Michael Vick to Work with The Humane Society of the US
Michael Vick speaks to reporters after pleading guilty to dogfighting in 2007.
Jonathan Ernst / Getty Images.
After spending 23 months in prison for dogfighting, former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is out and will be working with The Humane Society of the US on their campaign against dogfighting. HSUS President and CEO, Wayne Pacelle, explained in an email to HSUS supporters:
I want to give him the chance to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem. If he is serious -- and we’ll soon find out -- then Vick can help HSUS reach young men in urban communities and tell his story about dogfighting being a dead end.Pacelle explained further in his blog:
[H]e said he wants to show the American public that he is committed to helping combat this problem. He asked for an opportunity to help. I want to give him that opportunity . . . Maybe if there had been an intervention program in Newport News 15 years ago, a young Michael Vick would have grown to love and respect pit bulls, and he would not have done these terrible things to dogs. For me, it’s not about Michael Vick and providing endless punitive treatment. It’s about stopping other young people from going down the road Vick took.
This announcement from HSUS came just weeks after PETA was reported to be in talks with Vick, but PETA claims they withdrew their offer to Vick back in December. According to the Advertising Age article, Vick's interest in working with PETA was part of "a comprehensive PR scheme aimed at rehabilitating the quarterback's image and gaining him readmission to the league that banned him from playing."
Convicted drunk drivers sometimes speak to teenagers about the lives they've ruined, to try to scare them straight. Is Vick's case so different? Yes and no. Seeing someone who has been there, done that, lost it all and regrets it might have an impact on teens. But drunk drivers do not make their speeches part of a PR campaign to regain a lucrative position in the public spotlight. Vick's motives in working with an animal protection organization are suspect, to put it mildly.
Also, drunk drivers who speak to teens frequently do so after killing someone and/or seriously injuring themselves. It's clear that drunk driving led to a horrible end. But in Vick's case, what is the ending? His goal is to one day play in the NFL again. If he does, will the implicit message be something like, "I ran a dogfighting ring, but everything turned out OK because I'm a rich, famous football player again"?
And if HSUS works with Vick, are they giving him a stamp of approval that will clear the way for the NFL to welcome him back?
Even though PETA once considered Vick as a spokesperson, PETA nows says, "PETA will not take anything off the table when it comes to any team or league that may sign Michael Vick." From that statement, it appears that PETA is warning that it may launch a campaign against any such team.
Do you think Vick is truly sorry for what he did, or just sorry that his career is ruined? Does it matter as long as he's willing to talk to kids about why dogfighting is wrong? Does Vick deserve a second chance in the NFL, and should HSUS work with Vick? Discuss in the Forum.
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Micael Vick is not sorry. He is sorry he got caught. Anyone with an emotional black hole inside of him that enables him to do what he did is incapable of feeling. He is like those 2 Manson girls Fromm and Van Houton, who are “model prisoners”, all sweet and lovely who sliced the fetus out of the womb of Sharon Tate. No. These people are beyond feeling, though they might pretend.
Two days ago the following appeared on a local reporter’s Facebook page. I was incensed an responded to her while copying the station and every Animal welfare activist I knew:
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Dear Ms. Kelly and Ms. Wilson,
Iyt was with great dismay that I read the above on Facebook last night. I can’t believe that such an ignorant and inappropriate comment was actually published with your name on it, Ms Kelly. I can honestly say that you probably lost half of the fan base you gained last April – because while dog fighting is [arguably] not quite as bad as killing people (that was your analogy, correct?), it DOES remain illegal – a felony. Michael Vick has to pay because if he doesn’t then all the little petty criminals will simply say that he BOUGHT his reprieve- which he did – and why can’t they? The sentence for what he did is up to 5 years for each count. He got off with two years and $928,000 for the rehab of 43 dogs. (More on that later)
He sets a bad example for American children making them think it is okay to be cruel and inhumane to animals. He blew it. He is a convicted felon. Isn’t there something in the NFL that says you can’t play? Oh yeah- that’s how they all get off. Charges are somehow reduced so they won’t be felons. I don’t know if Romeo is your first dog or not- but you don’t really love him or you don’t know how much you love him- because ewhen he dies in 14 or 15 years you will be inconsolable and you will not even be able to look at another dog for months, maybe even years without fighting back tears. You will get another dog eventually because you miss your old friend and you will love your new friend but it won’t be Romeo- like children each one is different.
Ms Kelly, the “humane society” doesn’t put animals to “sleep”. It kills them. It kills them because when people like Michael Vicks breed these dogs and the dogs don’t want to fight, they are useless and they are too many and they get dumped and killed. They get used as bait. They die horrible painful deaths in a gas chamber AFTER they have been painfully mauled.
Have you been to animal control lately Ms. Kelly? Last week 496 dogs were confiscated in the largest dog fighting ring operation ever. It spanned three states. The guys that run it are not NFL players so I doubt that you care much even though you claim to love dogs. It got barely any coverage because they aren’t celebrities. I can almost guarantee you they will each serve much more time than did Michael Vicks did. He did not serve his debt to society- not even close.
Ms. Kelly, I do not belong to PETA and I am not a vegetarian. I have visited countries where dogs are the main course and even though I would probably starve before eating dog, I can respect someone’s dietary customs. However, I do believe in treating all animals -including livestock- with compassion and respect. Ms. Kelly, I challenge you to spen a few weeks shadowing an animal control officer just so you can see how far from harmless this dog “thing” is. You are probably going to see something that you haven’t seen before even though you have seen a lot. You will probably be sickened at what you learn or (from your thoughtless comments) maybe not. In any case, it will behoove to remember that you work in a city that voted for Burger King to donate $50,000 to CAAWS- not to schools, hospitals or other “people” organizations- they voted for Capital Area Animal Welfare Society. You work in a city where the tax paying citizens (who buy your sponsors products) respect and care about the city’s animals. You work in a city where we are constantly working to better Title 14. Your comments were a slap in the face to all of us who work to better the plight of our animals. That is one of the things that keeps Baton Rouge from becoming a ghetto, Ms. Kelly. I’m sure you know that many of our most famous serial killers started out by torturing animals. Dog fight aficionados are simply murderous kids who never progressed to torturing people. And frankly, I don’t undertsand your comment yet again since it appears we don’t have a shortage of those either.
A very public apology is owed and I do challenge you to see firsthand the tragedies that Hilton Cole and his employees go through day after day trying to save as many as they can. I’m sure they would love to have you. I would love to see how cavalier your attitude remains after that.
As for the $928,000 that Vicks had to pay toward the rehabilitation of his pits – what a shame that it couldn’t have just been a donation for spaying, neutering, shelter supplies- instead, like all crimes, an obscene amount of money is spent correcting something that never should have been.
You asked: Should he be allowed to reenter the NFL?
(As what specifically?)
Do you miss seeing him throw touch downs?
(He’s just a black football player- is there a shortage of those? We can just “get another one.”)
or better yet, what team would you like to see pick him up?
(Team??? How about cropping his ears and putting him in the pen to fight for his life every night instead?)
I was so impressed at the thoughtful, responsible way you covered the Tea Party last April even though it clearly was NOT your most comfortable day. I really respected you and thought, “Even though we’re on different sides of the ballot, she is someone I can trust.” (These days it is very difficult to say that about anyone in the media, since everyone has an agenda.) I had expected more from you- much more.
Today, Thursday I heard from a reliable source that she and the station parted ways.