The National Football League has finally acted, suspending former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick indefinitely without pay in the wake of Vick admitting that he was the primary funding behind the dog-fighting operation run from his property. The question now is- what will the NAACP and Vick's media enablers do?
Vick's guilt has not been seriously in doubt as the evidence continues to mount that he was the moving force behind the dog-fighting and that he was the de facto ringleader of the entire operation. However, this has not deterred the NAACP and columnists like the New York Times's Selena Roberts and the Kansas City Star's Jason Whitlock from calling for Vick to be granted a second chance. These are the same people who were so eager to condemn the college kids at Duke and who rushed to judge them based on a lying prostitute-cum-stripper's contradictory stories. These same people were not willing to acknowledge their rush to judgment in that case, but are now calling for Vick- and admitted criminal- to be allowed to resume his football career. Does anyone else see the irony?
I seriously doubt whether Vick will ever play another game for the Falcons. Whether Vick should be allowed to resume his football career is a matter for the leadership of the NFL. Personally, once he serves his time, I think he should be granted the same chance as Ray Lewis and other athletes. If he can still play, then he ought to be given the chance to prove it. However, the mercy that the NAACP and so many columnists are calling for in the case of Vick (a rich, famous, black athlete) stands in stark contrast to their reactions to a trio of white college boys. Whitlock, whom I admire as a normally outstanding columnist, even when I disagree with him, at least did have the grace to congratulate the Dukies on their run to the championship game last year, and he was one of the few members of the media who has recognized the tragic rush to judgment that so many media members engaged in. However, people like Duff Wilson and Selena Roberts- to say nothing of the NAACP- have remained convinced in their own righteousness, admitting no wrongdoing. The NAACP and Roberts are is still trying to pass off the idea that Vick is somehow a victim in the whole affair. In fact, the NAACP says,
"As a society, we should aid in his rehabilitation and welcome a new Michael Vick back into the community without a permanent loss of his career in football," said R.L. White, president of the NAACP's Atlanta chapter. "We further ask the NFL, Falcons, and the sponsors not to permanently ban Mr. Vick from his ability to bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country."
Meanwhile, Roberts is complaining because Vick's friends have agreed to trestify against him. Apparently Roberts still thinks that Vick is "trapped in his circle of friends". She wrote her column apparently insisting that Vick's co-criminals shouldn't have agreed to testify against him, as though this was a major problem. Funny- I don't recall her calling for the Duke lacrosse team to stay silent, and they at least had the excuse of being innocent- something that neither Vick nor his friends could claim.
Isn't it time that these self-righteous, arrogant members of the Old Media and the Victim Lobby recognize their own failings? After all, it is tough to remove a spot from another's eye when one cannot even recognize the plank in their own. And the plank in Old Media's eye is growing larger day by day. Only constant reminders can make progress toward its eventual removal.
UPDATE: I have added the link to Jason Whitlock's story on Vick- I forgot to include it originally.
