As most people know, Michael Vick has been released from prison. What you may not know is the Humane Society of the United States is considering allowing him to get involved in an anti-dog fighting outreach program.
Supporters of this program believe that Vick has served his sentence, apologized for his actions, and that he is ready to share his prison experience and the lesson he learned, with urban community youths who may otherwise travel down pathways to crime and inappropriate street activity.
What’s interesting is that the HSUS was the very first organization to petition the National Football League to indefinitely suspend Vick from the NFL and as well, they were the leading voice behind influencing all of Vick’s sponsors to dissolve their contracts with him. Both efforts were successful.
While numerous ex-convicts (or shall we say “ex-con’Vicks'”) serve their sentences, and then receive a clean slate – some deserving, some…not so much, one cannot ignore the most observable fact of all – Michael Vick has never shown any genuine’ remorse for his actions – he just knows what to say, how to articulate it, to whom he should appeal, and exactly what avenue to travel, that will best pave his way back to the NFL.
Vick says he now wants to commit himself to leading a mission with the HSUS to exterminate the sport’ of dog fighting, and earn his way back into the good graces of society…to be “part of the solution rather than a further part of the problem.”
Michael Vick has spoken about growing up with dog fighting, something he didn’t consider wrong at the time, just a part of his youth. As an adult, even after being college educated and enjoying the privileges that come with being a football star, torturing and watching a dog be killed for sport still didn’t strike him as wrong. Or as inhumane.
I guess he must have missed the terrified dogs, the ones who were crying and trying to get away, the ones that ended up maimed or dead. Oh wait, the dogs were his, tortured and abused. I guess he didn’t miss it, he just didn’t care. After all, in his own words, dog fighting is just a sport.
Give me a bark, let me know what you think.
