Mikey Vick

Originally posted by Chucklets37
His brother was a thug too if anyone remembers.

I remember.

Originally posted by scacchipazzo
I truly think you are misinformed. He has a long history of selfishness and prima donna behavior. I comapre him to T.O. grudgingly because the latter is at least a hafl decent guy, unlike Vick, a real thug. Thugs don't frequently change their feathers.

T.O. fought with every team he ever played on. You might look at someone's criminal record and decide TO is a better teammate
But, Vick has never had problems with teammates so if the issue is who will be a cancer in the lockeroom I cannot see any basis for criticizing Vick.

Originally posted by quackquack
T.O. fought with every team he ever played on. You might look at someone's criminal record and decide TO is a better teammate
But, Vick has never had problems with teammates so if the issue is who will be a cancer in the lockeroom I cannot see any basis for criticizing Vick.

As stated before, I hope you're right. Odds are against him. Under normal circumstances most QB's would have trouble returning. People like Vick tend to be quite sensitive about themselves and criticism. For now his teammates embrace him. How much he embraces back remains to be seen. I hope he's not another Jeff George. Abundant talent sans the social skills.

Originally posted by quackquack
T.O. fought with every team he ever played on. You might look at someone's criminal record and decide TO is a better teammate
But, Vick has never had problems with teammates so if the issue is who will be a cancer in the lockeroom I cannot see any basis for criticizing Vick.

Vick's history is laced with trouble
By Mike Jensen

Inquirer Staff Writer

In Atlanta, this became a famous meeting. In 2002, Andrew Young, one of the city's civic treasures, former mayor, and before then the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, met Michael Vick, the town's hottest sports star, coming off the field at Falcons training camp.

Vick was ready to start his second season. Young, also on the Falcons' board of directors, began telling him about how he needed to become more than just a sports star. He needed to embrace his place in the community. Young told Vick he needed a "spiritual rebirth," according to Atlanta Journal-Constitution columnist Terence Moore, who was invited into the conversation by Young.

"Everything I tried failed," Young later told Sports Illustrated, after Vick was indicted on charges that would eventually send him to prison for 18 months.

Vick's troubles didn't start the day he was indicted. A string of lesser incidents had already changed the headlines. After a 31-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Nov. 26, 2006, Vick made an obscene gesture to a fan. That may not have been a huge deal in Philly, but it was in Atlanta.

Less than two months later, Vick's water bottle was confiscated at Miami International Airport. The police report said the bottle smelled of marijuana and contained an unknown substance in a special compartment, which Vick had said was for jewelry. No criminal charges were filed when the police said the substance wasn't a drug. Vick said everybody had rushed to judgment.

An earlier episode had turned into a huge embarrassment for Vick. In April 2005, a woman named Sonya Elliott sued Vick for allegedly giving her genital herpes. This part follows Vick around to this day: Elliott said Vick often checked into health clinics to get tested under the alias "Ron Mexico." The case was settled out of court in April 2006, but the name Ron Mexico became comic fodder. After several requests were made for personalized "Ron Mexico" Falcons jerseys, the NFL took the step of telling its online shop to add the pseudonym to its list of banned names.

More than anything, the transgressions nicked away at his image - and he had a pretty good image in Atlanta. They also popped around the same time as the realization in that city that Vick wasn't going to take some leap as a quarterback and turn into the best the game had ever seen.

Eventually, psychoanalyzing Vick became commonplace in Atlanta. Vick's own estranged father told the Journal-Constitution about his dogfighting operation: "I wish people would stop sugarcoating it. This is Mike's thing. He likes it, and he has the capital to have a setup like that."

His father was presumably not referring to one sentence in the indictment against Vick, a sentence that turned public opinion far away from him: "In or about April of 2007, [two other men] and Vick executed approximately eight dogs that did not perform well in 'testing' sessions at 1915 Moonlight Rd. by various methods, including hanging, drowning and slamming at least one dog's body to the ground."

Vick kept his marketing deals through the pre-dog incidents, but the indictment ended any hope of that. His Nike Air Zoom Vick V shoes were on boats from Asian factories when the news came in from Virginia. Two days after a federal grand jury indicted Vick for his involvement in knowingly sponsoring dogfights, Nike announced it would suspend the release of the Air Zoom Vick V.

Vick reportedly lost $200 million in wages and sponsorship deals, and declared bankruptcy as he served 18 months in prison of a 23-month sentence.

Vick has expressed his remorse and how he has changed, and the endorsement he's gotten from a respected figure such as Tony Dungy is kind of the NFL equivalent of Young's endorsing him in Atlanta.

Obviously, that doesn't erase any of his past. Now, he's starting to earn money again, starting with his Eagles salary.

"He would have to do some enormous rebuilding of his credibility and favorability to even get sniffs from certain brands," said Paul Swangard, director of the University of Oregon's Warsaw Sports Marketing Center. Swangard said certain suppliers to the football industry may look to Vick. "There are going to be fans and kids who still would aspire to be as talented as Michael Vick when he is on a football field," Swangard said. "A company looking to get noticed."

That part hasn't changed. Associating with Michael Vick will get you noticed.

Originally posted by quackquack
The long article shows that Vick is not a role model for life off the field but it shows nothing about not getting along teammates.

Of course not, but it's not a leap to believe he is not a team player. He will start demanding the ball and whining if McNabb hits a slump, which he is apt to do. Merely a prediction. Again, I hope for his sake I'm wrong. Perhaps with an upstanding guy like Dungy mentoring him Vick will change.

Originally posted by quackquack
I just don't think he has a history of whinning. Pleanty of people have decided that because he was involved in dog fighting he has every negative quality possibly imaginable.

Not a reach by any means. Those who torture the innocent cannot be trusted. Dog being man's best friend makes it especially egregious. I'm not even remotely for PETA or the likes, yet this guy really bugs me. I would ask to be traded if forced to be his team mate.

Never forget these animal were not only fought. They were starved, killed outright if they underperformed, witheld water amongst many other evils. Vick brought this upon himself. Also never forget this was a volitional act, premeditated, well planned and executed.

Originally posted by scacchipazzo
Not a reach by any means. Those who torture the innocent cannot be trusted. Dog being man's best friend makes it especially egregious. I'm not even remotely for PETA or the likes, yet this guy really bugs me. I would ask to be traded if forced to be his team mate.

Never forget these animal were not only fought. They were starved, killed outright if t ...[text shortened]... himself. Also never forget this was a volitional act, premeditated, well planned and executed.

I did not know there is a morality clause on who you are willing to play with. But I amazed that I have never heard anyone say they would not be willing to play with guys like Dante Stallworth and Leonard Little who admitted to use drugs and/ or alcohol before they killed humans. I have also never heard anyone say they would demand if they had to play with Ray Lewis (who got witnesses to change their story tying him to a murder aggrevated assault). Brett Farve enjoys hunting (that's shooting animals for fun) and he's an American hero. There are part of the world where people eat dogs. Cock fighting is legal in many parts of the world including many states in the USA and Juan Maricial and Pedro Martinez among others have be photographed at such events.
Apparently dog fighting is worse that cock fighting (unless you are a chicken) and killing dogs is worse than killing humans (unless you are human?) What Vick did is stupid but he isn't Stallworth/Little or Lewis. Nor is he Mel Hall or Rae Carouth or OJ Simpson or the countless other athletes who did terrible things to other humans. The outrage for Vick just makes no sense when no one ever seemed to care about the others.

Originally posted by quackquack
I did not know there is a morality clause on who you are willing to play with. But I amazed that I have never heard anyone say they would not be willing to play with guys like Dante Stallworth and Leonard Little who admitted to use drugs and/ or alcohol before they killed humans. I have also never heard anyone say they would demand if they had to play w ...[text shortened]... The outrage for Vick just makes no sense when no one ever seemed to care about the others.

Every sonlge one of them should be out of football. And yes, there are morality clauses. That's how Vick lost the 130M contract. HOw dare you compare hunting and dog torture! Dogs are higher order of mammal. If I had my druthers all the damn wife beaters would also be out on their butt to dig ditches or do something else. ARe you saying Farvre tortures deer?

Originally posted by scacchipazzo
Every sonlge one of them should be out of football. And yes, there are morality clauses. That's how Vick lost the 130M contract. HOw dare you compare hunting and dog torture! Dogs are higher order of mammal. If I had my druthers all the damn wife beaters would also be out on their butt to dig ditches or do something else. ARe you saying Farvre tortures deer?

Problem with Vick from the beginning is that his loyalties got in the way of common sense. I'm sure that as an NFL rookie, the league gave him a primer on how to conduct himself on and off the field, but his loyalties to his friends (and their illicit activities such as dogfighting) led him astray. The right thing to do was to keep them at a distance.

Now I am not condoning his actions,but I do believe everyone is entitled to a second chance to redeem themselves after thay have paid the penalty and/or due reparations.

Originally posted by Scotty70
Problem with Vick from the beginning is that his loyalties got in the way of common sense. I'm sure that as an NFL rookie, the league gave him a primer on how to conduct himself on and off the field, but his loyalties to his friends (and their illicit activities such as dogfighting) led him astray. The right thing to do was to keep them at a distance.

N ...[text shortened]... o a second chance to redeem themselves after thay have paid the penalty and/or due reparations.

Very well put. However, did you see his two interviews last night? I do not detect a sliver of remorse, only sorriness at being caught and melancholy for what he lost. Also, redemption does not necessarily include returning to your former profession. let him dig ditches or be a janitor or go back to school and finalize a degree in something. He's prbably too rusty anyway.

Originally posted by scacchipazzo
I truly think you are misinformed. He has a long history of selfishness and prima donna behavior. I comapre him to T.O. grudgingly because the latter is at least a hafl decent guy, unlike Vick, a real thug. Thugs don't frequently change their feathers.

u sure u r not getting him mixed up with his younger brother?