Michael Vick? Case Closed. Already?
Michael Vick has been tried and convicted, in the court of public opinion that is. From the moment the federal grand jury sent down the indictment, people all over the country (world?) have been bitching about how vile and disgusting a person he is. They’ve asked the Falcons and/or NFL to fire him. They’ve burned his jersey in effigy. They’ve organized protests against him. They’ve down all they could to demonize this guy.
One small problem with that… he’s yet to be convicted of any crime. As of right now, all we have are allegations. Don’t get me wrong, they’re pretty substantial allegations and personally I think he’s guilty of something. Either he knew about the dog fighting or he was an active participant. Either way, I feel he’s probably going to be found guilty on some level. The difference with my thought process and that of others is, I’m holding my final judgement until the ruling comes down.
Am I overly buying into the ‘innocent until proven guilty’ thing? Maybe. But at the same time I don’t like looking stupid. If Vick is found innocent and I was bashing him all the while, well then, I would think I looked pretty damn stupid.
That’s how I feel about all these nimrods out there now asking for his head on a silver platter. These people are too fucking ignorant to actually understand what’s going on. They’re too fucking ignorant to understand the legal system. To me, this is just another example of how pathetic we have become as a society.
If you’re a dog lover, against dog fighting and Vick is found guilty, I’ll sit back and let you bash him until your blue in the face, but until then, sit the fuck down and shut the fuck up while the legal system does its job.
I’ve got more to say on the subject of dog-fighting in general and maybe I’ll do that in a separate post. Until then, this is all you get.
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July 27th, 2007 at 1:30 pm
I wonder his legal team will use the Wookie Defense.
July 27th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
You can’t argue the Wookie Defense. It’s sound legal reasoning.
July 27th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Maybe you should take your own advice as well? Hth.
July 27th, 2007 at 2:05 pm
I’m not claiming he’s innocent nor am I claiming he’s guilty. I’m claiming I don’t know and neither does anyone else (except him of course).
July 27th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
it must be difficult not looking stupid looking the way you look.
July 27th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
I meant to add something about that in there but must have forgotten. Thanks for taking care of that buddy.
July 27th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
“If Vick is found innocent and I was bashing him all the while, well then, I would think I looked pretty damn stupid.” - that’s bullshit and you know it! You’d never in a million years even come CLOSE to admitting that you were wrong about something. I think instead that you’d find some way to rationalize your thought process, then say, ” I STILL think I was right…rat bastard!” Just sayin’…
July 27th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
np.
July 27th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
It’s not that I’ll never admit when I’m wrong, I just never put myself in a position to be wrong. Problem solved.
July 27th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
Truly, you’re a god among men, and we’re just blessed to be near you!
July 27th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Hardly… I’m a worthless piece of shit. Anyone who listens to what I say is more moronic than I am.
July 27th, 2007 at 4:32 pm
Thanks, Dave. I shall be “moronic” then…
Vick is GUILTY and he’s dumb as a fucking rock. I shall sing to the heavens when he is proven GUILTY. Call me premature. I don’t fucking care. This “system” you speak of also helped O.J. go free…just sayin’. It’s not perfect (the system) but I see a repeat coming up. This man deserves protests. He’s supposed to be a role model for children. The fact that his reputation is now tainted, whether he is guilty or not, imagine the conversations kids have with their parents. It’s horrible.
July 27th, 2007 at 4:36 pm
do you think oj and michael jackson are innocent?
July 27th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I agree the guy probably is guilty and if he pulls an OJ and is found innocent, then I’ll probably still believe he’s guilty but that doesn’t mean you should wait for the verdict. How about Kobe Bryant? How about the Duke Lacrosse kids? The evidence was pretty good going into the cases until you heard the defense.
Athletes are not “supposed” to be role models. They’re supposed to win games which in turn generates revenue for the owner and the city/state. It’s the parent’s responsibility to teach their children who appropriate role models are and if they do their job as a parent, then they should be their children’s role model.
July 27th, 2007 at 4:44 pm
james, it’s not a matter of whether I think they’re guilty or innocent. As I said in my post, I think Vick is guilty. I also thought the Duke kids were innocent and that Kobe was guilty. I was right with one and wrong on the other. (I’m sure someone will point out I thought the white kids were innocent and thought the black guy was guilty… yeah, so, coincidence, deal.)
For the record, I thought and still think OJ is guilty. MJ, I’m not so sure about. I believe there were a lot of money hungry parents that clouded the truth.
July 27th, 2007 at 8:38 pm
I’ve been saying for years he wouldn’t pan out, had issues, and Schabb was the future. And I bet my prediction comes true that Schabb will be winning Superbowls in the next 5 years.
I don’t know who’s worse, Vick or the Atlanta traffic reporters.
July 29th, 2007 at 10:53 am
Schaub is great, no doubt, but do you think he can carry the Texans to the Super Bowl? That would be amazing. I was a long Vick supporter… was at his first college game in Blacksburg at Virginia Tech and was at the Sugar Bowl when he played for the National Championship. Needless to say, I was excited as fuck to hear Atlanta traded up to get him in the draft. Even though we haven’t won a Super Bowl yet, you can’t deny the guy did great things for the franchise. The Falcons were never on national television until Vick arrived and although we’ve still yet to have back to back winning seasons, under Vick’s leadership (?), we were the first team to beat Green Bay at home during the play-offs and we did play in the NFC Championship game (after losing to the Eagles, we came back to beat the ever living piss out of them in the season opener the following year).
All that said… I’m so disappointed/frustrated with what’s going on right now. Guilty or not, I don’t appreciate what our franchise/city is going through.
July 30th, 2007 at 9:04 am
Schaub never was the future for Atlanta. He won’t be the future for Houston either if they don’t get a decent offensive line. He will most likely spend much of the time face down on the turf like David Carr. Carr was a good quarterback - no protection. Michael Vick was the future for Atlanta and I was looking forward to seeing what Petrino would do for him this year - he is an excellent offensive coach. Once Joey Harrington screws up he’ll have Shockley to work with, which could be almost as interesting.
Regardless of guilty or not guilty (and yes, he looks pretty guilty), Atlanta and Atlanta Falcons fans need to realize what he has done for the francise and city. For all of the reasons Dave stated above and more (no one gave a crap about the Falcons until he came there), he at least should be recognized for what he has done up until now. I would think his time in Atlanta is done. And for those people who kept saying Shaub is a better quarterback than Vick - sorry, but your idiots and you don’t know the game. They are two totally different quarterbacks - none “better” than the other, but different types of players. It depends on what type of QB your team needs and the mobile ones are more exciting to watch. Again, Petrino would have been a great coach for him, and it is too bad he made poor decisions and won’t get the chance to coach him. The faster Petrino goes to Shockley, the longer he’ll keep his job.
July 30th, 2007 at 10:55 am
I just wonder why they don’t go after more people for dog fighting, if it is such a “bad thing” as it is being portrayed as in this case. I mean, I know for a fact that people in our neighborhood have wild dogs, and totally beat their dogs to make them mean; and I wouldn’t think that they are doing that because they want a mean dog to hang out with. They are sick assholes who get off on dogs fighting, and it should be stopped. Whether he did it or not, I just hope that this leads to a heavier crack down on dog fighting in general. If you torture (or stand by while the torture goes on) animals for ANY reason, you should definitely face some sort of punishment.
As someone that has a dog, the whole thought of it just makes me want to vomit.
August 7th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
gay. innocent before proven guilty in this case is hopping on the fence and letting someone else make the tough decision
August 8th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
pheg, you don’t make any sense.
And by the way, “gay” is an excellent term to express disgust. You show your intelligence.
August 14th, 2007 at 5:57 am
Exactly. It’s this same kind of mob mentality that makes true justice almost impossible.
August 19th, 2007 at 12:30 am
Well, why I think he is guilty, I haven’t said a word about anything other than this: if he is found guilty, I can’t think of a better way to waste God-given talent and a lifetime of income other than to fight dogs and then kill them if they don’t perform.
I mean…come on here people. This guy is getting an assload of money; he can’t stay clean for a few friggin’ years??? What is the problem?
If he is proven not guilty, then we should wipe this under the rug and forget about all of it but with all his friends pleading guilty, and pointing the finger at Vick, we will never know the truth.
Anyone whose kids think professional athletes are role-models probably also should educate their children to reality as soon as possible. They aren’t role models; they are income generators. That is reality and should be taught to children as soon as they are able to understand the concept.