First we have Michael Vick, big-time football quarterback. He was
considered one of the most exciting players in the s****t and one of the
most recognizable names throughout both his pro and college career.
While in the last couple of seasons the Atlanta Falcons have not done
well, they have had several successful seasons under Vick, and Vick has
put up impressive numbers. In college, Virginia Tech was a New Years
Day regular when he quarterbacked, and a top ranked team. Despite this,
Vick has long been criticized for his play on the field--not being able
to "win the big one" and recently for his behavior off the field--
spitting at fans, attempting to bring pot on board an airplane, etc.
Now it has come out that he is involved in animal fighting, in his case
dog fighting. Dog fighting is illegal in all states. He faces many
criminal charges, all of which he denies. Vick says he opposes dog
fighting. His career may be over even if he is found not guilty of all
charges. His story is tops on TV and radio talk shows, almost all
negative. Animal rights protesters have surrounded the Atlanta Falcons
training camp demanding they boot Vick from the team (he has now been
suspended from training camp while the court proceedings play out).
Michael Vick became, almost overnight, the most hated football player in
America.
Second we have Roy Jones, one-time pound-per-pound best boxer in the
world. He held champion****ps/titles and Middleweight, Super
Middleweight, Heavyweight, and was the undisputed Light Heavyweight
champ for years. Despite this, Jones was long criticized for his
performances in the ring--not trying very hard, picking easy opponents
later in his career, etc, and for his behavior out of the ring--his
general arrogant attitude, disrespecting the s****t of boxing by playing
CBA games the same day of his fights, etc. Years ago it came out that
Jones was involved in animal fighting, in his case "cock fighting".
Jones was admitent and unapologetic about being involved in this
"s****t", and said it had been part of his life for a long time. Cock
fighting was illegal in all but 3 states at the time the revelations
came out, including Jone's home state of Florida. It is now illegal in
all but 1 state. He was almost universally criticized by members of the
boxing community/establishment for the fighting, but the story got few
headlines in the s****ts pages in general, let alone the national media.
No criminal charges were pursued against Jones in any state. His
career was unharmed as he continued and continues to fight in big money
pay-per-view events. No animal rights protesters surrounded the arenas
where he fought after the story came out. Roy Jones continues to raise
chickens and roosters, although he claims he no longer is involved in
cock fighting, and he publicly defended Michael Vick, saying "dogs fight
each other all the time. Once two dogs got in a fight in my back yard.
One of them died."
So why such opposite reactions from the public, the s****ting community
in general, law enforcement, the press, etc? Is it because boxing is
not as popular as football so no one cares? Mike Tyson's run-ins with
the laws always got attention, so is because people outside of boxing
only care about what goes on in the heavyweight division? Is it because
cock fighting, though generally loathed, was legal in 3 states and
people just assumed Jones was conducting his hobby in those states only?
How do we know that for certain btw? And why would everyone put aside
their personal feelings on such an issue even if it is legal in just 1
state? Was it because he career was much more successful at that time
compared to Vick's, so people were willing to overlook this unethical
behavior, and maybe everyone was secretly looking for a reason to hate
Michale Vick for something? Perhaps the reason was dogs are more loved
than roosters, so it was not as big a deal?
What if Jones or Vick were involved in "hog-dogging", where a dog it set
loose on a hog and often mauls it to death? This is not common in
states outside of the South, but it is not illegal in most of them. Due
to recent dog fighting publicity, several state legislatures have
introduced bills to outlaw hog-dogging rodeos. What would have been the
public/media/s****ts reaction to either men had they been involved in
this blood-s****t rather than cock/dog fighting?
Please share your thoughts.
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