Have an illegal gun, kill some dogs
Thigh intact, Plaxico does a capoeira routine as Washington defenders look on in admiration (Photo: smarter.com)
Both of these things are problematic. Both of these things are illegal. But the latest NFL indictment – this time for former New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress – has got me thinking about the Michael Vick reinstatement into the NFL, as well as my personal outrage over how the mainstream sports media is addressing the situation.
But first, let’s talk about Plexiglass
According to The Sporting News, the ex-New York Giant Burress was indicted by a New York grand jury on weapons charges. Specifically, the counts were two for criminal possession of a weapon and one more for reckless endangerment. And it all went down when Mr. Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh while living it up at a Manhattan night club. The kind of place normal people would need payday loans in Kentucky with no faxing or cash advance in Kentuckys to get into. They could even apply below.
His teammates do not face charges
That would include former Burress teammate Antonio Pierce. According to the district attorney, further charges are unlikely. Yes, it seems likely that Plaxico’s running buddies knew that he was carrying a gun, and perhaps they even knew that he was doing so illegally. But apparently this kind of information is not to levy charges against them. I imagine that NFL friends of Michael Vick also knew what he was doing to his dogs, but they did nothing. Does that make them culpable? I believe it should.
The gun wasn’t under license
No need to follow the laws that bind normal folks, eh Plaxico? And everyone involved in this little debacle tried to cover this up by not calling the proper authorities: the players didn’t, the NFL didn’t and even the hospital failed to report anything. Sounds like normal behavior when pampered athletes still living the life of the ghetto get together. And the hospital was probably paid off in some way, whether it was season tickets, money or signed memorabilia promises.
You’re an adult now, so you need to adhere to adult rules, Plaxico. Luckily the only person who was physically hurt was yourself. Perhaps that will be lesson enough not to do something this stupid again.
Burress: “I was truthful.”
Indeed. In fact, Plaxico Burress told the jury “I was truthful, I was honest, and I’m truly remorseful for what I’ve done and for what happened.” Great, but you do deserve neither commendation or a get out of jail free card for telling the truth. It reminds me of a line from the movie “Quiz Show.” A congressman tells a testifying Charles Van Doren that an adult should not be praised simply for telling the truth. It should be expected.
But here’s where the whole Vick thing comes in for me
Burress faces up to three-and-one-half years in prison. He likely will not serve that long. Michael Vick served less than two years in a federal penitentiary for his masterminding and bankrolling of a large-scale dog fighting ring in Georgia. Dogs died as a result. Why does he get off so easily? Because they were dogs and not people? If Burress had shot another person and killed them accidentally, I hope we’d be singing another tune about this.
I maintain that athletes should serve the same time a normal person would for the same crimes. It isn’t too much to ask, yet we will continue to see justice bend in the interests of big money. It ceases to resemble justice at that point.
But I have a special bone to pick with sports talk shows
I have heard several discuss what will happen with Michael Vick now that he’s been reinstated into the NFL. Burress will eventually catch on somewhere. His act was a result of his own stupidity, and the only one hurt (luckily) was himself. Vick’s crime reflected a possible personality disorder along the lines of him being a sociopath. I say this because his dog fighting ring was not a stupid accident like Burress’s, but something that went on continually over time. It wasn’t one mistake, but an ongoing lack of respect for life outside of his own.
Michael Vick should not be signed by any NFL team
Did they do their time too, Michael? (Photo: complex.com)
Yet sports hosts salivate over who will get him and how he will be used. I’ve said before that any team that picks him up should be boycotted until the current ownership of said team is removed (same for the NFL that let him back in, too). I take extreme objection to the classification I heard one sports talk show host use to refer to those against Vick: “the lunatic fringe.”
At what point did you become so desensitized to the sanctity of life, sir? At what point does “he did his time” fail to make up for dangerous anti-social behavior? I was already on the fence as to whether your program had any real value, but now I’m convinced. You are a hack who has been blinded by the bright lights of sports. As long as Michael Vick can still score touchdowns, let me kill whatever he wants! Sounds great to guys on my local ESPN Radio affiliate from 3 to 6 p.m. time slot in the Spokane, WA market. I’m talking about you, Wingmen. If Dennis Patchin shares your views, he should be ashamed of himself as well.
For those of you looking for payday loans in Kentucky with no faxing and cash advance in Kentuckys like I mentioned before, apply here:
Related Video:
