I suppose I’ll accept the fact that Michael Vick was supposed to appear in court to answer federal conspiracy and dogfighting charges on the day the Atlanta Falcons were to open training camp. That might have been a coincidence - but I doubt it. And from that point on, things get fishy. They get smelly - making one wonder about the freshness of the meat in restaurants in Copenhagen. The three co-defendants then fall like dominoes - first one, then the other two, agreeing to cooperate with the government and plead guilty, so that the government can go after the real prize - Michael Vick. Why? Because Michael Vick is a celebrity - and he’s really good at football! No other running back in the history of the NFL has ever been able to pass himself off as a quarterback for this long.
Michael Vick then pleads guilty, doing so formally today in Virginia. He was given a date for his sentencing hearing, and that date is December 10th. On December 10th, which is a Monday, the Atlanta Falcons play on Monday Night Football. But that’s not the only thing. If you’re the Falcons, a team that, prior to the Vick fiasco, was hoping to make an interesting playoff run this year - if you’re the Falcons, what’s going to be one of your biggest games this year, one of the biggest challenges?
That would be when you host the best team in your division. Every team in the NFL plays 16 regular season games. 6 of those 16 games are against the other three teams in your four-team division - you play each team once at home and once on the road. The best team in Atlanta’s division, which is the NFC South, is the New Orleans Saints*. Atlanta hosts the New Orleans Saints exactly one time this season, and that game will be played on - wait for it - Monday night, December 10th.
Michael Vick is far from innocent in this case - all you have to do is read the indictment to get a pretty good idea that he’s been up to no good**. But he’s still getting hung out to dry - he’s being made an example of because he’s a celebrity; and if anyone out there actually believes that this case is being handled impartially and with the search for truth and justice at its core, then well...you’re just dumb. It so happens that the prosecutor in this case got it right, as opposed to the Duke case, when the prosecutor got it wrong. But nobody was out for justice in either case. The government in this case is not trying to punish people for conspiracy and for dogfighting. They are trying to crucify Michael Vick. The initial court date might have been a coincidence - the two taken together simply cannot be.
And even if it works - even if this case raises the spotlight on dogfighting and gets people to look at it differently and take it more seriously and finally do something about it - it’s still wrong. It’s being done for the wrong reasons. We used to have principles in this country, but now all we have is the lust for celebrity and money. Michael Vick is never going to be a poster boy against dogfighting - and who in their right mind would listen to him talking about it and believe him? Are you kidding me? If he was really against dogfighting, he never would have been involved. If he speaks up against it now, it’s only because he got caught.
Can I get away with one more offbeat Jurassic Park reference here? Ian Malcolm says to John Hammond, “I'll tell you the problem with the scientific power that you're using here: it didn't require any discipline to attain it. You read what others had done and you took the next step. You didn't earn the knowledge for yourselves, so you don't take any responsibility for it. You stood on the shoulders of geniuses to accomplish something as fast as you could and before you even knew what you had you patented it and packaged it and slapped it on a plastic lunchbox, and now you're selling it, you want to sell it!”
All this boils down to is some lawyers who wanted to be famous, didn’t know how - or were unable - to do it on their own, and managed to find someone they could use. Granted, Michael Vick gift-wrapped it for them - but just because he wrapped it doesn’t mean that he can change what’s in the box.
“What’s in the box? What’s in the box?”
It’s not about dogs and it’s not about conspiracy. It’s about fame. When Myles Brand fired Bob Knight, it wasn’t about zero tolerance or that idiot kid or that idiot kid’s idiot stepfather - it wasn’t even about Bob Knight. It was about fame. Now Myles Brand is the president of the NCAA. Wonder where these prosecutors - the names printed at the end of the indictment are Chuck Rosenberg (U.S. Attorney) and Michael R. Gill (Assistant U.S. Attorney) - will be in another year.
* Aside for the Carolina Panthers fans - just stop. Don’t talk. You’re just going to embarrass yourselves. The Carolina Panthers are, and have been for years, the most overrated team in the NFL, among teams that do not contain Rex Grossman.
** And just in case anyone started foaming at the mouth right there, the indictment itself does not mean he is guilty. The indictment is simply a list of allegations. It is not evidence. The American justice system insists that the prosecutor prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. The vigilante system of justice says that the indictment is good enough. The American justice system says innocent until proven guilty. The vigilante justice system hijacks planes and flies them into buildings.
2 comments:
Now see, you had to go and throw in the Rex comment. That's not nice. Besides, I don't think the Bear are that over-rated seeing as how no one gave them much positive pub in the second half of last year, no one picked them to beat the Saints in Soldier Field, and no one is picking them to this year either. Besides, something tells me old Rexy aint gonna be starting for too long. Hooray Griese!
As for Vick, I will admit right here and now, that I am THRILLED with what is happening to him, and that has nothing to do with whether it is right or wrong. I am a long time Vick hater (as you know). I think he might be the most over-rated running back who throws ever. Seriously, Atlanta fan, with the exception of the one playoff win in Green Bay, what has he done? Did you like those 7-9 seasons the last 2 years when some idiot experts thought you'd challenge for a Super Bowl?
Also, as a dog owner and lover, I think the whole "dogfighting" thing is disgusting, and I am totally OK with taking that all out on him. Is it any different than hunting? Probably not, but I don't own a deer do I.
I will 100% agree with you that this is a big deal because it is Vick. That is wrong. Your comparison to the Duke thing I think was spot on. These guys are trying to advance their careers. They could give a shit about the dogs, or the gambling, or any of it. However, like I said, closed minded or no, I am totally fine with it.
I will agree with you also on the ironically timed hearings and such, although Vick wouldn't be playing in that game either way with his suspension and all.
Again, I will freely admit that this is a 100% biased, and unfair view I have, and I'm fine with it. Only thing that would've made it better is if it had been Christian Leittner (not really, but I thought you might chuckle at that).
And finally, nice "7" reference.
I feel that your thoughts on politics, power, and the U.S. are affecting your judgement here.
No doubt those attourneys stand to gain much from this trial, but all things aside, they are doing their job(whatever improper motivation they might have).
The real problem is that everyday on talk radio I hear nearly every host say, "we are going to stop talking about Michael Vick and start talking football." And, everyday, they talk about Mike Vick. Sure, the trial placement is beautifully ironic and it supplants a lot of good football talk, but If the callers to those radio shows, the hosts, and the producers in this world would let it die, then there would be no fame to gain. But, the viewers apparenlty want to see it, or it wouldn't sell. It does sell because people want to hear about it. I don't know where these people are, because I can't find any of them, but they exist in our society and they are a large part of the reason that this case and others like it can be exploited by prosecutors who like to make themselves well known.
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