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07/19/2007: "Doggone Disgusting"

Mike Vick - you are so screwed!

As a species, homo sapiens has shown itself to be capable of great things. We've split the atom; visited the moon; cracked the DNA code. We've cured disease, shown compassion for our fellow man, and worked to save endangered species (when we choose to ...). All in all, as a species we can do amazing things.

As individuals, however, we can still be such dumbasses.

Michael Vick was raised in a difficult part of the world - the tough streets of Newport News, Virginia. No doubt, he had to see and experience things most of us never will. No one would have blamed him if he entered the same downward spiral that claimed so many others from his same situation.

But Vick was a talented athlete, and his gifts let him rise above his upbringing. From the grassy fields of Virginia Tech to the artificial turf of the Georgia Dome, his football skills gave him the opportunity to break not only himself but his entire family free from the shackles of poverty. His signing with the Atlanta Falcons in 2001 represented a opportunity, a new dawn, for the entire Vick clan.

If only he had chosen that path.

The money Vick received with his first contract with the Falcons could have been spent bettering those around him - homes, cars, educations. Instead, it is charged that Vick used the money to set himself up as a major player in a different kind of "sport" - dog fighting. Now, I'm from Southern California, and I realize that there are activities that are traditional in other parts of the country that I don't necessarily understand. But we're not talking about running a little shine or noodling for catfish - these guys breed dogs for the specific purpose of fighting to the death - all for the entertainment of those in attendance. Can there be a more pathetic display of disdain of one species by another?

It would appear that Vick's past has caught up with him now, as he has been indicted by the federal government for his dogfighting activities. And, unlike most of the other athete-related criminal charges that are all too prevalent in our society, this one includes a stiff penalty. After all, the feds don't come after you unless they have a damned good case. Vick will fight the charges with all the money he has left after his kennel career, of course, but there won't be a happy outcome to this story.

Beyond the dead and maimed dogs, the folks who are really screwed in this deal are those with a financial stake in Vick's on field performance. The Atlanta Falcons, who have molded their team around Vick's unique combination of skills, suddenly find themselves with an absentee quarterback - and they traded their primary backup to the Texans during the off season. Now they'll have to turn over the keys to the franchise to some quickly-signed castoff from another squad. Also, Nike announced yesterday that the impending release of a Vick-endorsed shoe line would be delayed indefinitely; I guess the saying, "Man, my dogs are killing me" takes on a whole new meaning when you're wearing Vick autograph model sneakers.

There's an old saying - "You can take a man out of the country, but you can't take the country out of a man." We've seen over and over that athletes with difficult backgrounds just can't leave the past behind, even when they have the financial resources to separate themselves. To the list that includes Mike Tyson, John Daly, Lawrence Phillips and Pacman Jones, you can now add Mike Vick. It really is sad.

More to come on this one ...