So, I was listening to the radio today, and animal/dog lovers across America are united in their belief that Michael Vick should have the book thrown at him (in some cases, they even qualified this with an "...if he's found guilty.").
This Michael Vick story is really huge. At first, I didn't really think much of it...you know, pro sports players do illegal things like anyone else does - this is ugly, but is it a national story?
But this story is more than that. The ugly details contained in the indictment are enough to make even jaded people cringe...but there's much more to it than that.
When I first heard about the story, I thought of the usual scenario: charges of illegal activity are brought out in the media about sports figure, sports figure lawyers up, sports radio speculates about if he did it/if he's innocent/what's the big deal, sports figure has great lawyers, sports figure apologizes or denies charges and nothing of significance happens. Maybe the guy gets busted, or maybe he avoids a harsh penalty because a) he's rich enough to afford great lawyers b) he's a popular athlete and they get lighter sentencing or c) the athlete settles in a civil suit. Maybe he pays a fine to the league and gets suspended for a few games (and we all know that the more popular/vital the player, the lighter the suspension).
Unless Vick is exonerated, the NFL will have a hard time recovering from this case if he continues to play football. Even if he's exonerated, the details of the indictment (a Federal crime at that) are such that his image and the image of the NFL and the Atlanta Falcons is utterly tarnished. I would hate to be the commissioner on this one. He has to follow league rules, but this case is so viscerally disgusting (to a lot of people), it would be hard to allow the behavior in question to stand.
One thing about the reaction to this case that stands out like a sore thumb is that so many people are talking about it. People are calling in to radio stations all over the nation, there is a huge public outcry and there is only an indictment. I only have one question: how is it that so many animal lovers are given a voice in this, when during the height of the Abu Ghraib photo news, so little was made of the torture? Our priorities are seriously fucked-up.
Another issue at hand here is that this whole thing shows the seedy underbelly of American culture. Dog fighting and cock fighting are illegal, yes, but they are obviously quite popular. The rise of Ultimate Fighting, "Extreme" sports, reality television and other such forms of entertainment shows that we humans have a little of the Roman Coliseum/gladiator culture in us still. There is definitely a sub-culture at play here...and that culture includes all sorts of factors: race, socioeconomics, religion, gangs (invitations to flame wars in the comments about my ethnocentric viewpoint and how I'm missing x, y and z)...it is quite deep. All of it will be coming to light during the endless discussion of this - I'm sure we'll be seeing shocked, white reporters on the TV chiming in on how African American gang members have been such a big influence in dog fighting and such.
But the latest thing that came to mind is this: Say "Ookie" and his partners get convicted. Say the judge sentences him in accordance with the guidelines and precedence. That sentence quite possibly can contain jail time, fines, etc.. Because this is THE guy on an NFL team, because he's very wealthy and because he's black - what happens? Throw in the Libby commutation and we have a very volatile, very political issue here. Bush's reasoning for commuting Libby's sentence was that it was too harsh...the President of the United States protected himself and gave his buddy a get out of jail free card, and I can't see how that doesn't enter into every single case - and this one in particular - from now on. Should be a fun ride.