Animal Welfare: Do we have any Philadelphia Eagles fans outraged by the Michael Vick signing?

[fieryone]

I'm putting this here because I'm not sure how much about the dog fighting itself will come up. I'm just very curious about this from the standpoint of people who are more inclined to be concerned with animal rights.

I'm a diehard baseball fan and don't have a real allegience to a football team, but my husband has been a rabid Eagles fan for over 20 years...until about 8:45pm Thursday night. Now mind you, this wasn't the only reason for his renouncing the team that he's loved for so long, but it was the straw that broke the camel's back. He is now considering himself a free agent and is looking for a new team. At first I thought it was a little temper tantrum, but he has removed everything Eagles and has even changed his team on Madden! Trust me. That's big. I'm just curious to see how many others are out there. I heard that some people who have already bought game tickets are asking to return them.

Do you think that he's served his sentence and should now be able to play? Do you think the sentence wasn't nearly long enough and the NFL should have banned him from the sport? He did such heinous things above and beyond just the dog fighting (and I use "just" here loosely). To me, he's entering a territory that makes me wonder if he would next do something like this to another human being. Normal people just don't do what he did!

[jamie15701]

I am with you on the whole Vicks thing... I don't believe he should be allowed to be in the NFL, it's a privilege to play pro sports. And they are supposed to be role models. I am also outraged they would allow him to play. I would have renounced my beloved Pittsburgh Steelers if they would have allowed him on the team.

[dra&pigs]

Personally, I don't think he should be out of jail, let alone playing for the Eagles. Like you, I'm a baseball person, and my football knowledge is mostly due to several obsessions from my brothers, their friends and my father. What Vick did is not something that should be forgiven, and the fact that he is allowed to take up a spot on a perfectly reputable team, while dozens of rookies who've never caused anyone harm in their lives are denied a chance to play on such a team.

[Cocoa'sClover]

Honestly the whole thing makes me so glad that I live on the opposite side of PA and cheer for the Steeler's. I've been a football fan for a number of years and when I was watching the first preseason Steeler game and the announcement came on, and on, and on, I wanted to throw up. It was suddenly who cares what teams are playing, lets focus on a criminal signing a deal with a team!

A man does something wrong, and now he has publicity coming out his behind. I mean seriously! Sports team players are supposed to be role models and he sure as heck is not one!

[juliaaa]

I live in Philadelphia, and my brother is a huge Eagles fan. The terrible thing is, I hate football, but the night of their first game against the Patriots my friend asked me if I wanted to go with her because she had gotten free box seats. Not having anything else to do, I went. Only after I got home did my dad tell me that they had signed Vick I was really upset, and felt bad for "supporting" the Eagles.

A lot of people here don't care about what he did, though. They're just happy we got such an amazing player. It sickens me to think that people are so willing to put aside the horrific things Vick did just because he could maybe increase our chances of winning. And you know Vick is loving all this attention he is getting, whether it's good or bad.

[fieryone]

Originally Posted by Cocoa'sClover

I was watching the first preseason Steeler game and the announcement came on, and on, and on, I wanted to throw up. It was suddenly who cares what teams are playing, lets focus on a criminal signing a deal with a team!

We found out from a friend of mine who made a comment to me on Facebook asking how my husband felt about the Vick signing. She also saw it on the Steeler's game, but we were watching the Patriots/Eagles game and there wasn't any mention of it! At first I thought she was pulling my leg and my husband blew her off completely, only to find out on ESPN.com a few minutes later.

So many of these football players get away with murder. Some literally in the case of Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens. I understand that Vick's paid his debt to society as far as the law is concerned, but animal abuse has all but been proven to be related to even more heinous crimes in the future. But regardless, I think the NFL should have taken it a step further and not allowed him back in. The NFL has a personal conduct policy and if this doesn't fall under that, then I don't know what does!

[diane]

I dont watch any type of sports or follow any certain players of any kind. I do not condoned what he did. But your reasoning of being a role model for people to look up to isn't a good one in my opinion. I mean if they were to ban him shouldn't we ban all players that are not role model material? Like the players that have children all over the place, or that have sexual charges what makes them any better role models and yet they can still play, again I do not condone what he did, and I don't think he should of got a contract. But I would like the other players that have unrole model tendancies to be banned as well.

[fieryone]

Originally Posted by diane

I dont watch any type of sports or follow any certain players of any kind. I do not condoned what he did. But your reasoning of being a role model for people to look up to isn't a good one in my opinion. I mean if they were to ban him shouldn't we ban all players that are not role model material? Like the players that have children all over the place, or that have sexual charges what makes them any better role models and yet they can still play, again I do not condone what he did, and I don't think he should of got a contract. But I would like the other players that have unrole model tendancies to be banned as well.

I don't personally think of any athlete, musician, actor, etc to be a role model. I think those who should be the biggest role models are parents. As a parent, I lead by example because it's my job

[diane]

I agree wholeheartedly with you on parents being the role models, fieryones. Why are sports figures and such supposed to be role models anyway?

[jamie15701]

I guess the whole "role model" thing is that "normal" people can succeed at sports, singing ect. Not sure but kids look up to these people. Parents are the real role models...

[sophistacavy]

I know it's easy to be outraged, but what did everyone really expect? I mean, I knew from the moment that he was arrested and sentenced to 2 years in jail, that he would be back playing football.

Also, I think the NFL is like many people, more concerned about people than animals. If Vick had raped someone, for example, then he probably wouldn't have been let back in. Or at least, the NFL actually would've had to think for a minute about whether to let him back in or not.

[wheekers01]

I saw that he got signed again and was soo mad! He should have had a much longer sentence in my opinion. I agree. Parents should be the role models, not celebrities. They (celebrities) go out and do things that young kids shouldn't follow in. They might do some good things, but they do bad things also. This is a very bad example for kids, therefore parents NEED to be the ultimate role models.

[Wheekie]

I'm from the Philly area and I'm so ashamed. I hope the eagles (don't deserve a capital letter) organization suffers terribly for this heinous, immoral act. I wish more info would get out there reminding people what he did though. People I work with seem to forget that he did anything but 'fight dogs'...like that's not enough. Some of them think that being a good football player is all that really counts...being a cruel psycho means nothing!

[fieryone]

Originally Posted by Wheekie

People I work with seem to forget that he did anything but 'fight dogs'...like that's not enough.

But he didn't just fight them. He also electrocuted, beat, shot, and drowned them. That goes above and beyond dog fighting and makes me wonder what else this "man" is truly capable of.

We hold professional athletes in such a high regard that makes all reason fly out the window. Kids and adults alike admire them and teams can't live without them if they're talented enough. There are so many criminals in the NFL past and present, including a murderer who is still playing. They let these guys keep playing and then harp on baseball for steroids and persecute those guys within an inch of their lives. It's not an acceptable message to be sending.

[juliaaa]

The sad thing is, if he wasn't offered a job in the NFL, he would have to find a normal job in society. As far as I know, it can be quite difficult for ex-convicts to get hired because of their record, and based on the crimes that he has already committed, I think it's fair to say that he wouldn't have too much of a problem leading a life of crime to get by.

[blackarrow]

I'm a dog rescuer and couldn't be more disgusted by his crime. That said, the crime doesn't have anything to do with football, and I see no reason why he shouldn't be able to play now that he's served his time. It's not a matter of dog torturing being somehow less heinous than steroid use or the like - it's certainly not - it's that unlike steroid use, it doesn't taint the game itself, and that's all that I think a football team ought to be picked for.

[blackarrow]

Originally Posted by Wheekie

Some of them think that being a good football player is all that really counts...being a cruel psycho means nothing!

Why should anything other than being a good football player count when picking a football team? He's not being elected to office, nor is he asking to date your daughter or something, where I could of course see it mattering that he's an ex-felon.

[fieryone]

Originally Posted by blackarrow

That said, the crime doesn't have anything to do with football, and I see no reason why he shouldn't be able to play now that he's served his time.

And if it wasn't for the NFL's personal conduct policy, I would agree with you. I would still be disgusted, but in agreement nonetheless.

I'm not for steroids and yes, they are a big deal. However, they don't give anyone the ability to hit or field a ball. You need raw, natural talent for that. Steroids will allow you to heal faster, thus help you work out more, but they will not give you talent.

[blackarrow]

Steroids give you the ability to hit or throw much further than you otherwise could have, which directly affects the outcome of games.

I'm aware of the NFL's personal conduct policy. He could have been banned previously - he wasn't. There's little or nothing to suggest he will violate it in the future, and until such time as he does, there's no reason to anticipate a violation.

[fieryone]

Again, I'm not excusing steroids. I don't believe they help players become more talented. You have it or you don't. They increase muscle mass and help you heal faster. While I'm sure there is some impact on the game, no significant impact has been proven. The Mitchell Report had far more mediocre players on it than good ones. I read something interesting that power spikes in the steroid era occurred most often in those guys with average to good power (the ones that'll give you 10-20 home runs a year). It didn't make weak hitters better, nor did it have an impact on the true power hitters that'll give you upwards of 40 or 50 home runs a year. I'm going to use my man David Ortiz here as an example. His home run numbers increased, as did his slugging percentage in 2004 after the steroid era and when MLB had a specific drug testing policy in place David Ortiz Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com

The fact remains that taking steroids isn't okay but it's not nearly as heinous as abusing dogs repeatedly over the course of several years, which was my point in using the comparison. As I see it, he already has violated the personal conduct policy and Roger Goodell could have imposed it more effectively in my opinion. That was his choice to make and I don't believe he made the right one. Period. Yes, Vick served his time but should not have been allowed back into the NFL. Maybe not ever, but not this year. He could have played UFL ball and proven himself to be worthy of employment once again. It's not a good message to send to children, fans, or present and future players who may get into trouble with the law in the future. "It's okay to act like a punk. I'll get my job back right afterwards and make millions once again". No matter what the law says, to me, that's not okay.