I'm not a football fan - but it isn't just because of the level of violence associated with players on and off the field, it isn't just because of the drug taking, the steroid injecting, the artificial muscle bulging, the trash talking, hot-dogging, testosterone raging, large number of gun incidents, bankruptcies, stupid fucking situations some of these guys get into and it isn't even because the Philadelphia Eagles signed Michael Vick, the most famous dog fighter in US history, to a one year deal (and they weren't the only team holding up wads of green stuff and a contract). It's just that I'm a baseball fan. Where a 120 pound weakling can still make an impression fielding a ground ball and make a perfect throw from 2nd base to complete a double play. Yeah, yeah I know - baseball is not what it once was. Barry Bonds has tainted the game and the greatest record in the game beyond repair, icons from Roger Clemens to David Ortiz and Mark McGwire and junkers like Jose Canseco have proven that earning millions from a sport doesn't mean you spend the money on self improvement, self awareness or online college degrees. But the level of sheer, putrid violence is simply not the same.
So, suiting Vick up in an Eagles outfit isn't a problem for me. The sport is run by extremely wealthy men (and the occasional woman) who own sports teams to dip their toe into a rough world they usually only drive by, who would probably have bankrolled the Roman gladiators had they lived then, sipping their Tuscan vineyard produced chianti from a silver chalice wearing a Toga designed by Marc Anthony Versace, sitting in their luxury boxes on the upper levels of the Coliseum above the screeching masses in the bleachers.
Vick has served his time. He is overseen by a phalanx of legal and humane society advisors who make sure he is seen by television crews to show remorse. But his crimes, though terrifying, were a product of a society which dumps truckloads of money in the driveways of million dollar mansions owned by men who think it's a good idea to install gold plated bath taps, own tigers, and do shady business deals with their cronies. They are often men whose incredible physical gifts are valued far more than the ability to balance a check book or the ability to invest for a life after football - Vick hung dogs from trees and beat them, electrocuted them or drowned them and he also declared himself to be bankrupt with debts totaling 20 million dollars and assets of a mere 16 million.
Baseball has always been seen as a metaphor for life. But modern American life has gradually started to resemble a football game far more than the langorous pace of a nine inning game of throwing, hitting and catching on a perfect green lawn, a game where good defense will usually beat a good offense. Football is entirely the reverse. The more powerful and violent the offense, the bigger the players, the more aggressive the attack - will always beat out a well crafted defense. Actually, when I think about it, football is a metaphor for the obesity of the general American population.
But back to Michael Vick. The ruling body of football suspended Vick 'indefinitely' when he was convicted of his heinous and callous crimes. Two months after the end of his sentence he is back to being a millionaire sportsman. Does the decision send a message of uncaring by the rulers of football as many animal organizatons have suggested? Does the Humane Society hope that Vick's inevitable high profile declarations of sorrow will direct some of the truckloads of money in their direction? Does this move by the Eagles (and by implication the whole of football) suggest to youngsters that it's okay to fight and kill dogs because Vick is 'forgiven'? I believe that having served his sentence, Michael Vick is entitled to pursue his career if an employer is willing to take him on. I believe that Michael Vick is a more productive member of society earning his own way and not suffering the same fate as the vast majority of black ex cons, and I also believe that whether Michael Vick can use his experiences from his conviction and jail time to work for a more equal society and a more humane society will depend on how much the people around him can be less sycophantic and more challenging.
Ultimately, Vick will be the deciding factor in whether he is a complete jerk or has become a more complete human being. I wish him well.
i love your blog. i look forward to your new posts. but this one sealed the deal. who knew you were ALSO a baseball fan? and for all the right reasons. professional sports: a culture of money in all the wrong places.
keep up the good work.
Posted by: themacinator | August 15, 2009 at 08:30 PM
The acceptance of Michael Vick by much of the general public, and their belief that he paid for his crimes, is why things are the way they are. Rotten. Money rules and ignorance thrives. Vick is like a bad boy who's been coached and bribed to play it good. At heart he is who he is, a vicious animal murderer. His problem was he got caught. If it was up to me, Vick's punishment would've been being chained to a tree in lion country. But, in the twisted sentiments of those who forgive Vick, that would make the lions look bad.
Posted by: Steve Feinberg | August 15, 2009 at 09:12 PM
Steve, the thing is: Vick did pay for his crimes in the way in which we currently define that particular crime in our legal structure. And the system of 'money rules and ignorance thrives' well, yeah - welcome to the western world. You and I don't disagree.
The two surviving guys who taunted the tiger in SF Zoo got close to a million dollars in a settlement. One of them recently got arrested again for felony cocaine posession and being under the influence while driving. Yes, getting caught. That IS the problem. People who cheat on their spouses, hit their children, rape their niece or slaughter a dog. But those who DO get caught have a chance for redemption, no? We are not innately 'moral' that's for sure.
But I can't go down that road with you in tying a man to a tree and let him be torn to pieces by hungry or angry lions. We've had this conversation, you and I - waiting for a lost and terrified dog to walk into the trap we set for him one night. I love your passion for animals, regrettably I think that the sentiments of revenge are the twisted ones.
Because who gets to decide which 'crimes' are punishable by this sort of rough justice? Ancient law which stones a woman to death for her husband's infidelity?
Vick lives in a society which values virtually nothing that cannot be bought and then disposed of. You know I think what Vick did was beyond comprehension, just as the Abu Ghraib crimes were beyond our belief - but we must surely believe that there is a chance he will never do anything like this again. And to extend that chance to him.
Posted by: Jill | August 16, 2009 at 07:56 AM
Jill: The question is...did Vick TRULY pay for his crimes...for which, directly or indirectly, he's now about to be rewarded. The law does not always serve justice. It's random and bribable and has loopholes. Vick's time in prison was an investment: 'Do your time (soft time by the way, not hard), satisfy the law, say you're sorry, play it humble, and we'll have you back on the field before you can say paycheck.' It was all quite predictable.
Yeah...forgiveness is a virtue, but does everyone deserve it? Vick didn't simply make a mistake for which we like to forgive people. He willfully, continually and joyfully perpetrated cruelty. And if he wasn't caught he'd still be doing it! That's not a mistake, it's a lifestyle. It's evil. The passion I have for animals, which we share, is born of empathy. Empathy is what allows us to feel the pain of other beings. But psychopaths like Vick don't feel that. He's not sorry for what he did. He's only sorry for himself. He hasn't been rehabilitated, only restrained. He won't kill dogs anymore only because it's not in his best interest.
"Revenge" you say. Well yeah. Revenge is sweet. But why? Because it can represent justice where all else fails. It failed with O.J. Simpson whom I once greatly respected. I might also add that I'm a football fan. But here's another prediction: When Vick makes his first appearance on the playing field, he will be cheered. Mark my words. So much for justice. The dogs Vick tortured and killed might forgive him if they could, because they're man's best friend. But I am not.
Posted by: Steve Feinberg | August 16, 2009 at 02:44 PM
PS. If Michael Vick took a lie detector test, you can bet it would show that his "sorrow" for the dogs he abused is a lie. It should be no surprise that those who have no trouble killing have no trouble lying.
Posted by: Steve Feinberg | August 17, 2009 at 08:15 PM