An article in the Associated Press on April 21st concerning Michael Vick's possible reinstatement to the NFL has got me so angry I can't see straight. Not even a distance of a foot or two. This isn't good.
The AP article, "Goodell: Vick's ticket back is "genuine remorse"", was an exercise in the absurd. Absurd with a capital A. I say this because when you commit an evil act as a human being, you're incapable of genuine remorse. Otherwise, why would have you killed either an innocent human being or animal in the first place? Anyone can put on a display of being remorseful. Trying to judge it as genuine or not is much like trying to see through smoke and mirrors.
The way I see it - if you kill dogs - your remorse is worthless. A dog killer cannot possibly have a genuine bone in their body, let alone in their heart and soul. I view a dog killer in the same light as a rightfully convicted child killer. They are both ruthless and void of any remorse or compassion. They both pretty much forfeited their own right to reinstatement in civil society when they did what they wanted to do. That is, kill.
And this is why NFL commissioner Roger Goodell needs to step off this talk of "Michael Vick did an egregious thing." I'm sure he realizes this, but in his fancy to keep the NFL in the media light, he is making a serious mistake in putting it out there that with "genuine remorse", there is a chance Michael Vick could be reinstated. There should be a zero chance of this happening. I mean, there are three things you just don't do. You don't harm the elderly, children or dogs.
Again, if you kill dogs, you're evil. Why would the NFL want a dog killer? There are so many other players to choose from. It almost makes you wonder if the NFL still sells a Rae Carruth jersey. He is the former Carolina Panthers player that hired people to kill his pregnant girlfriend. I put former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick in the same company. You would have to have serious personality problems to even consider wearing a Michael Vick or Rae Carruth jersey in public. Especially, in front of your own children.
Getting back to Roger Goodell, he is a man that is clearly confused. Of Michael Vick he asks, "Does he understand the mistakes he made and is he genuine and have remorse for those actions and is he prepared to handle himself differently going forward?" Memo To Roger Goodell: Don't Reinstate Michael Vick. Killing dogs is not just a mistake. There's nothing Michael Vick can do in the NFL now to undo the evil acts he committed back when he was in the NFL. Roger Goodell isn't thinking this through as he must.
For someone who does deserve credit for laying down strict conduct policy, Roger Goodell needs to understand that just because Michael Vick used to wear an NFL uniform, it doesn't give him the right to wear it again. Michael Vick shouldn't be cheered on and cheered for while wearing an NFL uniform. He killed dogs for crying out loud! Does Roger Goodell have any animals? What would he think of a father and son in the stands wearing a Michael Vick jersey? Paid admission? More dollars at the concession stand?
Another sick idea floating around is that if Michael Vick were reinstated, he would somehow draw needed attention to animal rights groups. Are you serious? I don't want to see this killer anywhere near a canine. I don't want his name to be associated with animals. Having Michael Vick pair up with an animal welfare group would be like having child rapist Debra Lafave talk about proper classroom behavior. Sometimes I wonder how low we can go in trying to rehabilitate people who, in my view, should simply be banished from civil society.
Again, talk of genuine remorse from Michael Vick is a contradiction in terms at best. Who gets to determine what genuine remorse even is? It's incredibly subjective, much like it is trying to define what ADHD or global warming might be. Or is not. Concerning Michael Vick, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says genuine remorse is "something he has to prove to myself and to the general public." Good luck on that. Don't bet on it.
The general public is filled with millions of football fans who have dogs in their homes as members of the family. The general public is also filled with thousands of football players and coaches who also have dogs in their homes as members of the family. Generally speaking, I just can't picture dog loving football fans and coaches wanting anything to do with a dog killer like Michael Vick. Even if he has almost "served his time", just a basic sense of what's right makes it wrong for him to ever wear an NFL uniform again.
If Roger Goodell reinstates Michael Vick, he might as well make one more bad call and reach out to Rae Carruth.
God help us.
Tony Zizza is a free-lance writer who lives in Hermitage, TN. He writes frequently about animals and popular culture. Email: tz777@comcast.net.
