[bigred875]

link

He should stick to playing football...what a tool

Don稚 be too quick to judge
By Deion Sanders
Originally published on July 22, 2007

I would致e never thought Mike Vick, one of the NFL痴 most exciting players the man who makes the network execs smile every time he plays would ever be indicted for crimes against man痴 best friend.

The potential impact could be devastating.

He could lose millions worth of endorsements. Nike has already suspended the release of his new shoe. He could lose millions he was supposed to get from the Atlanta Falcons, if the club decides to cut him. Thatç—´ unlikely, but it could happen if heç—´ convicted or makes a plea arrangement.

Or his reputation might wind up so stained that heç—´ never forgiven in the court of public opinion. That would be too bad for the 27-year-old superstar.

This is all the result of perspective.

What a dog means to Vick might be a lot different than what he means to you or I. Hold on, don稚 start shaking your head just yet. Listen to me.

Some people kiss their dogs on the mouth. Some people let their dogs eat from their plate. Some people dress their dogs in suits more expensive than mine, if you can believe that.

And some people enjoy proving they have the biggest, toughest dog on the street. Youæ±*e probably not going to believe this, but I bet Vick loves the dogs that were the biggest and the baddest. Maybe, he identified with them in some way.

You can still choose to condemn him, but I知 trying to take you inside his mind so you can understand where he might be coming from.

I知 sure all of the animal activists and Humane Society folks have a dart board with Vick痴 picture in the center of it. And if he plays this season, PETA is going to picket every stadium where he plays.

Still, I must ask the question: Where is all of this going?

By now you致e read all of the accusations about the cruelty involving the dogs and I知 not just talking about their duels to the death. All of that is enough to make me cringe because I have three highly-trained protection German shepherds, just in case someone wants to rob my family.

Believe me, you don稚 want to deal with them. With one German command, our dog Yascho turns into Cujo. And for the record, I live around the corner from the police station, so it won稚 take them long to show up and save you from the dogs.

Now back to Vick.

Why are we indicting him? Was he the ringleader? Is he the big fish? Or is there someone else? The fights allegedly occurred at a property that he purchased for a family member. They apparently found carcasses on the property, but I must ask you again, is he the ringleader?

This situation reminds me of a scene in the movie 哲ew Jack City, when drug dealer Nino Brown is on the witness stand and eloquently says, 典his thing is bigger than me.

Are we using Vick to get to the ringleader? Are we using him to bring an end to dogfighting in the United States?

The only thing I can gather from this situation is that weæ±*e using Vick.

Was he wrong? Absolutely. Was he stupid? Can稚 argue with that. Was he immature? No doubt. But is he the ringleader? I just can稚 see it.

I believe Vick had a passion for dogfighting. I know many athletes who share his passion. The allure is the intensity and the challenge of a dog fighting to the death. It痴 like ultimate fighting, but the dog doesn稚 tap out when he knows he can稚 win.

It reminds me of when I wore a lot of jewelry back in the day because I always wanted to have the biggest chain or the biggest, baddest car. It gives you status.

Can I pause for a moment to ask you a question?

Who shot Darrant Williams? Remember the Denver Bronco cornerback? I知 just more concerned about bringing to justice someone who killed a human. Or finding out who broke into Miami Heat forward Antoine Walker痴 home, tied him up and robbed him at gunpoint.

Weæ±*e attacking this dogfighting ring the same way a teenager attacks his MySpace page after school (by the way parents, make sure you monitor your kids). We should have the same passion for man that we have for manç—´ best friend.

The reason this is turning into a three-ring circus is that baseball is boring, basketball is months away, football is around the corner and we in the media don稚 have a thing interesting to write about.

How will this end up? I have no idea. All I know is Falcons fans better pray because Vickç—´ backup is Joey Harrington. Enough said.

God bless and God willing I値l hollah at you next week.

Deion Sanders, a North Fort Myers High School graduate, played in the NFL and Major League Baseball. He works as an analyst for the NFL Network and is part-owner of the Austin Wranglers of the Arena Football League.

[ChrisNoF4i]

Douche.

[KillBill]

"Or his reputation might wind up so stained that he’s never forgiven in the court of public opinion. That would be too bad for the 27-year-old superstar."


Too late - he is FUgUcked!

[benVFR]

I'd read a few articles on what this was going to do to the whole "White/Black divide" in terms of supporting Vick since he went and plead guilty.

Hadn't read Deion's crap beforehand.. it sure looks bad now.

[newgixxerchic]

Originally Posted by ChrisNoF4i

Douche.

Although I do have to agree about the whole Darrent Williams thing....

RIP D. Williams... (personal friend.... went to my alma mater)

[hammadown]

Sounds to me like someone else is into dog fighting and is defending himself using Michael Vick. Some people are only good at one thing, and in this case it isn't writing.

[Supah Dave]

Originally Posted by ChrisNoF4i

Douche.

[OreoGitorio]

can you say "all over the fucking place"? How many directions can one person go in one article???? Jesus christ, it's like he was trying to make an article out of a Garden/Chef/Greek/Cesar/Cobb/Chicken/Tuna Salad.


EDIT: WTF? I must really be hungry, i just made a salad reference.

[KillBill]

Roughage is a good lunch option

[ChrisNoF4i]

Originally Posted by newgixxerchic

Although I do have to agree about the whole Darrent Williams thing....
RIP D. Williams... (personal friend.... went to my alma mater)

You can't possibly agree with that statement. I understand if you're just name dropping to get some attention, because - well because it's you. But that statement leads into a ridiculous assumption that the Vick case is unnecessarily taking resources away from other ongoing investigations in other parts of the country. Breaking the law is breaking the law. It shouldn't matter whether the victim is a dog or a duck or a human being. We can't say, "Oh just drop the charges because there are more heinous crimes that we need to solve."

The funny thing about the racial undertones is this: Dogs are property, yet some people treat them as if they were human or part of the family. That sounds an awful lot like how black folks were once treated in this country.

[ChrisNoF4i]

That story made about as much sense as his rap career.

[newgixxerchic]

Originally Posted by ChrisNoF4i

You can't possibly agree with that statement. I understand if you're just name dropping to get some attention, because - well because it's you. But that statement leads into a ridiculous assumption that the Vick case is unnecessarily taking resources away from other ongoing investigations in other parts of the country. Breaking the law is breaking the law. It shouldn't matter whether the victim is a dog or a duck or a human being. We can't say, "Oh just drop the charges because there are more heinous crimes that we need to solve."

The funny thing about the racial undertones is this: Dogs are property, yet some people treat them as if they were human or part of the family. That sounds an awful lot like how black folks were once treated in this country.

no, maybe i should have explained a little better, I believe this situation has gotten more attention to it that Darrent's murder. I think that if it had been given this much attention, maybe more witnesses would have come forward to help with the investigation... I am not saying in any way shape or form that its taking resources away or that it shouldn't be investigated/charged to the fullest extent of the law.

o and FU on the whole name dropping shit thats bullshit.

[bigred875]

Originally Posted by ChrisNoF4i

That story made about as much sense as his rap career.

[KillBill]

"o and FU on the whole name dropping shit thats bullshit."

[TheIglu]

Wow, that set his straight.

[katana0215]

yeah and S Marbury came out yesterday and said dogfighting is a sport

[benVFR]

Who was Darrent Williams?

That right there is why the Vick case is getting more attention.

[newgixxerchic]

Originally Posted by benVFR

Who was Darrent Williams?

That right there is why the Vick case is getting more attention.

24th pick in 05 draft.... denver broncos cornerback... possibly had he the opportunity could have become the best in the league... IMO...

[Doc]

Darrent Williams - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[benVFR]

I remember the whole thing.. just pointing out Michael Vick's star power is off the charts compared to Williams.

[ChrisNoF4i]

Originally Posted by Doc

Darrent Williams - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rhetorical question - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[capt1014]

Although I don't agree with all of what he said in the article he does raise some good questions.

We as the public through the news only recieve information and details that they think are going stir people up.

In no way do I support Vick or his actions, but I don't know the whole story and niether do any of us.

[ChrisNoF4i]

Originally Posted by benVFR

I remember the whole thing.. just pointing out Michael Vick's star power is off the charts compared to Williams.

Not only that, but the whole nature of the case is riveting to the general public because they had no idea that stuff like this actually takes place, right underneath their noses. People get shot and killed all the time, there's nothing really revealing in that. But dogfighting is just a whole underground lifestyle that people never bothered to contemplate until this national media attention.

[bigred875]

Originally Posted by ChrisNoF4i

Rhetorical question - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[katana0215]

Originally Posted by newgixxerchic

24th pick in 05 draft.... denver broncos cornerback... possibly had he the opportunity could have become the best in the league... IMO...

lmfao, he wouldnt even have become the best of his team (Champ Bailey)