It's not about the dogs

Earlier today, Michael Vick filed his plea deal in federal court, pleading guilty to conspiracy charges related to a dogfighting ring which he funded and participated in. Every news outlet, opinion columnist, and legal analyst has weighed in on the case over the past few weeks. Depending on who you listen to, either Vick should be indefinitely suspended from the NFL by Roger Goodell, or he should be allowed to return to the playing field; he should either be released by Arthur Blank and the Falcons, or retained pending further review; killing dogs is either a heinous and inexcusable offense, or PETA is taking it too far and they were "just dogs"; the NFL Players' Association has either failed Vick by not supporting him, or protected itself and its credibility by staying away; we have either done Vick a disservice by "rushing to judgment," or we were justified in our condemnation and outrage by the extent of the evidence which has been revealed.

So to review, the debate has raged on regarding Roger Goodell, Arthur Blank, PETA and dogs, the NFLPA, and us. Notice a name missing from that list? How about Michael Vick? We've discussed animal rights, human rights, race in America generally and in the South specifically. We've discussed poverty and affluence, culture and subculture, North and Dirty South. What we haven't talked about is Vick.

I'll be blunt: at the end of the day, I don't really care too much about what the people on that list have or haven't done in regards to Vick's court case. What I am interested in is Michael Vick.

I want to bring up a point that has been shown by psychologists over and over again: people who abuse animals tend to exhibit other violent tendencies and "anti-social" characteristics. Very often, the way we treat animals very closely reflects the way we treat other people. Look at Michael Vick over the past 10 years since he showed up on the scene at Virginia Tech, and you'll see that he's been showing signs of this for a long time. From the two men arrested for distributing marijuana out of Vick's truck, to the stolen watch at Hartsfield International Airport with Quanis Phillips and Todd Harris (whose names you may recognize from Vick's current predicament), to the out of court settlement for the Ron Mexico/genital herpes ordeal, Michael Vick has been on this path with these same men for a long time.

This is nothing new. The signs have been there. Now we need to ask the question: is Michael Vick the college football hero who took VT to the national championship game, or the QB who threw up his middle fingers at fans during an NFL game? Is he the face of a franchise worth his $130 million dollar contract, or the guy who got caught with a hidden compartment in his water bottle that smelled like weed? Is he the most exciting player in football, or the ring leader of a dogfighting "business venture"?

Here's my take: At the end of the day, Michael Vick is, simply put, a bad dude who happens to be tremendously good at a game we love to watch. Maybe he's a "victim of circumstance." Maybe he grew up in a bad neighborhood and was surrounded by all the wrong people. Maybe if he was still stuck in that neighborhood, like so many of those in Newport News still are, years after their favorite son signed a $130 million NFL contract, I'd have a bit more pity for his current situation. Then again, if he was still stuck in that neighborhood we wouldn't even be having this conversation, would we?

But none of that, unfortunate or otherwise, makes him any less culpable for his actions. None of it changes who Michael Vick is. Neither does his remarkable talent. At the end of the day, Michael Vick was the top draft pick in the National Football League and was given the chance to "get out" of the bad environment. Hell, with all the money he was making, he could have (perhaps should have) chosen to put some effort into trying to improve the neighborhood he grew up in. But, at the end of the day, he chose to continue along the path that has led him to where he is today, and there's no one to blame for that except Vick, himself.

I recall a recent interview with Vick that ended with him saying, "It doesn't matter, cause at the end of the day, everyone loves Mike Vick, man." If no one else wants to say it, I will: At the end of the day, Mike, no we don't.