The Vick Project

The Vick Project

You would have had to be living under a rock not to be exposed to the massive NFL scandal of star quarterback Michael Vick being accused and convicted of animal rights violations.I will not go into detail, but anytime someone is involved with a dog fighting ring, you know there has been atrocious cruelty towards those dogs. He of course was convicted, but the one year of jail time was the least of his worries. His fan base and public image took a blow that is almost impossible to repair. Even a firm as prestigious as Fleishman-Hillard would have their hands full trying to repair the soiled Vick Reputation. My hypothesis is, if it had been some other sort of fighting ring such as a cock fighting, it would not have made such headlines as dogs. We in America love animals, some of my fondest memories are of my dog growing up. Not to mention that most kids, are raised with such movies as Homeward Bound, Old Yeller, and Turner and Hooch. These movies instill this American tradition of dog lovers. One can also see this American obsession when you see the National Dog Show on primetime television every year. Because of this love for animals in the US, the NFL and the courts had no choice but to make an example of Vick. By no means am condoning what he did but I just find it a bit hypocritical that no one wanted to give him any chance at all. It’s not like most of these NFL players ever finished school so, this is their only form of job training. Another reason he was made an example of, was the fact that the timing of the trial and accusations were during the NFL off season. ESPN was barren and even resorting to showing WMBA highlights and even worse… Soccer!!! I was craving anything football related new and the Vick coverage seems to keep my attention. The off season is torture for any ex player or anyone who just loves football. Its no secret that those down weeks of football are tough to handle without something football related. This media phenomenon is nothing new. Often when there is a void in sports news because of off seasons, ESPN and other news related media reach for stories that would otherwise be overshadowed. Not that a dog fighting ring is not news worthy, but it was televised constantly because of the news void. That seems to be how our America is, and however hypocritical it is “if it bleeds, it leads” is how journalism maintains itself

Related link

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/v/michael_vick/index.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JDM4aTdPiY