NFL star indicted on dog fight related charges
Michael Vick indictment (.pdf)
I’m not going to expound on Michael Vick’s alleged guilt. Whether or not he’s engaged in the promotion of dog-fighting in violation of federal is for a jury to decide. I frankly don’t know enough about the charges to be able to discourse on them with an degree of intelligence. No, my issue is with the fact that Vick, a fabulously talented multimillionaire athlete, simply couldn’t leave well enough alone. If these charges are proven to be true, then Vick will likely go to prison, forfeiting, his career, his talent, and millions in future earnings…for what?? Then again, Michael Vick has never demonstrated himself to be the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to playing by the rules.
I could care less what Vick does in his spare time. If he chooses to break the law, he deserves to pay the same penalty that anyone else would pay. Being a professional athlete should not be insulation from accountability for one’s actions. If anything, being a professional athlete connotes a greater responsibility to watch one’s step, because the perch upon which that sort of career rests is notoriously shaky and short-lived.
Any professional athlete knows (or certainly should know) that their job might disappear at any time, and for any number of reasons. This makes it even more important for an athlete to maked absolutely certain that they watch their step. When an athlete begins to believe their own press clippings and feel that they are somehow immune to the rules that mere, lesser mortals are required to follow…well, you end up with a DUMB@$$ like Michael Vick.
To put it mildly, Vick should know better than to put himself in a position where these sorts of charges could be even the remotests of possibilities. Now he may well be faced with the possibility of going to prison and losing his football career. How stupid can one person be? Well, it would seem one needs to look no further than Michael Vick, who simply could keep his nose clean. If the charges against him are proven to be true, then Vick is guilty of the worst sort of animal abuse, and he would deserve whatever punishment is meted out- and then some. At the very least, he should have been able to keep himself away from trouble…but when you think you’re untouchable, I suppose this is what can happen.
Nice move, DUMB@$$….
