chris Berman continues to refer to the case as a "tragedy". Berman should be fired today, as should many journalists and commentators who so greatly mis-characterize the Vick story. September 11 was a tragedy. A child getting abused is a tragedy. A flood wiping out an entire city is a tragedy. An over-paid, over-hyped athlete with an already long track record of vile behavior going to jail for reprehensible actions he committed ... that is not a tragedy. The SIX YEARS of engaging in that behavior is an abomination, and anyone thinking Michael Vick did something worthy of praise today is sadly mistaken.

Vick should not get praised when he is so boxed into a corner and fighting so desperately for his own career that he finally stops hiding behind his OJ Simpson-esque legal team and PR hacks. Vick shouldn't get praised because because he spoke for four whole minutes "without notes", as too many reporters chirped today. You're not "being a man" when you're saying anything to save your own skin. Not after telling lies for months. Not after trying to proclaim to the world you would prove your innocence. Not after telling a local TV reporter about how much "the world" loves Michael Vick.

I'm going to scream if I hear one more idiot refer to Vick has having made "a" mistake. Vick didn't make "a" mistake in the heat of one moment. He tortured innocent animals for at least SIX YEARS that we know of. Cheating on your spouse one time is "a" mistake that, if you should be so lucky, you might be forgiven for. But imagine that your husband or wife says, "I've had an affair with 65 or so people for the past six years. It was 'a' mistake. Forgive me, OK?"

You're going to forgive your spouse for that in five minutes? Hell no. You're going to kick that pig or slut to the curb.

Imagine an employee comes to you and says, "I have been stealing money from your company for SIX YEARS. I made 'a' mistake."

I guarantee you that you're not going to see it as "a" mistake. You're going to fire that person in a heartbeat.

All Michael Vick did today was confess what had already become clear: He's a miscreant. A thug. That's all we saw in 4.5 minutes today.

And Michael Vick was a poster who should have come down a long time ago. This is the same man who, given the keys to a major sports franchise and who had to understand what comes with cashing $130 million in paychecks:

• Knowingly gave a woman a sexually transmitted disease
• Made an obscene gesture to fans in his own stadium because he couldn't stand the heckling
• Walked into an airport with a bottle that a secret compartment containing a marijuana-like substance (evidence that mysteriously disappeared)
• Blew off an opportunity to speak to Congress because he couldn't be bothered to make the trip
• Threw his teammates under the bus in so many interviews I lost track. Last year's HBO interview in which he claimed he was as good as now Super Bowl champ Peyton Manning and three-time Super Bowl champ Tom Brady was stunning even for Vick. He said he often wished he played with other teams' players. This is the same guy who has the lowest pass completion percentage of any starting QB in the league with more than 500 passes thrown. He's an over-hyped player who for years has fooled his idiot fans by making them believe that "exciting" equals "effective". So he set the single-season QB rushing record -- big deal. The Falcons still had a losing season, and have never had two consecutive winning seasons with him at the helm.

Michael Vick breaks his silence for 4.5 lousy minutes and people already want to start forgiving the guy for SIX YEARS of vile, criminal, reprehensible behavior?

If you think one little neck-saving speech aimed at trying to lessen his jail time and save a now floundering career is praiseworthy, you've lost your damn mind.

Hurt a human being or an innocent animal and you should be in jail for a good long time. The whopping 4.5 minutes of discomfort he experienced today does not warrant forgiveness. Let him pay his debt to society then we can talk about redemption. For now, Michael Vick hasn't even begun to get what he deserves. The animal graveyard at his Virginia home can attest to that.

Comments

[Carl]

I think my "favorite" moment was when he said he was "immature" for what he did – no, you committed multiple felonies, you thug. You aren't immature, you're a thug. I believe in redemption and forgiveness, but not after a 4.5 minute, well-rehearsed speech. Let him pay his debt to society, then go out and start doing some good work for society, on his own (not court-ordered), and maybe we'll think about letting him back in the club of human beings again. Until then, he can rot in jail.

[DB]

Amen.

[DB]

Amen.

[DB]

Amen.

[LL]

Actually, Berman is correct. It is a 'tragedy' in the true sense as in the Greek tragedies wherein great men were undone or ruined by a single flaw or weakness in their own characters or personalities. So maybe you can spare Berman his job. I'm not being critical, but someone who earns his living with the written word should know what a tragedy is.
Did I ever tell you the story about the day when I was a very young boy and my oldest brother and his friends took me deer hunting one winter day? They shot and wounded a deer and had to track the badly injured animal for at least a half mile before we caught up with it and ended the suffering with a single bullet. They felt some sort of pride. But you know what? It wasn't even their own deer. I never did eat any of the venison.