The last couple of days whenever I’ve switched on the tube to ESPN, coverage has focused on three ravaging stories involving the NFL, NBA, and MLB: the Michael Vick dog fighting indictment, the Tim Donaghy NBA gambling scandal, and the Barry Bonds HR chase (not to mention the whole Tour de France mess). All of these feature stories have placed a negative light on the three major professional sports leagues in the United States. There’s no denying it, it’s a depressing time to be a sports fan. But sometimes the media can make us think that these kinds of problems are more rampant than they really are. I flipped open the Durham Herald-Sun this morning and found a letter to the editor that really lit a fire underneath me. Here’s the letter:“The off-the-field behavior in professional and college sports has reached a point of diminishing returns! We have all had to accept the use of steroids, blood doping and gambling as the “anything to win" means to an end.
A highly paid NFL player is involved in a dog fighting ring and the inhuman treatment of those poor animals who didn't "perform". Another famous football player murders his wife in cold blood and walks away free. He even has the gall to write a book about the event!
College players have an off-campus party and engage in underage drinking while being "entertained" by two "strippers." An altercation breaks out because some of the players didn't want to pay up, as they felt they hadn't gotten their money's worth. Of course, it was all the girls' fault.
The use of steroids, blood doping, gambling and all this other behavior has been part of the sports world for a long time. I find it reprehensible that once caught with their pants down, those athletes stare into the camera and deny any responsibility.
What is more vulgar to me are the all the idiots who spend millions of dollars and waste thousands of hours of time watching these athletes while stuffing their faces with junk food and chasing it down with lite beer.”
-BOB VASILE
Durham
July 29, 2007
This letter is a perfect example of how the media can skew the truth. I can’t blame Bob for feeling the way he does right now, if I were a regular citizen I’d be disillusioned by the sports world in lieu of the past week’s happenings. But we have to remember that these are isolated incidents and not representative of all athletes.
I like to think that the sports world mirrors the real world. I think that in whatever group or community you have, there will always be a spectrum of people who live their lives the “right” and “wrong” way. You will always have people who lack character, cheat, and perform cruel acts, but you will also have a much more considerable number of people who do things the right way and are truly upstanding, character people. There are plenty of the latter in the sports world. In one of my previous articles I highlighted the strong character of Houston Texan running back Samkon Gado, who intends on going to medical school so he can be a doctor to help the poor in his Nigerian homeland. What about Jason Taylor, who has created scholarship foundations for college students, raised money for cystic fibrosis/ paralysis research, and visited Kuwait and Iraq through the USO/NFL Tour to boost the morale of soldiers abroad. There are hundreds of players like these two, who do the right thing and really are role models. But the media has chosen to largely ignore these upstanding characters and instead focus its attention on the Pacman Jones, O.J. Simpsons, Michael Vicks, or Barry Bonds’ of the world.
What’s happened the last week is a travesty, but it upsets me when people make inaccurate conclusions based on isolated, and glorified events.
Bob, I recommend you try to look at all the good guys in sports before you rush to conclusions.
Enough with the seriousness, Scrapper Nation, get ready for perhaps the funniest video of all time. Senator Robert Byrd’s reaction to the Michael Vick Dogfighting case:
Food for thought
I don’t condone that Roger Goodell has decided he is above the law by suspending players before the legal system has run its course. Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? Although the evidence seems to imply terrible acts occurred on Michael Vick’s property, I think it’s foolish to suspend a player and take away his due process and presumption of innocence by suspending him without the certainty of guilt. Do you think Roger Goodell made the right decision suspending Michael Vick?
14 comments:
I have a huge problem with Goodell. He can't keep on being above the law and punishing players before they've been proven guilty. He's going to punish a player sooner or later that's going to be proven innocent. What do you think he would have done to Ray Lewis?
The NFL is all about image. Goodell's decision reflects that.
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Goodell made the RIGHT decision. I think he already had enough evidence to be able to suspend Vick.
The right decision? What Goodell is doing is flat out unconstitutional. Who is he to punish someone before they have been proven guilty?
Yes, Michael Vick got indicted which in many cases is grounds for action against him. But have we not just seen how indictments cannot in any way lead directly to guilt? Only months after the Duke lacrosse "scandal" (more like nightmare) finally ended, the sports world is again punishing those who have not yet been convicted. I understand that Goodell wants to uphold a certain image in his league and it is the responsibility of the players to maintain it as employees of the NFL. But punishment can never come before the crime is confirmed.
On the other hand, we can all agree that dogfighting has gone on within the confines of Michael Vick's property, right? Therefore it is legally his responsibility to some extent. Maybe his friends were selfish and inconsiderate, disregarding what Vick had at stake, and acted accordingly. But the load still must partially go onto Vick as it is his house and his money. If a parent lets his/her child and friends get drunk at the house and then they go get a DUI, responsibility goes to the parent that allowed the alcohol consumption. Similarly, the fact that the dog-fighting is occurring at his house could be grounds for suspension, as Vick will assuredly be convicted of some sort of involvement, albeit indirect.
Thus, Goodell could technically cite this as the justification of his punishment rather than participating in dogfighting itself.
On a sidenote, that video truly was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. Was it just me or did it seem like it was an empty house and Byrd was practicing? And that guy on his left thought he had gone into a narcoleptic coma after he said "help".
great point, v. if you want to look at a true case of Goodell overstepping his bounds, take a look at the disgraceful treatment of Odell Thurman's situation.
Thurman missed a drug test and was suspended four games (standard policy), and then got a DUI soon after which led to a full year suspension in 2006. He filed his reinstatement papers for the 2007 season well before the deadline, and was rejected reinstatement. Why? The only possible reasoning would be an incident that happened last month. two men filed complaints against Thurman, alleging that he hit and kicked them at a party. but on the day the complaints were to be heard by a local magistrate, they were withdrawn.
He has zero charges against him, has not appeared in court at all since his DUI on 9/25/06, and he is going to have to sit out the entire 2007 season where Tank Thomas and Pacman Jones have spent or will most certainly spend jailtime. Thurman is 24, and was a rookie of the year nominee in 2005; now his career is in jeopardy after sitting out two straight years. Where is the justice in that? Vick's case is being treated ok but Goodell is a little too big for his britches, and someone needs to stop this garbage.
Wow. I hadn't even heard about the Odell Thurman situation. What is Goodell doing? He thinks he's cleaning up the game but he's really hurting it by playing god. The power has certainly gone to his head. Come back Tagliabue, come back!!!!!
Gosh, didn't know you guys (V and Mike) were such civil rights activists. He's the commissioner of the league which means he does whatever is in the best interest of the league. That's it. The NFL can do whatever it wants. I hope Vick and Odell are suspended for life, it ruins the product on the field. Stop whining.
I'm not saying that Vick shouldn't be suspended. But in Thurman's case, how is another year at all justified? And also saying that it ruins the product on the field is asinine. Lets say that Michael Vick is guilty of this and he had been running and supporting a dog-fighting ring at his house. Don't act like you still weren't excited every time he came up on SportsCenter's Top 10 and when he rushed for 1,000 yards last season, and the fact that he puts people in the stands. You clearly don't know what you're talking about, because the on-field performance has not changed with the poor off-field behavior.
We all know that Mike Vick has probably been the most electrifying player in the NFL. However, this whole dogfighting mess has caused such a ruckus that it IS in the best interest of the NFL right now to distance itself from Vick. Does the NFL really want PETA protesting at every regular season Falcons game? I don't think so. And who are you, V, to second guess Roger Goodell? I trust he will make the right decisions for the NFL. Frankly, I like the fact that guys are being held more accountable.
Wes, you make fair points on your last post. I do agree that it is probably in the best interest of the NFL to suspend Michael Vick; in fact, I never truly opposed this as you can see I justified his suspension earlier. However, you didn't mention at all what you were saying earlier, your point that the off-field incidents ruin the product on the field. My point was that this is completely untrue, as evident from the fact that while this dogfighting was going on, the product on the field was at its best, and the man in the middle of this situation was a superstar.
Furthermore, I never said that what Goodell is doing is illegal or unconstitutional. I said that it's not fair, specifically referring to Odell Thurman. I don't need to be a commissioner to have an opinion; in fact, I agree with zero tolerance policies on most fronts. But Thurman has not gotten into any legal trouble for almost a year now and it is an injustice to him as an athlete to make him sit out. I understand that Goodell can do whatever he wants, but I am trying to apply a human element to this and say that Odell doesn't deserve to be punished for another entire year.
Goodell is the law
Yo man, when are you gonna put your next post up?
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