You don’t even have to be loud or showy about it. Just don’t go to the games or buy NFL stuff. Money talks. If enough fans stop financing the league through ticket sales etc, the NFL will definitely notice. Again, money talks.
Well, I know a few folks are wishing death on the man, and pain. Me personally, I’m not even interested in bankruptcy. I’d just be happy if he no longer gets to be a multiple millionaire doing the extremely PR-heavy job he did before he decided to be pointlessly cruel.
For the record, Jon Kitna threw for more than 4,000 yards last season, with 21 touchdowns and a completion percentage over 60%. He plays in a Mike Martz offense with two big-talent wide receivers that relies on a strong pocket passer who can throw and throw and throw - even minus personal issues, a quarterback like Vick would be lost in a Martz offense. The Lions wouldn’t want Vick for Kitna straight up right now.
I think you’re overestimating the market for the services of a tainted 30-year-old quarterback coming off a two-year layoff who was never substantially better than the median even in his athletic prime (which will be over by the summer of 2009).
I agree it’s gruesome. I will never understand the attraction no matter how they try to justify it as a “sport”. Hmmm…I wonder why the general public doesn’t look at dog/cock fight enthusiasts the same way they look at kids who torture animals, i.e., they are mentally ill and will progress to other evils as they get older. I mean, should we fear these dogfight guys the way we would fear the Jeffery Dahmers of the world who tortured animals as a kid?
The NAACP has come out supporting Vick, though I think they are saying it isn’t due to race.
Actor Jamie Foxx (quite the authority) has also gone on the record saying it’s a race thing. According to him, white folks just don’t understand that in the ghetto people fight dogs and it’s not a big deal, so Vick probably didn’t even realize it was illegal (or some such nonsense).
Of course, Jamie Foxx is also the same one who said he wouldn’t let white people in his house, so I’d take what he says with a grain of salt.
I really thought that you had to be making this up.
I mean, it would be one thing to have been trying to keep him from being convicted in the court of public opinion, which the NAACP also did - quite correctly.
But according to this article, R.L. White, the president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP is suggesting Vick should be allowed back, because of the enjoyment he’d give NFL fans in the future.
Besides, “White also said he didn’t understand the uproar over dogfighting, when hunting deer and other animals is perfectly acceptable.”
:rolleyes:
Though, to be fair, that’s not the whole NAACP, just a single chapter.
Here is the actual plea agreement, along with the summary of the facts, that Vick signed today. (warning: 22 page pdf file)
He did not admit to actually killing dogs and did not admit to gambling. The summary of facts says, “Vick did not gamble by placing side bets on any of the fights. Vick did not receive any of the proceeds from the purses that were won by Bad Newz Kennels.”
My understanding is the gambling aspect of the whole sordid mess is what could end Vick’s career in the NFL. So it remains to be seen whether this carefully parsed language will work for him.
As a Falcon fan since 1966, I hope we never see him in a Falcon uniform again!
He agreed that the dogs died “as a result of the collective efforts” of himself and two co-defendants. Sounds like he killed them to me. I mean, if you die as a result of my efforts, haven’t I killed you?
He did admit to bankrolling the gambling operation, and absorbing the losses, while not receiving any winnings. Sounds like gambling to me. Shitty odds, but gambling none the less.
My guess is that the lawyers were trying to justify their fees. I can’t see the wording helping with the sentencing, or with the NFL (as far as the gambling aspect is concerned.) I mean, he admitted to bankrolling a* gambling enterprise,* but not placing side bets? So what? Who’s more important, the house or the player?
Maybe in his mind he gets to salvage a few reputation points. IMO, his supporters already think he is being railroaded, and his detractors believe he executed each dog himself. Lawyer speak won’t change that.
Basically I agree with the last two sentences in your cite.
