Michael Vick

Very good Earl, I suppose you remember Old School. When I was a kid in Calgary around the year 1962 or 63, I asked my brother: Who's the Quarterback for the Stampeders. His answer; Eagle Day. Wow man that was 46 years ago. Cheers....... Angelo Mosca, Don Luzzi :rockin:

Yup, time marches on Green, for sure.

Jeeeeesh !!!! if people could never return to their careers after being charged with a crime there would be no musicians , no actors or actressess, and no pro baseball ..and ..in other sports .. Think about how many people would be on the streets in all other walks of life. What the guy did was wrong but he did pay his dues and he is committed to making ammends. Some team may pick him up.. they may not .. but if we crucify 1 we gotta crucify them all

I agree, did anyone watch the debate on CH Live last night? Between Mosca and the female columnist
for the Sun. She hit the nail on the head…If a players commits a crime in their own time it’s really no business of the NFL. The NFL has no right to keep him out of football, it wasn’t a crime against the NFL. He paid his penalty and wants to resume his career, what does it have to do with the NFL.

Well, the NFL is selling an image – not simply a product. So, its a pretty poor business model if your key ambassadors aren’t going to uphold the image you’re presenting. Every business has some kind of culture that they try and exude – for those in the public eye, the health of the brand (and/or the brand image) is paramount.

You can certainly argue whether elements like Vick help or hurt the NFL. But, these guys are no dummies…they are very in-tune with the NFL’s percieved image.

Wrong.
You are looking at this as if it is a black and white issue. Far from it. There is certain leeway, certain mitigating factors that determine how much benefit of the doubt the public will give you. Example – some athlete or actor finds themselves behind bars for a heat of the moment assault charge. Sure, it’s a crime, but sometimes your temper gets the best of you.

Another example, an actor hits rock bottom, has a massive drug addiction and gets thrown in the clink on trafficking charges. Primarily this is seen as a self-destructive train wreck and people feel bad for them. They do their time, spend a bunch of months in re-hab and commit to turning their lives around. Fine – we’ll go see your movie – might snicker a bit.

Or, an athlete who grew up in a very tough environment uses some poor judgement and his held on weapons charges (…hello T.I.), but commits to working with these communities to shed this old life and help others steer clear of the lifestyle.

Further down the line, someone like Russel Crowe. Despite his apologies, he seems to continue to lay the smack down on people for little to no reason. Treats people like dirt and, lo and behold, solid movies like Cinderella Man are given the cold shoulder at the box office – overshadowed by the off-screen antics of an idiot.

Now you get to guys like Vick. Involved in the sadistic and cruel treatment of animals in a bloodsport. Even after fame had given him all he could ever imagine, he continued this as a hobby. Watching and gambling on animals ripping each other apart and, assumedly, getting some enjoyment from this.

There is very little commonality between what Vick has been tried, charged and imprisoned for and most other criminals. These sadistic crimes really tell something about their character and how out of touch they are with society’s values.

So I take it you are in agreement? He has the right to pursue his career after his crime.

Well said on everything you have hit on in this thread slodrive. There is definitely a difference between some guy caught smoking a little marry jane and what Vic has done. And like you said, the ‘fans’ will eventually stop following as you mentioned about Cinderella Man.

If Vic truly has a great deal of remorse and does good things for cruelty to animals throughout his life now, we will forgive him. Not forget. Still wouldn’t want him on my team.

No team will ever win a championship with Michael Vick as QB.

He has no character and no respect for life. How could anyone respect him as a leader? There's also the fact he couldn't find a secondary receiver if they had revolving red lights and sirens on top of their helmets.

Then again, as a running back or a receiver, who knows?

Had to quote this part… Vick has commited to starting similar things against animal abuse and the things he did to help steer people clear of it . If he stay true to his words and actually does something then sure JUST LIKE OTHERS why can’t he play… all they did was make him eligible there still needs to be a team that will pick him up. and yes it is black and white … your saying drugs and weapons and violence are an ok and acceptible selling image?

By “young people” and “kids”, I’m not sure the exact age group you’re talking about, but I’m 17, so just thought I’d post what other people my age have been saying, at least what they’ve been saying to me, lol. They look down on him. Someone isn’t “cooler” for committing a crime, nor are they admired more. There are a few cases where some people may depending on the crime, but not in this case. I remember talking to kids at my school about his actions and us laughing at him like he’s a looser. One even mentioned that he knew someone in the states who bought a “Michael Vick chew toy”, lol.

[url=http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/rumors/post/Michael-Vick-could-end-up-in-New-England;_ylt=Av5v4akNYAFL6Cp_kb8f1D90fNdF?urn=nfl%2C179169]http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/rumors/post ... l%2C179169[/url]

I spoke too soon. :?

[quote]By "young people" and "kids", I'm not sure the exact age group you're talking about, but I'm 17, so just thought I'd post what other people my age have been saying, at least what they've been saying to me, lol. They look down on him. Someone isn't "cooler" for committing a crime, nor are they admired more. There are a few cases where some people may depending on the crime, but not in this case. I remember talking to kids at my school about his actions and us laughing at him like he's a looser. One even mentioned that he knew someone in the states who bought a "Michael Vick chew toy", lol./quote]

Awesome, Beast!

Nice to see some young guys gettin' it so early! And, I guess we can put to bed the notion that the CFL is the league who hires "Last Resort" footballers! Looks like the NFL is willing to look the other way too! Provided they can market a very marketable commodity!

he played for some horrible Falcons teams, so Im not that quick to judge. Regardless of his QB rating or stats, if you watched him play you know the guy's got talent.. I just would like to see it with a decent team.

The guy did more time and has been publicly flogged more than some human killers have had to do...

You got vehicular homicide getting next to no attention and 30 days in jail and probation.. and you have vick getting 23 months in Jail!!

Your average joe knows who vick is and holds some horrible opinion about him

But what about Donte' Stallworth... the guy killed someone driving drunk, and theres no public outrage for him still playing! he killed a human being!

I have a dog and love her to death.. but vick admitted to his crimes, accepted his punishment and the ridiculous media frenzy (which was so over the top its not funny) and I think has paid his dues 100 times over, and hope to see him playing next season, probably as a backup, and maybe even in at receiver.

Similar situation for Dany Heatly

Heatley was not drunk… he was speeding

People’s image recovers over time if they are smart enough.

He was usually considered the fastest guy on the field when he played, that should be saying something. He served his time in jail, he is a free man, do not judje him unless you are judjed yourself. He paid his debt to society. He is a gifted athelete. You do not need to like him. I forgive him because he did his time. Leave the guy alone. He will play again in the NFL. Forget about it. He is no use to the Cats due to his style of run first throw second a la Casey Printers. I am no angel and neither are most of the holier than thou posters on this site so get over it. Give him a break. Everyone deserves a second chance. :roll:

Good read Beast, right on!

“LOSER”, not “LOOSER”. What the hell is with half the people on the Internet turning “failure” into “not as tight”?