Quote Originally Posted by KevinFinnerty
I've got a lot I want to get off my chest on this topic, so bear with me.

It's REALLY sad, and frustrating, and amusing, to see just how many people are practically calling for Michael Vick to be lynched for this whole dogfighting thing. How can you sit there and rationally argue that Vick deserves to be banned from the NFL for life after he serves his (potential) jail sentence and pays his proverbial debt to society? Who is the commissioner to say, "Alright Mike, you're out of jail, but I don't think our nation's legislation is strict enough regarding this matter, so I'm still not going to let you play." I mean, there are millions of people in this country, and ostensibly many players in the NFL, who enjoy going out with high-powered firearms and blowing the brains out of innocent animals who are just chilling in their natural habitats, animals that would have otherwise lived normal lives. You're going to sit there and tell me that this activity is significantly less horrible, if at all, than dogfighting? I'm not saying dogfighting isn't disgusting, or that that there shouldn't be laws against it. What I am saying, however, is that it certainly shouldn't be the sole cause of the premature ending to a man's career.

People love to point to the the cruelty and "inhumanity" (a term I've heard used a lot when discussing the animal abuse which seems a bit oxymoronic, considering animals aren't humans) with which Vick treated those dogs as the reason why this is such a horrible act. However, how can you use the concept of inhumanity in reference to the treatment of animals when we, as humans, kill animals everyday for things like food, clothing, hunting, etc.? Even more to the point, how can you use the concept of inhumanity in reference to the treatment of dogs when organizations like the ASPCA kill THOUSANDS of dogs a year simply for population control? It's just so hypocritical to, on the one hand, treat animals completely like property to be destroyed when a person sees fit, and on the other hand send someone to jail and ruin his career for the way he chooses to treat said property. Until the powers that be, as well as the public, show the same indignation toward all forms of abusing and killing animals (like hunting) as they do towards Michael Vick, all this outrage towards Vick is nothing more than hollow sanctimony.

Another thing: the people trying to rationalize a lifetime ban for Michael Vick by bringing up gambling are way off base. There is a huge and fundamental difference between gambling on your sport and just gambling period. Vick putting some money on his dogs to win fights in no way compromised the competitive integrity of the NFL. Also, it's ridiculous to say that betting on his dogs could have led to him developing a debt with a bookie and indirectly led to him shaving points or something. By all accounts Vick was wagering like $20,000 or $30,000 tops on these dogfights, a laughably small amount compared to the size of his salary. In fact, it only takes a bit of common sense and a little knowledge of how sports betting works to understand that there's next to zero chance of an athlete in the big three sports (NFL, NBA, MLB) shaving points considering how much money they make, how much risk it involves, and how much a bookie would have to pay the athlete to make it worthwhile for him, considering that there is a relatively low limit to how much you can wager on any given game; it's simply not feasible, although college sports are a different story altogether. The bottom line is that, even though I don't have an exact copy of the NFL's policy regarding gambling in front of me, I know it would be against the spirit of the policy to punish a guy when he never did anything to actually affect the competition in the NFL in any way. As a side note, if you still think Michael Vick's gambling makes him deserving of a lifetime ban, what would you say about the portion of the NFL's players (sizable, according to many, many reports) who wager huge amounts playing Texas Holdem and other card games? I can assure you that there's a lot more money being put on card games among football players, and other pro athletes, than $20,000-$30,000.

...and now I'm off my soapbox. Thank you for your time

Ever heard of Pete Rose?