The inevitable happened last week as an NFL team decided to sign former Atlanta Falcon Mike Vick. Quite frankly, all the hoopla surrounding the event was a waste of my time, your time and the time of anyone with an ounce of decency about them.
There’s been much debate about Vick since it came to light that he was heavily involved in the underground world of dogfighting. It should be noted that while dogfighting in and of itself is deplorable enough, published reports indicated Vick and his cronies also took part in the brutal execution of dogs who were not up to the task of competing in this barbaric action.
(Note, dogfighting is in no way on par with the sport of ultimate fighting as I heard one clueless caller to a sports talk show try to imply. The reason? People have the choice to participate in ultimate fighting, dogs have no such choice.)
So now Vick has a new team (it was good to hear Philadephia Eagle legend Ron Jaworski criticize the move) and many continue to try to convince those of us with a brain that he really didn’t do anything wrong.
I tried to put Vick out of my mind as I watched the Atlanta Falcons and the Detroit Lions in preseason action Saturday afternoon. One thing I was pleased by was the fact Atlanta’s quarterback of the present and future, Matt Ryan, has shown no signs of being anything like Vick, either on or off the field. Ryan spends his spare time in the film room getting better. When Vick was in Atlanta, he left town as often as possible to oversee his dogfighting operation.
There has been no word of Ryan trying to sneak past airport security with a fake water bottle. To this point, Ryan has not given Falcon fans the bird (and I’m not talking about the old Dirty Bird dance of 1998). No, Atlanta has a quarterback with character, discipline and the inner makings of a leader.
The Falcons never had that with Vick and while the former Virginia Tech standout will attempt his comeback among some of the toughest pro sports fans in the country, I have yet to understand why some feel he was guaranteed of anything. If you, or I, were found guilty of such monstrosities, would we be guaranteed our old jobs back? Hardly. What makes Vick different? Oh yeah, I forgot, he can run fast and is exciting to watch on the football field. Give me a break.
Perhaps the only positive thing to come out of this is that Vick will always carry the shame of what he did. Perhaps the biggest disgrace is all of this (even bigger than his reinstatement and signing with a new team) is how this whole thing has been so divided among racial lines.
What does right and wrong have to do with what color you are? What did Vick’s race have to do with the fact he freely chose to torture and execute dogs for fun and for money?
As for the Atlanta Falcons, I’m proud I can still be a fan of my state’s NFL franchise. We are no longer associated with Vick and will never be again. That tie has been permanantly cut and I, for one, am extremely thankful.
Chris Bridges is sports editor of the Barrow Journal. E-mail comments about this column to cbridges@barrowjournal.com.
