NAACP official: Vick shouldn't be banned from NFL

[ButterflyBlood]

Source: CNN

"ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- The head of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP said Wednesday that Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has made mistakes but that they should not cost him his football career with the NFL.

Vick is expected to plead guilty Monday to federal conspiracy charges in an illegal dogfighting operation.

R.L. White, president of the Atlanta chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said his organization does not condone dogfighting or any other illegal activity, but he told reporters that Vick should be given a chance to redeem himself.

<...>

White also said he didn't understand the uproar over dogfighting, when hunting deer and other animals is perfectly acceptable"

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/08/22/vick/index.html

---

OK sorry, but the analogy made at the end is rather ridiculous. Even if you aren't hunting for food like many do, at least hunting doesn't involve the torture and a life of misery for the animal like being bred for dogfighting does.

[bluestateguy]

1. Yes, it should cost him his football career

I do hope that his replacement on the Falcons is so good that they don't want him back.

Additionally, I hope other players in the league speak out by declaring that they will refuse to ever take the field with this sadistic bastard.

[NanceGreggs]

2. Ditto on everything you've said ... n/t

[mountainvue]

44. Amen. n/t

[Mad_Dem_X]

58. Agreed.

He should not be allowed back into professional football, ever.

[mrdmk]

3. Bring on the blood sports, we need more gladiators

Even in fishing there are throw backs, which in my book is an art. You do not want to damage the fish and make susceptible to other predators. What Vick did was beyond pale, hanging and drowning dogs because they did not fight well enough. That was very cruel and very inhumane, give me a break.

[D23MIURG23]

4. Somehow I think I would lose my job if I were convicted of a felony.

Is there some reason why this should be different?

What I don't understand is why anyone would try to justify this offense. Deer Hunting is acceptable because it is an ages old means of gathering food, and because it is regulated so as not to cause serious damage to deer populations (in some cases it is even a solution to overpopulation and starvation among deer). Contrast this with a sadistic blood sport involving wanton animal cruelty and yeilding nothing but twisted entertainment. Yeah, thats what I thought.

[qazplm]

5. sure you would

so would he, difference is, after you served your time, you wouldnt be banned likely from ever working in your field again.

Heck put Vick in prison for forty years if you want to, but once he has served his time, he gets a clean slate, just like anyone else.

[Zueda]

7. At my place of employment ...

There was a purge of a couple handfuls of people. Everybody at work was like...huh? It turns out the company which had recently acquired my place of business decided to run a background check on everyone. Everybody who was "let go" was a convicted felon.

[D23MIURG23]

8. You can't say that with any certainty.

Some fields are more friendly to people with various criminal backgrounds than others. If I was a kindergarten teacher convicted of child pornography, I can pretty much assure you that I wouldn't be working in my field again. Vick mortified of most of the country with his revolting behavior. Somehow I see that as a barrier to him resuming work as an entertainer.

[toopers]

56. Your comparison is a little unfair . . .

A convicted pedophile or child pornographer should not be around children. Vick should not be around dogs. Football has nothing to do with dog fighting. What I think Vick did is horrible and he should be punished. However, once he does his time, if he is good enough then he should be allowed to play again.

In my opinion, he was overrated as a quarterback and was not worth the money he was getting.

[DemBones DemBones]

9. If someone is convicted of a felony,

s/he will lose any license I can think of.

Lots of people have to have licenses: teachers, stockbrokers, doctors, physicians assistants, nurses (R.N.s, L.P.Ns), nursing assistants, dentists, dental hygienists, pharmacists, medical technologists, cosmetologists, barbers, embalmers, etc. If they commit a felony, they lose their licenses, have to find other jobs. No second chances.

I don't think many employers welcome back employees convicted of a felony, even when no license is required for the job. Why should pro athletes be given second chances as pro athletes? Vick will just have to find another career, unless he's been smart enough to invest enough of his salary so he can live off it.

[VLC]

15. And that could be for nonviolent felonies.

[Occulus]

14. WRONG!

There are PLENTY of fields from which one is banned from working, forever, if one is convicted of a felony.

I personally know several people who cannot pursue the career of their choice strictly and solely because they have a felony on their record. It doesn't matter that the felony they were convicted of is in any way related to the job or career they held- to a business owner, a felon is a felon, and never EVER to be trusted.

:grr:

I have seen this happen more times than I can count. It's sick, it's wrong and it happens every damn day.

And then we wonder why we "have to" keep building prisons. Well, maybe if prospective employers weren't allowed to ASK if you've been convicted of a felony in the last five years.....

As if it's ANY of their business!!

[qdemn7]

16. Keep building prisons?

And then we wonder why we "have to" keep building prisons. Well, maybe if prospective employers weren't allowed to ASK if you've been convicted of a felony in the last five years.....

The REAL reason is too damn many things are considered Felonies. Too many of the laws making things felonies are bought and paid for by some business lobbying group.

[idgiehkt]

19. not when you work for an org concerned about their brand's reputation

Remember Marla Hanson, the model who was violently attacked? She never worked again, because the clothing companies didn't want that association with their product. And she wasn't culpable at all in what happened to her. She became an advocate for victim's rights. I don't thinkt the public will ever forget this, and it isn't over yet as Virginia may go after Vick as well, which will lead to another round of media coverage. This kind of sadistic torture of animals is something I don't think the NFL will want to deal with.

And it is also true that felons have a very hard time finding work with that conviction on their record in ANY field. People who have been convicted and had those convictions overturned or vacated still have horrible problems with overcoming that and getting work.

[BadgerLaw2010]

29. Steal something and try to go back to working in any level of "money"

From retail clerk up to stockbroker and lawyer. No chance of ever getting your job back. A retail clerk can be legally discriminated against for theft offenses on their records, as can bank tellers and anyone else with anything to do with banks, and a stockbroker or lawyer would lose their licenses, which bars you from the industry.

If you *embezzle*, you won't be able to get a job at McDonalds. That's like having a dishonorable military discharge.

[rsmith6621]

6. Remember O.J Did'nt Kill.....

....Nicole or Ron Either....I believe the NAACP also still supports OJ as well.

[DRoseDARs]

10. Is he still out on the golf course looking for "the real killer" ...

... or did he move his search into the club house?

[BadgerLaw2010]

31. Think he had to. Needed space to write "if I DID IT."

[DS1]

11. I think the worst punishment for him would be to actually let him play NFL football

I can't think of a defensive line too interested in protecting him.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

12. Whoops! Splat.

Whoops! Splat.
Whoops! Splat.

Rinse and repeat as necessary. ;-)

[-..__...]

35. "I'm gonna break his fucking neck"...

Samson: I think I broke his fuckin' neck!
Announcer: I think he broke his fuckin' neck!
Team doctor: One side, one side.

Team doctor: Get the ambulance! I think he broke his fuckin' neck.
Samson: See! I told you I broke his fuckin' neck!

[Spinzonner]

13. Why is this a racial issue

and why is the NAACP getting involved if it's not ?

[ButterflyBlood]

18. It's not and they shouldn't n/t

[ehrnst]

24. Ditto.

[Hieronymus]

67. African Americans are defending Vick, making it racist. Many defended

OJ too. :eyes:

[DCKit]

17. F'n O.J. ruined it for everyone. The Rat Bastard. nt

[deacon]

20. Yes. Yes he should.

[nickinSTL]

21. No, he shouldn't...

animal cruelty is often treated much too lightly by our legal system, IMO.

Hunting, as the OP says, does not involve the kind of cruelty that dogfighting, and the incredibly inhumane means of killing "failed" fighting dogs that Vick is accused of.

I have read someone else saying that because Leonard Little (defensive end for the Rams) killed a woman (drunk driving) and was allowed to go on playing, Vick should too. The BIG difference there is...yes, Little killed a person, but his action was through negligence, not malice. Vick's action was willful and malicious.

The same person comparing this to Little (who, by the way, would have been off any team I was in charge of after he was convicted of DUI a second time) also compared Vick's actions to Ricky Watters' marijuana use, and claimed he was still allowed to play. Number one, as far as I know, Watters hasn't been playing in the NFL for some years because his drug use had a higher priority for him than his NFL career. Number 2 - marijuana use, while illegal, has no victim. As many will likely point out - marijuana probably shouldn't even be illegal. To compare it to the malicious, cruel and, I would say evil acts Vick has admitted to is utterly absurd.

[Vinca]

22. Well said. Some of the people talking this guy up need a

poke by the same live wire used to electrocute the poor dogs. A person who does what this guy did to animals has problems much deeper than a few months in jail and a fine will cure. Don't be surprised if he's in the headlines again someday, next time involving a human being.

[Iris]

38. and then there's the gambling aspect

other professional players have lost careers of gambling.

[doxieone]

23. Vick and PETA

You can tell by my name I am a doglover.

My take: The people around Vick have a different mindset about dogs than the generaly public. Because of his wealth and situation, Vick kept a circle of friends who coincided with his views of what a dog can provide - bloody dog fights. I imagine that one of Vick's favorite movies is Gladiator with Russell Crowe.

Unfortunately for him, when the news came out, there are many, many, MANY more people who consider dogs as loyal companions, almost pseudo-children with some. Vick been in a bubble. In his world, dogs are for sport. Outside the bubble, in the real world, it is not.

It is in no way shape or form a racial issue, and one might ask those from the NCAAP, do they feel like dogs like Vick does? Otherwise, taking away the race issue (which is what they are interjecting), how can they defend what he did?? If it was not a crime, then why is prison time so easily attached to it? It is not just killing the dogs - it the BETTING that is so horrendous.

Haven't these people ever seen what PETA does to people it perceives as cruel/anti-animal??? Vick should be glad he'll be away from them in prison, but once out, he's literally (excuse the pun) going to be hounded the rest of his life by them. Yes, he didn't kill a person. They were 'just' dogs'.

Try to tell that to a 'real' dog owner, and see what kind of response you get. (I don't consider Vick a dog owner, he was a dog user.)

[Zech Marquis]

25. shaking my head

In effect, this fool who is the president of atlanta's NAACP (and I happen to be black btw) is saying that dogfighting is not a big deal... :eyes: I don't know what to make of these Vick supporters anymore, what part of federal Felony don't they understand??

[Uben]

26. They shoot horses, don't they?

How about bull fighting? They kill bulls for entertainment. That's every bit as sick to me as dog fighting! Killing animals for entertainment is wrong. What if we all decided that was our "thang" and just started killing? I have no problem with hunting animals for food, that serves a purpose and fulfiills a need, although I do not hunt. Trophy hunting is just as bad as dog fighting, IMO.

[BadgerLaw2010]

30. Um, horses are shot to give them a humane death.

See Barbaro. Horses with severe leg injuries almost always have to be put to sleep.

I'm not aware of any "sport" that involves shooting healthy horses.

[pink-o]

66. I agree about Bull Fighting...

...and the point here is: any "sport" that exploits animals (greyhound racing, bull fighting, dog and cock fighting, rodeo, et al) is not a sport. If two boxers wanna beat the crap out of each other, then fine, go for it. At least it's a bloodsport of their choosing.

It really angers me that the gambling charges hold a greater penalty than the animal cruelty charges. What is wrong with a society that doesn't protect the other species on this planet, that consents to the torture and extinction of animals without blinking an eye? I've never been comfortable with eating animals or using them in labs to find cures for disease (diseases we've unleashed on humanity by fucking up the enviornment, mostly) but it's a reality I'll grimly accept or else I'd have to live like the unibomber. But hurting animals for entertainment is beyond the pale.

And BTW, that idiot from Atlanta wins the Stephanie Miller game for playing "really bad analogies" There is a HUGE difference between hunting animals for food and hurting them for money. I don't give a rat's dick as to what colour Michael Vick is--his skin may be black but his evil goes down to the bone.

[catgirl]

27. How did this idiot become an official in the NAACP?

This really pisses me off. This guy is the president of the Atlanta chapter.
I suggest we all email R.L. White, President with our thoughts!

[e-mail]

[natrat]

32. no doubt what a dick....and totally disservising the naacp

[Myrina]

28. He shouldn't be banned from the NFL - he should be banned from society.

Bastard. :nuke:

[natrat]

33. apparently the naacp is a racist orginazation-blindly supporting criminals because of skin colour

[soothsayer]

36. Nothing happened to the white athletes involved in a big pro sports gambling ring

(remember the one with Wayne Gretzky's wife? It was a HUGE multimillion dollar affair, and as far as I know, not one person saw jail time, and certainly no sports figures did). So maybe it's a little racial, and also of course people are inflamed because of the animal cruelty.

[catgirl]

39. I believe a famous white baseball player paid the price...

for a gambling scandal. Pete Rose, remember? This case, however, has nothing to do
with race. It has to do with the torture, abuse and killings of innocent dogs. Dog fighting
is also illegal. Any african american who suggests this is about race, is more concerned with
helping Vick than seeking justice for these dogs, if there is any justice.

[classysassy]

47. Justice

let it spread from shore to shore(congress,the white house,the justice dept,the state houses.)Race does matter,if you don't believe that,you are deluding yourself.

[catgirl]

59. Don't put words in my mouth

I never said race doesn't matter. I said this CASE is not about race.
Re-read my post. This girl aint deluded classysassy. I've seen the
horrors of dogfighting. I've rescued dogs that were abused. Have YOU?

[DemBones DemBones]

50. They weren't gambling on dogfights, were they?

Therein lies the difference.

I don't know much about the case you mentioned, hope they all paid huge fines. Unless they ripped people off, I don't know why they should have gone to prison, though.

[BigDDem]

34. I hope Michael Vick rots in hell

and R.L. White is a fucking idiot.

People "hunt" deer, they dont drown them, electrocute them or slam
them up against the wall to kill them. What a ridiculous analogy.

[-..__...]

37. College and pro-sports officials...

need to stop contributing to this bullshit and institute life time bans for players with a felony conviction.

Start setting examples and let former players find meaningful employment in the janitorial service sector or used car industry.

Maybe... just maybe, once the message is sent out, these assholes will think twice about their actions instead of the business as usual routine
thinking that they can get away with it because of their status in life.

[Alenne]

40. Vick should have beat his girlfriend instead

Then we wouldn't be talking about this at all.

[DemBones DemBones]

51. A sad truth. But if he'd drowned or electrocuted a woman,

there'd be at least as much outrage as there is about the dogs. I'm not at all sure there would be more outrage, which is very disturbing.

I love dogs and am not defending Vick, just to be clear. It is tragic, though, that women and children are subjected to so much abuse and that there is often more sympathy for a dead pet than for a dead woman or child.

[sandyj999]

62. No We Wouldn't Because

She could leave, the poor dogs couldn't.

[frylock]

41. the NAACP has officialy jumped the shark on this one..

defending this shit on the grounds that Vick is black. Un-fucking-believable.

[Mike Daniels]

45. If the national office doesn't step up on this I can only presume that they agree with White

It'll be interesting to see how the NAACP's contributions are affected from their defense of Vick.

[tidy_bowl]

48. Agreed....

....the NAACP shouldn't be excusing felonious criminal activity on account of race. You lose your creditability fast that way.

[auburngrad82]

42. They won't have to ban him

Can you imagine the outrage of fans for the team that signs him to a contract? It will be the worst possible public relations faux pas that a team could do.

There have been people calling for Vick to get life in prison or the death penalty. I'll be happy if he gets 18 months in prison. The majority of his penalty will be self-inflicted. He's already lost his advertisers. He will probably be untouchable for any NFL team except the maybe one or two who just don't care what he will cost them in bad press and lost ticket sales.

That's what's really "just" about his punishment. He'll get over spending time in jail but he'll never recover the fortune he's lost because of his actions. Never mind the loss of respect of his fans.

His self-inflicted punishment are more "just" than the actual legal penalty. Let's hope he understands why he's lost everything and eventually comes to realize he did it to himself.

[bunkerbuster1]

46. If he can play, someone will sign him

Outrage is short-lived. Vick will probably play again.

[NeoConsSuck]

64. Never happen.

No team needs the distraction this lowlife would bring.

[slackmaster]

43. NAACP isn't always good at choosing its battles

:shrug:

[idgiehkt]

54. I think they just don't want him to get a steeper sentence

*because* he is black.

interesting artucle here, talks about Floyd Boudreaux's upcoming trial, in January, (he is white and is facing 48 state counts, known as the 'don of dog-fighting') and LeShon Johnson's conviction in 2005 for which he got a 5 years suspended sentence.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601079&sid=aRVnXby8NoT8&refer=home

[robcon]

49. "Costing his career" won't happen.

He'll be suspended for a time, because of his conviction on serious felony charges.

I think the NAACP is over-reacting here.

[rocktivity]

52. Let him redeem himself on a five-figure salary

as would be expected of the rest of us.

:headbang:
rocknation

[DemBones DemBones]

53. That's the answer. nt

[LadyAziz]

55. SHUT UP!

NAACP there are more important matters to focus on i.e. NO, the upcoming elections etc....

[littlebit]

57. It is not the dog fighting that will get him banned

He is more than likely going to be banned from the NFL, but it will not be for the actual cruelty to the animals. It will be for betting on the fights. Gambling is an offense that carries a lifetime ban.

[Iris]

60. And, surprise! surprise! He just pled guilty to funding the ring and killing 6-8 dogs.

But he did not place bets. How convenient.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-michaelvick&prov=ap&type=lgns

[Zhade]

61. Disgusting, and willfully obtuse.

The man KILLED DOGS. Have you no damned shame, man?

[leaninglib]

63. Fortunately...

Vick's NFL career will be up to the NFL and not the National Association For the Advancement of Colored People.

[Judi Lynn]

65. Did you think some Americans don't know what the initials of well known organizations represent?

I wonder what your agenda is. Not really.

For consistancy, you should mention "NFL" is the National Football League.

[Sewsojm]

68. I hope he rots in jail, disgusting POS!!