Football Thuggery

Mr. Michael Vick has been a great success in the National Football League as quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons. Since he’s entered the NFL he’s created quite a stir with his ability to scramble, his strong arm, and his quick thinking.

Too bad his little brother lacks the “quick thinking” part of the equation.

Mr. Marcus Vick, Michael’s little brother, led his college team (Virginia Tech) to victory in the Gator Bowl January 2nd. By the following Monday he’d been kicked off the team. Evidently he showed poor sportsmanship whilst stomping on someone’s leg during the game, lied about apologizing to the other team, was arrested for speeding and driving with a suspended license, and was charged with three misdemeanor counts of waving a gun in some kid’s face at a McDonald’s. source

Was Mr. Vick abashed at his unlawful and irresponsible behavior? Did he make amends? No… Instead he decided that he will skip the rest of his college career and declared himself eligible for the NFL draft. It’s possible that a professional football team will draft him, and instead of being held responsible for his actions he will make millions of dollars.

If the NFL has any social conscious, any morals, any sense of decency, they will ban Mr. Vick from playing in the NFL until he has finished college and paid his debts to society. This man must learn that he cannot run from his mistakes simply because he’s a good football player.

Mr. Vick, however, is not the first person to do such things. Mr. Randy Moss, famed wide receiver, had woes in college, was caught with illegal drugs, and tried to run over a police officer in Minneapolis. Instead of being punished for his actions, he continued to get paid millions to play a game on Sunday afternoons. (His NFL team, the Minnesota Vikings, did trade him to the Oakland Raiders. Since becoming a Raider, Mr. Moss has been rather quiet.)

The NFL used to be a classy operation. Players wore suits and ties to the games. Coaches wore suits and ties on the sidelines. Team rules meant something. Players listened to their coaches. These days players wear whatever they want, coaches look rather shabby, players know the owners will fire a coach before they’ll fire a “franchise” player – so why listen to the coach? And if a player does something wrong the league fines them instead of benching them. This is not a good deterrent to a player who makes millions of dollars. Last week a NFL player spit on his opponent. He was evicted from the game and fined $17,000. I’m willing to bet that he was more concerned and embarrassed about being evicted than he was about the fine.

The Minnesota Vikings sunk to new morality lows this season as many of the players went on a cruise and are now charged with “lewd or lascivious conduct, indecent conduct and disorderly conduct.” source The problem is that these players (who make millions per year) are facing a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail. All bets are that none of them will see jail time, which is a pity; fining a millionaire a thousand dollars does NOT teach any lessons.

If the younger Mr. Vick does indeed get drafted by a professional team, I will not be surprised, but I will be disappointed.

Picture of the Day

Mr. Fruitloop kept me company when I had pneumonia.
I’m not sure why my oh so masculine puddy-tat has a teddy bear, but he seems to like it.