We have worked hard over the years to stop the flow of money from corporate endorsements.  It was corporate endorsements that helped to pay for the dog fighting rings, the illegal gambling purses for those fights, the training gear, the house, the carpet that soaked up the blood from those dogs that was featured on BET, etc.

It was sick, but there’s another reason why corporate endorsements are bad for Michael Vick.  Sure they fuel the fire and give ammunition back to a person that has serious personal issues, so great that he couldn’t handle it before.  But Vick should avoid the corporate money this time so that he can spare himself the embarrassment.

The last thing I want to see is Michael Vick getting humiliated and spanked on TV.

I’m sure there are a lot of people out there that would like to see Michael Vick humiliated.  I know it for a fact actually, about a third of our twenty thousand spam comments came from that group (another third came from people that wanted to do violence against dog loving groups, and the other third were just your run of the mill internet spam).

Here’s the thing, we DO NOT want to see Michael Vick humiliated. From our perspective the guy is unstable and we don’t want to see any triggers pushed that might push him back over the edge.  He’s already talking about wanting to buy a dog again.  Getting spanked in New Jersey might have made Michael Vick reminisce about having a dog (and we know how he treats dogs).

Just a tip to any other potential advertisers, we don’t suggest you give a loaded gun to a guy that could be a psychopath for the next commercial. 

USA Today has a poll in the Paw Prints section that is subtly pushing the sales of Michael Vick Jerseys to kids.  The marketing tactic is hidden in a questionable article asking if parents want their kids wearing a Michael Vick Jersey.

If you read the article, it reminds people that Michael Vick was ‘involved’ in dog fighting, not that he pled guilty, nor that he ran a dog fighting ring for almost his entire tenure in the NFL the first go round nor that he killed and tortured dogs with his own hands for fun.

They quickly cite a different link to an article out of Philadelphia by Dom Giordano.  Unlike the USA Today article, Dom’s opinion piece actually has some editorial substance with a hint of news.  Although I do not agree with Dom’s analysis that there does exist a path upon which Michael Vick could become a legitimate role model for children (ever).  I think the article in fairness does a decent job of pointing out that even walking the middle ground of ethics, Michael Vick has not yet come remotely close to meeting even the lowest standards for the role model job and hence jersey sales to kids. 

Keep in mind that we have consistently believe that this is exactly why Michael Vick SHOULD NOT BE IN THE NFL ANYMORE.  We believe that his pedestal as a propped up NFL star, gives him defacto influence over kids, teens and many young adults that promotes a life path just like Michael Vick’s which would include a life involving dog fighting, illegal gambling, crime and violence.

But the USA Today poll, is slanted towards the concept that people should/must accept Vick as a role model someday, as opposed to having the option to never accept Vick as a role model.

If a respondent quickly checks the No button, they might miss the caveat in the question ‘No, give it some time’

Hey USA Today, How about ‘NO, hell no, double hell no and not in a million years!’

Sometimes people cross a line and do something so vile that there is just no going back.  When it comes to Michael Vick and kids choosing a role model, the line has been crossed and no kid should be turned in his direction as a role model.  Historical lesson yes, role model no.

There’s no telling why USA Today would do this.  It might be because they are a crappy paper, getting crappier.  It could be some blogger unchecked and out of control using their site.  It could be that they are trying to suck people into an article, flip them into the conceivable concept that yes, now is not the time, but the time may come sometime, and then maybe USA today will just happen to have some nice NFL ads selling said jersey’s online.

Maybe not today, but some day soon at USA Today.

As to the asshole father’s of the year in waiting that are fueling the fire by buying up Michael Vick Jersey’s, well you reap what you sow.  Show your kids that you admire a dog killer that helped send his cousin and friends to prison along with himself by funding their illegal dog fighting ring and lifestyle for years and you are definitely sending the wrong message to your kids.

Want to Help Correct This Michael Vick Jersey Sickness?

Leave a real comment on that original article or on Dom’s article.  Don’t bother with the poll, its rigged from go.  When given a choice between 2 or 3 rigged binary or tertiary options, don’t submit to the game, reframe the question or explain things the way they really are.

Michael Vick sucks as a NFL football player.  His televised ‘comeback’ is about as important or impressive as a well scripted WWF WWE (insert any wrestling network acronym here) match.  That’s all that really needs to be said. 

Unfortunately, the press is winding Michael Vick up just like they loved to do when they helped make George W President in 2000(didn’t vote for him and I did live in Palm Beach County at the time) or marching us along the path of hope and hype with Barack Obama 8 years later (did vote for him).

The press loves to knock down any celebrity that comes along, let the public grovel in their down fall, and then like an epic tale help build the same celebrity up out of their own ashes.  In a news cycle that is compressed into shorter and shorter intervals every year, its no wonder that they are doing the same thing with Michael Vick just over a year after he got out of prison.

Well, truth be told they have to.  There probably won’t be a season next year.  No season, no Michael Vick resurrection.  So its got to be this year.  Sure the NFL knows this too, because it sells a lot more tickets and puts a lot more asses in seats and in front of the TV if there’s a sensational come back story that is being played out in front of them during a season when most teams are playing some of the worst football that has been played in decades.

Enter Michael Vick.  You may recall Michael, he’s the guy that during his entire previous time spent in the NFL set up an illegal dog fighting ring in his home and when he had extra time on his hands used to beat, mutilate, hang and drown his pets for fun.  He’s the guy that helped pay for big stakes in dog fighting matches and legitimize the events with his presence luring teens and young men and drug dealers etc to come hang out together and watch the blood spill on his carpet (that he later went back and displayed on his BET reality show).  Classy.

So I had to laugh today when I read the New York Times article chiming in to help push Michael Vick back up onto a pedestal, a public position that he has proven so good at handling in the past.

Of all the hype that writer (lets call him a writer and not a reporter, I don’t know his work but judging by this article . . .)  John Branch, indicates that Michael Vick’s countless detractors (I guess I’d fall in that category) really are only worried about one thing.

That feeling might also describe the sickened feeling of Vick’s countless detractors, those disgusted that someone who systematically tortured dogs is back making millions of dollars in the N.F.L.  NYT article by John Branch

Yep, that’s right.  We are apparently concerned that Michael Vick is making millions.  (Snort)

There is some incisive analysis and consideration that went into that now isn’t there.  After all, this was never about the NFL’s piss poor standards, this was never about sponsors promoting a person that enticed young people into a life of crime and drugs, this was never about a guy that never gave a shit about his fans, his team etc.  This was never about breaking the law, involving himself with drug dealers and at least one murder(one of his partners was murdered within a few days of the raid on his home in April of 2007 still an open case), this was never about the type of psychotic that can torture and murder dogs with his own hands and then go out and shake hands and speak with kids at local schools and clubs in Philadelphia. 

Nope this was always about the money that goes into Michael Vick’s pocket.  All of us ignorant detractors only wanted to see Michael Vick working a menial minimum wage job at McDonalds.

WRONG.

I will be the first to say that this tale of Michael Vick is about as stale and rotten or rotted as a story can get.  But there is little wonder that the NFL would capitalize on Vick’s return financially.  He was a cash cow before he went to prison and every corporation likes to have that kind of meat around to milk more profits into the bottom line.

And just like professional wrestling the story line of the golden boy, turned bad boy, turned felon, resurrected and turned golden boy all over again is about as tired as Michael Vick himself.

There’s no story here, this is just the same BS on replay in a season that is headed towards a dead end of a nasty contract fight.  And contract fights don’t sell tickets, they don’t endear fans to anything, but if the NFL can go out on a note of impossible odds, a rags to riches to rags to riches redemption story featuring Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl, you can bet the league will pull out all the stops (bad calls) to make that happen.

I’m not calling the NFL corrupt anymore than I’m calling Michael Vick a psychotic felon.  Ethically challenged corporations can get away with far worse things than dog fighting, and the NFL is hardly a bastion for ethics.

As for Michael Vick, on a personal level, truthfully I hope he doe take the money and run(frankly its not in Michael Vick to do something good with his money, prove me wrong on that and Michael Vick can have this website), because the NFL is going to capitalize on him left and right and he essentially doesn’t have many options for endorsements anymore.  He can only suckle from the breast of any owner that will let him. 

He’s basically at the mercy of the NFL without any other options, they are pimping him out like a sex slave and making all the money.  Their only incentive is to prop him up more and more.