Dogfighting

Michael Vick has been accused of fighting dogs at one of his homes in Virginia. The indictment was almost pornographic in it’s sensational brutalilty; he is accused of strangling, electrocuting and drowning dogs of his that lost. They also found a bloody rug, a treadmill specially made for dogs and a “rape stand”- a bench used for mating pitbulls. All of this is very disturbing, especially when you consider the level of Vick’s celebrity. Michael Vick has been the face of the NFL over the last several years and he was my favorite active player. The NFL has rarely had such a prize athlete, a quarterback who could both run and throw. Watching him play was impressive and exciting; he could make professional athletes look like children.

I wonder how much of his brutality towards animals was learned from playing a sport that glorifies and idolizes the biggest and meanest men? Football is a sport where players are trained from a young age to hit others as hard as they can and if the other player doesn’t get back up, they are lauded for laying a big hit. The NFL especially has a culture of violence; look at Tank Johnson and Pacman Jones- both famous players also up on multiple felony charges. The Cincinnati Bengals last year were a joke- something like 8 of their players were arrested during the season. Michal Vick’s own little brother was kicked off his college football team when he brutally stomped an opponents knee after a play was over in a bowl game.

If you are a football fan and enjoy watching the games and spend money to watch these people play, don’t be so surprised when it turns out that the players viciousness and brutality sometimes finds its way into other areas of their lives.