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Been reading a few blogs about Mick Vicks release, many Falcons fans wish Blank would keep him on the team. Certain fans want to keep him and some want him gone. The ones that want him gone have this evil animosity toward the guy. Some fans want Vick to comeback and be a success in the league.
Personally I will be cheering for the dude, where ever he goes. Where do you think Blank will send him, who actually needs him? I know Vick did a lot for Atlanta sports, can Matt Ryan do the same? I like Matt Ryan, but is he really the future? What if Matt Ryan gets injured? Id like to hear from all fans, especially the old schoolers.
Mike Vick did his time and lost everything. He's working in construction now. I say let the man live in peace, and if he gets back to his team, so be it.
Been reading a few blogs about Mick Vicks release, many Falcons fans wish Blank would keep him on the team. Certain fans want to keep him and some want him gone. The ones that want him gone have this evil animosity toward the guy. Some fans want Vick to comeback and be a success in the league.
Personally I will be cheering for the dude, where ever he goes. Where do you think Blank will send him, who actually needs him? I know Vick did a lot for Atlanta sports, can Matt Ryan do the same? I like Matt Ryan, but is he really the future? What if Matt Ryan gets injured? Id like to hear from all fans, especially the old schoolers.
Because he's scum.
And he was scum before the whole dogfighting thing.
Remember when he got caught smuggling marijuana onto an airplane in Miami?
SEts a bad example. It's not like you can't find someone else that can play ball that doesn't break the law constantly.
And he was scum before the whole dogfighting thing.
Remember when he got caught smuggling marijuana onto an airplane in Miami?
SEts a bad example. It's not like you can't find someone else that can play ball that doesn't break the law constantly.
But for the dogfighting, he deserves the chair.
Get yourself out there and run a low 4 second 40 yard dash at 300lb guys intent on crushing you for the highlight reel. He competed against hundreds of thousands of other kids w/ sports dreams to put himself in that spot. It is waste that so much talent was bestowed on someone w/ that poor impulse control and lack of compassion for animals but unlike most people that do what he did, he actually did prison time for it.
I don't think he's a good person. I don't think he should be anyone's role model but that's up to the parents to shape and not him. He's most likely a huge douchebag but getting the chair for killing dogs? Unless you're a total vegan and feed your pets vegan food, you facilitate animal cruelty on a daily basis that far exceeds what he ever did to his dogs. Go look at how they slaughter animals for food. Purina dog chow isn't made w/ loving care for your pet. It's made by killing animals for protein content. Sure most of the time they try to kill animals humanely and quickly but often it doesn't work as planned when multiplied out to the millions of times per day it happens just so you can have a 20oz steak or your dog can enjoy filet mignon in gravy. Don't think too hard about the animals that get maimed and partially butchered before death can come. I'm not a vegan myself but I accept the reality that dogs are cuddlier animals that we deem pets but other animals don't get such wonderful treatment.
Location: In the Rainbow Forest beside the River of Mist
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I don't hate him...think what he did says alot about his character as a human being, which in my opinion is not a very good one...and really don't think he deserves to be looked up to by the kids anymore...and yeah, my DH keeps telling me what a wonderful player he is/was or whatever!
How do you compare dog killing to killing human beings? I'm sorry but animals are meant to be our beasts of burden. God intended them just for that purpose, like it or not. People EAT dogs in some countries! I have to wonder if these dog-lovers are just as consistent about animal rights when it comes to killing other animals for consumption, like cows.
Just to sum things up: Leave Vick alone...
First of all, anyone who argues dog fighting isn't that big of a deal is on the wrong side of the law in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
Let's set the record straight... research proves, people who abuse animals are more likely to abuse people (http://www.hsus.org/hsus_field/first_strike_the_connection_between_animal_cruelty _and_human_violence/ - broken link). Violence begets violence. Participating in and watching dog fighting desensitizes humans to violence.
Children who are mauled to death by pit bulls are not the victims of loving family pets... the animals who attack, maim, and kill humans, usuallychildren, are invariably being raised and trained to be fighting dogs. This was the true in the case of a child up here in Minneapolis being mauled to death last year. The father bred and raised his pit bulls to be fighting dogs, he kept the dog in question on a short chain in the basement for 17 hours with no food. See this article from the Strib: Trial opens in deadly dog bite case (http://www.startribune.com/local/16767621.html - broken link)
Dog fighting is intensely cruel - pit bulls are intensely loyal dogs and dog fighters exploit their positive characteristics and create violent animals.
But I'm not hatin' on Michael Vick...
Vick's arrest & conviction has resulted in the problem of dog fighting being brought into the limelight, and as a result the two states who had not yet made dog fighting a felony, Wyoming and Idaho, have now passed legislation making dog fighting a felony. New federal laws against dog fighting have been passed. Law officers nationwide have received additional training in how to identify and bust dog fighting rings. And convictions for dog fighting, nationwide, have dramatically increased.
For animal right's activists, Michael Vick's high profile has provided a vehicle to educate the public on the realities of dog fighting, and has led to the enforcement of laws banning dog fighting.
Therefore I am not hatin' on Michael Vick - I'm thankful for the good which has come out of his arrest and conviction.
Vick has said grew up with dog fighting and never really questioned it as he grew into adulthood. His arrest and conviction have, obviously, given him time to reflect on the realities of dog fighting - he says he's had a change of heart.
Truthfully, it'll take years before animal-rights activists will be fully convinced of his change of heart, some will never believe he's had a change of heart.
But I'm not willing to write Vick off that quickly, I'm willing to believe he was himself somewhat a victim of his upbringing. I'm willing to give him a chance to become a spokesman against dog fighting.... Vick is very much respected, and defended, especially in the black community... his change of heart, if it's seen to be genuine, could make a HUGE impact on those who might otherwise become the next victim of their upbringings.
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To more directly address the OP....
Whether or not Vick should play football again, and where... y'all know that's a PR issue. Team managers will make a decision based on the needs of their team, and the political climate of their region. It's all about PR folks, PR weighed against how well Vick is anticipated to perform once he's back in uniform. Bottom line, if a team has a quarterback already lined up who is equal to or better than Vick - forget it. If a team is DESPERATE for a decent quarterback, they will likely look good and hard at Vick. These decisions are never made in a vacuum, and Vick's PR issues will be a factor where ever he ends up.
Send Vick to the Vikes! I actually think the Minnesota Vikings would be better served by Michael Vick than the aging, on-and-off retiring, Brett Favre. I am seriously growing very sick and tired of listening to all the talk about Favre coming out of retirement to play for the Vikes.
Unfortunately, Minnesota tends to be a very P.C. state, I don't know if they would be able to bring Vick here w/o huge public repercussions.
I don't know who needs a QB, but it seems to me the political climates of southern states may be better suited for a Vick comeback. Cowboys? Oilers? Panthers? Saints?
[ Off topic - When we lived in Atlanta we used to go watch the Vikings play at a sports bar owned by former Viking Quarterback FRAN TARKENTON... I forget where that sports bar was located, I'll have to ask my husband if he remembers. ]
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No doubt Vick's approaching the Humane Society with a change of heart is, in part, motivated by his desire to get back on the gridiron. I hope that's not his only motivation - time will tell.
I cannot agree with AcidSnake's assertion that God gave us dogs as some sort of "beast of burden" and therefore God condones dog fighting. God absolutely did not give humans dogs for the purpose of promoting dog fighting in the name of "entertainment" or "profit-seeking" - to think HE did is....
Also, AcidSnake, for your information, there is a MAJOR difference between watching animals violently killing one another for the purpose of entertainment and gambling, and killing animals for FOOD. Come on now, don't even pretend like the two are the same thing.
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Yes, I am an animal lover, especially a pit bull lover. We have two rescued pit bull mixes in our household. My 12-year old daughter found George at a bus stop a year ago. He had no collar, no microchip and no one stepped forward to claim him when we listed him as found with the Humane Society and on Craigslist. Our best estimate is that George is a Yellow Lab and Pit Bull mix.
Lulu just came to us last week - after her human mommy tragically died in a drowning accident. Lulu, still a puppy at 11 months, was raised with children who are now 4, 5 and 14 months old. Lulu's canine mom was purebred Pit Bull, her father is anyone's guess... my guess is some kind of hunter/pointer dog.
I hope the Michael Vick situation continues to spur law enforcement to crack down on dog fighting rings, and continues to educate the public on the wonderful virtues of pit bulls who are in loving homes and not abused.
Ban the Deed - Not the Breed
BTW, I am not a crazy vegetarian animal-rights activist... I enjoy a good hamburger, or filet mignon, as well as southern-fried chicken... and catfish! To be honest, I would like to switch all my meat consumption to humanely raised, grass fed, free-range beef and poultry. But I don't have the budget to do that right now...
Last edited by StPaulEastSider; 05-24-2009 at 11:37 PM..
Location: Metro Atlanta (Sandy Springs), by way of Macon, GA
2,014 posts, read 5,103,996 times
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To be honest, I've heard and read people make their points with EXTREME reasons behind them from both sides. Some act like he is as bad as a rapist or mass murderer (of humans) and some act like he shouldnt have had a punishment at all.
IMO, both of those are to the extreme.
I think it's CRAZY how people compare what vick did to killing people though. They are not humans. I DO NOT AGREE WITH WHAT VICK DID AT ALL AND I DO BELIEVE YOU WOULD HAVE TO BE SOME SORT OF TWISTED PERSON IN A WAY TO DO WHAT HE DID...but its just the not the same.
I also would like to know who made the rules on WHICH animals it is ok to kill?
It's not right for vick to fight dogs, but perfectly fine for guys to hunts birds, deers, etc. for fun
Who said a deer's life is less important than a dogs? Who made that rule?
They're all equally as bad in my opinion.
As for the people who said he shouldnt have been punished, well he broke a law. He paid his debt to society for breaking that law by spending time in prison, and now he's about to be finished.
With that said, I dont think the Falcons should keep him, we have our QB now (Matt Ryan)....but for everybody that act likes the man is so "evil" for fighting dogs..I hope they feel the same way about guys who hunt deer.
They both involve individuals who obviously have no regard for animal life when it comes to their entertainment. I dont know where everybody is getting these rules from that say which animals lives are more valuable than anothers.
StPaul is correct, people who torture animals are very likely to do similar things to humans. Most serial killers started out torturing animals. Lets not forget that Vick killed under performing puppies with his bare hand by slamming them into the ground and electrocuting them. These were both long painful deaths.
Sure there are other bad crimes committed against humans, and of course in puppies mills. They are ALL wrong.
That said they have other criminals in the NFL, so I don't see why Michael Vick can't go back and play. I am very disappointed his sentence didn't include therapy and/or community service with animals. He is obviously sick and needs serious help.
I think it's CRAZY how people compare what vick did to killing people though.
You're right. You can't compare dog fighting to murder. Forcing two dogs to fight each other to the death is nothing at all like going out and killing someone yourself. It's more like taking two young people, perhaps even children, and placing them in an environment so hostile that they have to fight just to keep from starving to death. Subjecting them to such intense physical and psychological cruelty over a long period of time that when they are "ready" all they know anymore is viciousness and anger. Then taking these two people and locking them in a pit with each other and watching them take an hour or more to try to kill each other, betting on which one will survive and which one will be literally ripped to shreds.
Absolutely nothing at all like murder.
As for Michael Vick: I don't hate him. I don't really care about him. I never did and I never will. He committed a felony and he did his time. Now he has to live with his mistake. If any of you know any convicted felons, ask them how easy it is for them to get jobs.
Anyone's who's ever worked social services has the animal rights people's number on speed dial. More than once I've gone into a child abuse case and also seen abused animals. Plenty of abused animal cases have also resulted in prosecution for child abuse.
I couldn't care less about football, and actually didn't know who this man was until I heard about him slamming animal's heads into concrete. Far as I'm concerned, someone who would do that to an animal would also do it to a kid. I know from personal experience. I have relatives who are into cockfighting, another brutal and inhumane 'sport.' I've never seen them treat their animals that way. There are euthanasia drugs readily available for taking care of these animals. If these uneducated backwoods people can get access to the proper drugs don't tell me that Vick, a college-educated multi-millionaire could not do the same. Nope, this was about being macho, gangsta. Being hard. Far as I'm concerned they should've treated him the same way he treated those poor dogs.
Football is a brutal inhumane sport, so presumably he would be in good company. I don't care whether he plays football again. It's not a sport that I follow and it's certainly not one I'd ever let my child play.
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Send Vick to the Vikes!
I actually think the Minnesota Vikings would be better served by Michael Vick than the aging, on-and-off retiring, Brett Favre. I am seriously growing very sick and tired of listening to all the talk about Favre coming out of retirement to play for the Vikes.
To be honest, I would like to switch all my meat consumption to humanely raised, grass fed, free-range beef and poultry. But I don't have the budget to do that right now... 
