Sports > October 4, 2007

By Nick Oliphant | Contributing writer

As I turned my television to ESPN the night of Sept. 25, I expected to find the latest highlights on SportsCenter or perhaps a baseball game as the teams make their final pushes toward the playoffs.

Instead, I was appalled to come across what ESPN called a Town Hall Meeting, in which the network had a panel of radio personalities, journalists and former football players discuss the Michael Vick case.

Amazingly, the crowd seemed almost entirely pro-Vick, and the crowd was almost entirely black. John Goodwin, a representative for the Humane Society, spoke from the audience about the dogs who were victimized by Vick and his cohorts, but he was drowned out by the frequent jeering from the pro-Vick crowd.

Meanwhile, R.L. White, president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP, seemingly ignored the actual charges against Vick and instead brought up the disparity in treatment of white athletes who commit crimes and black athletes who commit crimes.

While the Vick case has received an inordinate amount of media attention, the attention has mostly come because of Vick’s supporters claiming that Vick was being treated unfairly because he is black and that dog fighting is a “cultural” endeavor, a belief even shared by other pro athletes.

These opinions, not the actual crimes themselves, have provoked much of the pundits’ thoughts.

Now, let’s think back on what transpired at the Town Hall Meeting.

The president of a chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People argued that Vick was the victim of racism, even though Vick admitted, when pleading guilty to federal charges, that he and his co-conspirators had killed six to eight dogs in a variety of heinous ways. Vick and his lawyers maintain that Vick only ordered these dogs to be killed, but did not actively participate in the slayings.

How is R.L. White helping advance the lives of colored people by maintaining that an admitted felon is the victim in a case that involves brutally murdering dogs?

Would it not be wiser to instead condemn Vick and all people who support dog fighting? Right now, it appears that African Americans in positions of power are sending the wrong message.

They are upholding the precedent that white society is working to keep black men oppressed. This opinion remains popular among lower-class blacks, but members of the NAACP should not use their influence to add fuel to the fire.

Michael Vick has been one of the most dynamic and idolized athletes in this country for the past five years, and he wasted his opportunity to become a role model. Now, the NAACP needs to take that opportunity and run with it.

Yes, racism is still a problem in this country, a much bigger problem than many of us at Wake will ever realize, but this does not provide a free pass for blacks who commit crimes and admit their guilt. Black leaders should work to educate the African American community about the wrongdoings of Michael Vick because, culture or not, dog fighting is a felony and will be punished as such, whether the perpetrator is black, white, Hispanic or Asian.

The Vick case, because of its media exposure, has provoked strong feelings throughout the country. There are those who would suggest that he fight pit bulls as his punishment, and others who believe that he is just a good guy who got caught up with the wrong crowd. Michael Vick is a millionaire several times over.

Yes, he came from a rough background, but his God-given talent was his ticket to a better life. Instead, he traded in that ticket for the deed to a secluded house in rural Virginia where he could experience the thrills of a life he should have been trying to leave behind. Vick says that he is guilty of being a good friend.

My question is: why would he keep these kinds of friends? All co-conspirators in this case had criminal records, so Vick knew what he was getting himself into and he wanted to partake in these crimes.

This “good guy” has in the past given the finger to the crowd after a home game, but facts like this get lost in the accusations of racism. Vick may be a good guy, or he may be a career criminal. The day after ESPN’s Town Hall Meeting, the network reported that Vick had failed a drug test that was a condition of his pre-sentencing release, so you be the judge. And tell anyone supporting Vick to save the race card for someone who deserves it.