Remember when Michael Vick was first arrested for the illegal dogfighting? He pled guilty and headed off to jail and I think most of us thought that he was done with. We should have known better.
After his stint in the slammer, Michael Vick landed a multi-million dollar job with the Philadelphia Eagles and is now on the roster, at the cost of Hank Bassett. This newest development floors me, however. Nike has taken him back.
Two years ago, Nike ended their endorsement deal with Vick quicker than you can expect the Kardashian-Odom union to end. Now, they are back together. Though they aren’t revealing details of the deal, Vick will be wearing Nike gear again and getting paid for it. Wait — doesn’t Nike make dog tags?
What’s the lesson to learn about famous people? If you pay your debt to society, and earnestly apologize, it really doesn’t matter what you do. You will be forgiven. The end.
UPDATE: According to Reuters, Nike denies an endorsement deal. They are providing equipment to Vick, but are not paying him. Hmm.
The man has gone to prison and served his time. That is how the law works. What would be the point of a judicial system that sentences people to jail for a certain period time if they are then persecuted for their crime forever?
I couldn’t agree more. He can’t go to every single person and apologize. He served his time in jail and now he’s working with the Humane Society of the United States to prevent dogfighting. Does he really mean it? I don’t know, but I can’t really judge his sincerity.
And Hank Baskett would’ve gotten cut anyways because he sucks. He does seem like a nice guy.
I’m with Becca and Maria on this one. I am a die hard Eagles fan and look forward to what he can bring to the team. Vick has been doing a lot of community work in the Philly area, and may actually be sorry for his crimes. While we may not know that for sure, what ever happened to second chances?
And Baskett was on the verge of being cut for quite some time. Vick didnt’ exactly steal his roster spot. GO EAGLES :)
i agree too. he got out of jail and is trying to move forward with his life.
I don’t understand what people think he should be doing.
Roman Polanski served time too and he didn’t kill any innocent, helpless creatures. His crime was despicable, but even his victim wants to have his case dropped. But he’s not a young money-machine for large-scale corporate interests at this point in his life.
Are you serious? Who cares what the victim wants? She received a large payout from him, so I’m sure that she’s living large somewhere. You don’t consider a 13 year-old child attacked by a grown man helpless? He did his time. Should he have refused to leave prison? Should he never have worked again?
arrgggh. it absolutely irks me that all these celebrities get away with anything nowadays. all they have to do is apologize, “do time” and then everything is all good again.
and dog fighting is BAAAADDDD. it’s terrible what’s being done to the dogs in the fights and the ones that are being fed to them for practice ]=
He is such a P.O.S.
I understood he served his “time.” He served the laws time. Does that mean we have to forgive him? He should not be allowed to be in the public eye ever again.
You shouldn’t write about him again. k? k.
Not be allowed in the public eye? Ha, ridiculous. That doesn’t even make any sense.
Well I obviously know thats not going to happy, we could only hope.
I meant *happen
Just for the record, I agree with the fact that he did serve his time. He may or may not feel remorse for his actions, but what he did will seriously follow him forever.
Furthermore, the multi-million dollar contract means nothing because he is so in debt that when all is said and done he will only be coming away with MAYBE $80,000 per year… granted that is a large salary to take away, but seriously, the guy will pay for his actions for a long time…
geez, he went to prison. he apologized. He has felt the consequences (um, going to JAIL). If this weren’t consequence enough then lets just do away with the justice system. Lets just make him a social pariah for the rest of his life. really dont see why everyone is bitching about it.
uh, don’t think I’d want to be your “bitch”
“What’s the lesson to learn about famous people? If you pay your debt to society, and earnestly apologize, it really doesn’t matter what you do. You will be forgiven. The end.”
Ummmm…. isn’t that Christianity in a nutshell?
LOL. Too true.
He tortured and likely killed hundreds off dogs. If he did that to even just one person, you’d all likely be angry about him getting fame as a sports star.
Exactly! Although thats not true either, but I won’t even get into that conversation.
Ummm Daunte Stallworth??
No one even mentions him.
I usually don’t leave comments about this stuff, but this issue makes me so sad. Sad for humanity that there are people who find winning a football game more important than making progress as a species. Humans do some really disgusting and barbaric things to millions of sentient beings a year. What this man did is something we shouldn’t be so quick to forgive and overlook. We are talking about a man who saw no problem with chaining up a female dog, beating her till she was nearly unconscious then ripping out all her teeth with a pair of pliers. If this wasn’t enough, she was then kept chained up and gang raped by his top fighting dogs. This behavior is something we as humans should not tolerate. If a man can go this to an innocent creature, who knows what else he is capable of. Mahatma Gandhi said that “the greatness of a nation and it’s moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” What does Michael Vick’s quick return to the spotlight say about our nation and what does it say about all of the people who think that there is nothing wrong with it?!
Mahatma Gandhi also said “The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
obviously most people, including the government, thought what he did was wrong. that’s why he went to jail. no matter how much “progress” humans make, there will always be people who will do disgusting things. Not everyone will follow the rules or have the same morals and priorities.
this man committed a crime, went to jail, and now he wants to move on with his life. i hope he is sincerely remorseful of what he did, but i don’t know this since i’m not him. and i hope he spends the majority of his life speaking about animal violence.
what’s bothersome to me, is that the majority of people are in agreement that what he did was wrong. and yet, so many people don’t think that what roman polanski did was wrong. it’s sad that a lot of people think that a dog’s life is more valued then a young girls life. society and the legal system has shown that dogs are higher up than females!
I think what Roman Polanski did was wrong, but he didn’t kill the girl or even torture her. He kinda raped her. You can’t really compare that to what Vick did.
yes forcing yourself onto someone else. and then spending the next 30 years putting the blame on her and her mother isn’t bad at all.
and honestly, i really think people are more important than animals. i know this probably isn’t a popular view, but it is inherently true in all of us. after all, if a house was on fire and you had the choice to save a dog or a child, what would you pick? the common answer would the child. no?
also it wasn’t “kinda rape”. it WAS rape.
Seriously are you kidding me? Roman Polanski drugged and gave alcohol to a Middle School girl, and then anally and vaginally RAPED her. He admitted to it. There is no question of it. He then fled the country so he wouldn’t have to go to jail. He should be brought back and be thrown in jail, without question. It drives me nuts that people, including Hollywood Execs keeps saying, “But he has so much talent!” Screw the talent – he raped a 13 year old girl. He should serve time.
I just sent Nike an email informing them I would no longer support their company in any way. I have freedom of choice as a consumer, and for Nike to endorse Mr. Vick is truly dissappointing. There are many other atheletes who are more positive role models. The only reason Mr. Vick is remorseful is because he got caught!
oh. i didn’t know you had the ability to look into other people’s minds.
He should be forced to wear ProWings fo eva.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha….
someone else who remembers prowings! classic! never owned a pair myself by the grace of god. yes, make him wear prowings from payless 4evah!
He’s done his time in jail, apologized (sort of), yada yada yada… It seems people are either sports lovers or animal lovers. I’m both but more so the latter. I think the things he did, not only to the fighting dogs he owned but also to his own “pets” that he claimed to love (throwing them into the ring as bait for his money making dogs to practice on) speaks to his soul, or lack thereof. Kate (above) put it nicely that it also speaks to our humanity that so many are so quick to forgive and forget…
As for me and my dog, we won’t be wearing any Niki shoes…
or dog tags…
isn’t humanity about forgiveness though?
trickybusiness, your warm support is appreciated. Your good soul is as beautiful as your appearance!
thanx! ; )
“What’s the lesson to learn about famous people? If you pay your debt to society, and earnestly apologize, it really doesn’t matter what you do. You will be forgiven. The end.”
WRONG! Look at Chris Brown. His career is over..
The man has done his time and paid his dues. End of story.
Or shall we get the whips out and start flogging him until he’s dead?
Let it go. Thats how our judicial system works. Do a crime, pay for it, move on with your life in a better direction, and dont ever let it happen again.
He’s human, and flawed – and not saying what he did wasnt horrific – should he lose everything because of it? I dont think so.
Let the man move on already…
i’m sure he felt the “consequences” for his actions when his ASS was behind bars for 2 YEARS! get over it. it’s not like he drugged and raped a 13 year old or anything.
Ridiculous!!! HE WENT TO PRISON! He served his debt to society! Most celebrities don’t. Rebecca Gayheart and Brandi KILLED people and served NO time. For fuck sake. Look at Ray Lewis or Daunte Stallworth.
Peolple who get worked up over animals and not over their fellow human beings are simply wrong. It was sick and horrible what Vick did but he fucking paid for it. That should count for something.Boycott Nike? really? Get a life! how about boycotting them for their sweatshops in Vietnam and Indonesia.
Vick only tortured and killed dogs. Someone else killed a person. Another person killed several people. Someone else was a serial killer. Someone else lied us into a war that killed countless people. That guy’s boss broke the goddamned world. The fact that you can always find someone else who did something worse does NOT excuse what you do.
I’ve got a life, thank you, and my butthole… uh, opinion is as good as yours. I’ll boycott Nike for whatever reason suits me. What’s your problem? You own stock or something?? Sheesh…
The fact that there are public figures who have done worse is not the point. It’s that they have done worse and walked away with zero repercussions.
This man did his time, he should be able to go on with his life.
Okay people, let’s not even compare Michael Vick and Roman Polanski. The only thing these two have in common is that they both committed horrific felonies and truly disgusting crimes. But the similarities end there. Michael Vick accepted the punishment for his crimes, served his time and has accepted the public fallout for his actions. Roman Polanski NEVER served the sentence for which he was convicted. He was sentenced and then fled the country before he could ever start serving his prison time. Instead of owning up to his despicable behavior, he has eluded justice for the past 30 years, enjoying his life and living high on the hog. I don’t understand these people who think Roman Polanski is somehow being “victimized.” I mean, what the hell do people not understand?? The man drugged and raped an unconscious 13 year-old and never served a day in jail because he skipped out before his sentence began! I am a huge dog lover and think Michael Vick’s actions are repulsive. But at the very least, he accepted responsibility for his actions, apologized for his behavior, and humbly served his sentence without complaint. At the very least, he accepted responsibility for his crime which is a HELL of alot more than Polanski ever did.
First you say “let’s not even compare” the two, then you go on to do just that. Respectfully, you don’t seem to know all the details about Polanski’s crime. Yes, he gave booze and qualudes to a 13 year old girl who knew what they were and willing took them, then proceeded to willingly have sex with him — which IS statutory rape and horribly wrong, I know. But do you think her MOTHER should have said something since she WAS THERE?? Mom wasn’t even charged with a crime, nor were the other men who were in the house. If we’re going to get the criminals, let’s get them ALL — but don’t excuse Michael Vick because someone else did something worse. Just because Vick served some time in jail doesn’t mean he isn’t still a piece of shit — he’s just a POS who’s probably found Jesus like all prisoners do…
I never was a fan of Vick before the whole thing, and what he did was terrible but he was punished for what he did and suffered greatly for it. You can’t just pretend like it never happen but you also can’t punish him forever. The punishment was fair and harsh enough and as long as he doesn’t do anything like that again he should be left alone to live his life. I’m not saying you have to like the guy (personally i don’t really like him) but to say he doesn’t deserve any happiness in his life wrong.