I’ve already been through this before. After serving time for heading up an illegal dog-fighting ring, Michael Vick got a well-paying job. Then he began to re-establish his relationship with Nike. Of course, Nike denies they are paying Vick any money. They are just providing him with free equipment which will be seen on television every week and will probably increase bottom line sales, but it’s not an endorsement deal.
Now BET is in on the action. Vick will star in an eight-episode reality show that will document his life post-jail. The network promises not to downplay his crime and conviction and the football player hopes that it will give the public an opportunity to get to know him better.
Here’s the question: Do you feel any urge or desire to get to know Michael Vick better?
He is disgusting. I can’t even stand the sound of his name. It makes me sad, but he will continue to be rich and famous.
When fighting dogs don’t win, they are killed; sometimes by gunshot or throat slitting. When fighting dogs are injured, these people perform rudimentary “veterinary medicine” themselves. Micheal Vick says he now realizes animals should be treated better than that. What load of bullcrap. This man should still be in jail, much less getting fame and fortune.
why the fuck do you care that mike is getting money. does it make you mad that a black man who has done is time for his crimes ( which where horrible) and is now getting back on his feet. should we carve a A on his head so that we no that he has done this crime in till he dies. no forgive but i bet none of you have ever done anything wrong sorry i must of forgot that you all walk on water
whoa dude.
*cue 30 rock tracy jordan race card moment*
But seriously, no one is perfect. People lie, cheat, steal etc etc. But the atrocities this man has committed are so horrendous I really don’t think I can truly forgive him or the people who have allowed him to get back to his career this fast w/ as little repercussions as possible. This was not a one-time thing, Vick tortured and killed animals over and over in painful and inhumane ways.
(i apologize for the somewhat ranting/incoherent nature of this post, haven’t slept in a while)
“that guy”, you need to remove that chip from your shoulder. I don’t walk on water; however, I also have never participated in illegal behavior that included the torturous treatment of another living being. Also, I don’t care what color he is — so please spare us of that tired old race card crap — nobody’s going to be sold on that one for Michael Vick. If he were Brett Favre or Eli Manning it wouldn’t make any difference to me how great of a player they are, and they should deserve the same treatment if they were to do what Vick did. The NFL should be ashamed of themselves for letting him back in. Their current standards of who they allow to play on their teams pretty much show that the more criminals and thugs they can draft or recruit, the better; as long as they are money making machines. Yeah, great role models for kids, these NFL players are. I won’t be surprised if someday soon the whole defensive secondary of some team will be made up of nothing but rapists and murderers. But hey, that’ll be okay…as long as they can effectively blitz the opposing quarterback.
Black guy? REALLY? I had some of my teenage students try and pull that card on me and I’ll tell you what I told them: “You try that line on me and you cheapen all of us.”
ALL of us.
*applauds* Thank youuu!!!
I have made mistakes in life, but I have never intentionally killed an animal barbarically the way he did. So yeah, I’m not as bad a person as he is. I hope he rots.
Doesn’t make a difference to me what race he is, what he did was reprehensible and I can’t believe people are trying to pretend that it never happened. And the things I have done wrong are on the order of saying something nasty about someone’s outfit behind their back or farting on the elevator at work, not torturing and killing living things. So don’t try to drag me into Vick’s league.
If BET really wants ratings they should have an eight part series where in each episode Vick is hog tied and rubbed with bacon grease before dogs are sicked on him for hour straight.
he didnt go to jail he went to prison
I’m fine with hating Michael Vick as long as everyone is fine with hating every single person who has ever committed a felony; failing that, let’s calm down a little. A lot of celebrities have had brushes with the law, and it seems a bit unfair to criticize Vick, one of the few celebrities who has actually been brought to justice for his crimes. Do I believe he has reformed? Not really. The same can be said, however, for most of the people we follow on this site, and I don’t see you writing a comment suggesting we all boycott when Paris Hilton (who didn’t even serve her full sentence) or Shia LaBeouf shows up somewhere.
If you can’t tell the difference between getting a DUI and torturing animals for shits and giggles you’re piss poor excuse for a person.
Michael Vick may have “served his time,” but his crimes were violent and cruel in nature. Kind of predatory on living creatures. So, no, I don’t think he should have an “A” carved on his head. How about a “P” to warn the unsuspecting and vulnerable? That works for me.
I guess I have a problem understanding why athletes like Pete Rose were forever banned from their game (and livelihood), while Vick waltzes right back in after conviction. If I had a vote, any professional athlete convicted of a felony is done. Do not pass go, do not collect $2,000,000….
Many young people aspire to be professional athletes. What kind of message does this send to them?
I want to preface my comment by saying that I like animals better than I like people AND I think the amount of money paid to athletes is obscene. Oh, and reality TV sucks. That said…
This may sound naive, but how do we know he isn’t truly sorry for what he did? Does he have to get a job as a street sweeper or something (no offense to any EB readers in that profession) to prove he is truly penitent? I agree his crime was beyond horrible, but if he served time and if he is truly sorry then why can’t he resume his career? I’d like to see him use his fame and money to make moral amends for what he’s done. If playing pro football and being on BET gives him a platform to do this, I hope he takes advantage of it.
I’m more angry about Roman Polanski than this.
Well said! I completely agree. What about Rebecca Gayheart too? She killed a person and got probation. WTF
While what Rebecca Gayheart did may be more reprehensible, there is a world of difference in their intent.
You guys all need to get a life. He commited a crime, did the jail time, and now he can work if he wants. Leave him alone. I think you’re all just jealous because he was able to get his life back together, so you all need to get off his back.
Here’s an idea…..instead of wanting him to use his time and fame to do something to fight animal cruelty, why don’t you guys stop bitching about him and do something for the cause yourself? Typical left-wingers.
Why don’t you give back to the world( for once) and off yourself? The last thing the world needs is more typical conservitards.
You’re silly, if I killed myself that would be a sin, but I guess you all don’t care about that either since it’s o.k. to kill fetuses. Typical left response, just what I thought.
Dude, you need to get back on your lithium ASAP.
conservitards?!!
Love it!!!!!
Are you insane?
Your face is insane.
Michael Vick is a piece of shit. Period. I just don’t understand how people can support him, the NFL and Nike included. Yes, he did his time, but that doesn’t make up for what he did. It’s not like serving jail time can help or bring back those poor animals he tortured. And I don’t think he is truly sorry. I don’t think the man has it in him. Anyone who can torture any living thing like that over and over again just can’t have the capacity to be truly sorry. He’s sorry he got caught, sure, and maybe he’s sorry he got involved in it, but I don’t think he’s sorry for what he actually did. However, in our culture, celebrities are above reproach and he’ll get on with his life, while all of his supporters crow about how wonderful he is and the rest of us need to get over it. Sad.
A few months ago I never would have thought I would feel this way now, but here goes. First of all, I have been a Veterinary Nurse for almost 10 years. I have given my whole heart to saving, caring for, and loving animals. My feelings on the proper treatment of animals are not in question. When I first heard about the actions of Michael Vick, many tears were shed. I was beyond angry. I wanted him to suffer like those poor dogs did. I even made a personal vow to try to get people to boycott any team that was ever heinous enough to re-sign him. Your website ran his apology a little while back, and again I was brought to tears. I am not religious, and do not find myself to be an especially forgiving person, but I was struck by his sincerity. We all make mistakes, and usually feel repentant for them… at least when caught in the act. I truly believe that once the true evil nature of what he was doing was shoved before his eyes, he realized how horrible his acts were. How many people eat meat? If people were forced to witness the horrific lives and deaths these animals suffered, it would shame many into vegetarianism. If we all saw the appalling conditions and paltry pay overseas clothing factories forced on their workers, maybe more would become home tailors. This world is filled with unnecessary pain and sorrow. We ALL put on the blinders. I feel a need to believe that Michael Vick truly is sorry. What more can I do but let him PROVE that he is sorry? He has wholeheartedly promised to show us all that anyone can change. I do believe that, deep inside, human nature is good and loving. Some are simply led astray, or chose not to see the truth before them. He has said he will prove he is sorry for his actions, and I will trust him, and wait for the proof. Then I will decide whether he is an admirable person, a role model for others. I can only pray that day will come. I don’t want to hate him, but that’s up to him now.
well said. i agree, i want to see what he does with his life. hopefully, he’ll devote his life to animal violence awareness and become an advocate.
i feel that most commenters here, as well as other sites, just have a mob mentality. yes, he did a terrible thing and that’s why he went to jail. let’s see what he does from now on and monitor his behavior.
You are no better than he is and should be ashamed of yourself, fucking pathetic.
so everyone should be angry and full of hate, like you? how is being nasty helping anything. most commenters here are basing decisions on emotion rather than rationality – it’s pathetic.
It’s different when an animal dies to feed us rather than for entertainment/profit. Honestly I couldn’t forgive someone who participated for financial gain in the abuse, torture, and killing of helpless animals…especially animals who are our friends and who have been shown in the past to help, rescue, and even take a bullet for their owners.
Now he is profiting off his infamous-ness.
Ugh. He’s just plain evil, this guy
I think Vick should still be in jail. Or at the very least be working a reg 9-5. There are so many deserving people of his position that would’ve never fucked up. You’re making millions a year- why can’t people just be happy with that?
And as for getting to ‘know him better’, pass. I don’t want to know anyone that has a hand in that because in order to do something that cruel I think there’s a malicious psycho inside just begging to get out.
Oh yeah, as for the ‘let him prove he’s changed’ comment, that’s pointless now isn’t it? He’d have to be really really stupid to continue to do it. He’s just like any other person released from jail- they act cleaned up and stop whatever behavior was exemplified before because they now know what it’ll cost them.
Sorry, not any person released, I meant ‘celebrity’.
look its true it doesn’t matter what race he is. he is still human i have a dog i love my dog i said it was horrible but you cant just say i hope he rots. everybody deserves a second chance thats all im saying if you truly dont think he deserves it you should look at how many second chances we have all had regardless of how bad it was
You think everybody deserves a second chance? What about Ted Bundy and Hitler and Manson?
i think that people should be given a second chance after they have done their time and worked with the legal system. Manson was given a life sentence. and bundy’s punishment was death. and if hitler was on trial, he probably would’ve gotten a death sentence.
I wish I could be the bigger person and say that he served his time and deserves a second chance, but I can’t.
He participated in and funded the torture of numerous animals. Animals that are already given a bad name because of people like him. Many cities have outlawed these breeds because of their “aggressive” behaviors and some shelters automatically euthanize them, regardless of their demeanors. These animals are not given a second chance.
I think the NFL should be embarrassed that one of its teams has signed him. I think Nike should be boycotted because of its willingness to supply him with “free” materials so as to promote its name. I think BET should think twice about doing a reality show on him and do a reality show focusing on an individual that is a positive role model for everyone.
How can one learn from his mistakes if he is constantly being rewarded?
I agree about the role models thing, but that never makes for good TV does it? :P
Has anyone read The Onion article on Oct 1 about Vick?
I think it pretty much sums up everyone’s feelings on it.
Everybody says, “He’s done his time, let the man play football”. What if Michael Vick had molested a child and then had served his time? Would they still say, “let him play”? OK, maybe that’s not even comparable because we are talking about a human victim. What if he had had sex with the dogs instead of torturing them? Would the NFL and all of his fans want him back then? I don’t think so. Animal torture as a form of amusement is acceptable in many neighborhoods today. Heads up, folks.
I briefly met this guy (at my work). He’s just an all-around douche. Does what he wants, no consideration for others. Ugh. No interest in getting to know him.