Michael Vick, Dead Dogs, and Goofy Morality

I have a passing interest in the NFL. Like many American men, I pride myself in being a fine fantasy football manager. Though the reality is that I have yet to win a Super Bowl, I have become familiar with many of the players, and consequently, with their deeds, both good and bad.

Michael Vick, the former quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, recently pled guilty to dog-fighting. In case you didn't know, that's precisely why he is now the former quarterback and not the current quarterback. The outrage over his involvement in the brutal fighting of dogs has been very vocal. His punishment has also been severe, he is suspended from football and I have read that the Falcons are asking for their $37 million dollars back. Ouch.

Vick and his fellows are guilty of illegal dog-fighting. These fights are vicious, and they often result in the death of the losing dog. For the majority of Americans this is morally reprehensible and even worse than chicken fighting. (I suppose that dogs are more valuable than chickens because they are smarter, more loyal and less tasty.)

I concede that Michael Vick should not have been dog-fighting. What strikes me as odd, however, is the furor that has arisen over this and the demand for his excommunication from football. Michael Vick is hardly the only felon in the NFL. Indeed, many of the players in the NFL have been convicted of assault, battery, felony drug possession, and etc. Some, perhaps, have multiple accounts of one or more. Such behavior hardly raises a whimper, much less the hoopla that Vick's actions have raised. The bottom line is this: We live in a world where it is bad to beat your wife, but worse to shoot a dog. (Did you know that the Jacksonville Jaguars donated $30,000 to Planned Parenthood? See here.)

With that, I am going back to my rest. I am still queasy, mostly from this invasive virus, and partly because this world can make me nauseous.

(HT: Justin Taylor)