Michael Vick goes to jail
By Tom Grout
December 11, 2007
It’s now official; Michael Vick will serve 23 months in prison for his involvement in the dog fighting affair.
The judge in the case had some pretty strong words for Vick as he said,”I’m not convinced you have fully accepted responsibility. You were instrumental in promoting, funding, and facilitating this cruel and inhumane sports activity.”
He went on to say, “You need to apologize to the millions of young people who looked up to you.”
That last quote is something a lot of our athletes forget or want nothing to do with but like it or not it comes with the job. It’s an unwritten part of the job description. A lot of athletes have said they shouldn’t be role models nor do they want to be. That job, they say, is up to the parents, which of course they are right, but kids and people in general find their role models in many different areas for many different reasons.
Sport’s is a big part of our society and if you don’t believe that then why do we listen to the news, weather, and sports every night. Sport’s is something that people are passionate about and, if you are like me, it’s a form of escape from the every day stress I have to put up with.
When I was a kid I looked up to these athletes. These guys were doing the things I wanted to do but at a level I could only dream about. I collected all the trading cards and absorbed everything I could in Sport Magazine, The Sporting News, and Sports Illustrated not to mention the local newspapers. When I was in the grades I looked up to the varsity players on our high school teams. Most of these players of that time knew that this kind of adoration was just part of what they did and although there may have been a few bad apples the majority of them were cordial even if they didn’t want to.
A lot of today’s athletes are different, its like society owes them something and they think they are above everything including the law. There is always something in today’s sports news about an athlete getting into some kind of trouble whether it be drugs, drunk driving, violence, domestic violence, shootings, and dog fighting. Here mister athlete, can you autograph your mug shot?
I don’t know if Michael Vick was one of those who didn’t want to be a role model, but with all the endorsements he made with all the commercials and pictures in sports magazines he was becoming one. I’m sure he did it for the money more than anything else but with that comes responsibility. It’s a responsibility to those young fans who want to be just like him. It’s a responsibility he may not have wanted but he sure created.
I’m glad Vick got his 23 months, mainly because most sports athletes and celebrities seem to be let off from the troubles they get into which only feed their above the law like attitude. With Vick in prison it may tell his young fans that this is not acceptable behavior and that if this type of behavior is what you are going to do, you will be punished for it.
The unfortunate thing is that majority of the athletes are great people. It’s just that the bad ones are getting worse and of course that’s all the media will tell us about.
Even more reason we should have kept Torii Hunter!
At least he kept whatever private "evils" he may have had, exactly that; private!
We need more "do gooders" in sports. Especially at the pro level.
It is so hard for me to feel sorry for a bunch of zillionaires that whine about a million here or there, or that the collective bargaining agreements preclude them from their potential.
If they are truly stars, on and off the field, why shouldn't they be entitled to more $ than the same talented player who is a wreck in society?
You want a far out opinion? There isn't a whole lot of difference between dog-fighting, bull-fighting, and Ultimate Fighting and to a lesser extent, boxing except one dog and some bulls end up dead while most humans survive. Dog-fighting and cock-fighting are repulsive to almost any human being (me included) except some cultures do accept it as some of us accept boxing and UFC. My biggest question is how could Vick be so dumb!
I could have used him on my fantasy team, man.
For some reason we have bought into the idea that Pro athletes are untouchable, top of the line athletes.. My opinion of pro sports is this....They are over paid thugs....90% of them....the ridiculous salaries they DEMAND...the truth be told there are an untold amount of premier athletes that just dont get the chance....maybe they cant afford college...maybe they are victims of poor coaching..etc....todays athletes need to remember that...they made it thru talent yes...but there is some luck involved as well.....I cant belive that some media factions are feeling sorry for this guy....he is nothing short than a common criminal now.....would the average joe get all the second chances the media thinks he deserves? I really think society needs to take a lonnng look at who they "idolize" and who they really let there kids follow....there are a select few athletes today that are truly worthy of the attention...but im sorry there is NO human being regardless of occupation that is worth the money these people get for Playing a game....
I think that if you got paid what some of them do get paid, and you were asked to take a pay cut you wouldnt like it so much. There is no way that you can put yourself in there shoes. All the work that they put in all the time they spend away from there families. Some of those people do deserve that money. Alot of athletes today are smart NOT THUGS. I would like to see what you would do if you were in there shoes.
thats not the point...do they not hold a job in the public eye? role models for our kids? I mean come on the salary is ridiculous and you know it...perhaps your idol is one of those very thugs out there and im sorry for that...there a very few members of Pro sports that i would want to follow....maybe 20% total .....besides YOU should be your kids role model dont rely on the TV showing who they want when they want
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