11 December 2007 - "Free Mike Vick" and other misguided efforts
By now you have probably heard that Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months for his involvement in a dog fighting ring. For background on this story and the violence that surrounds dog fighting, I'll refer you to a story done by Bernie Goldberg on "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" on HBO. Brutal, brutal and cruel activity. I am not a dog lover, but that is not to say that I don't like them. My brothers have dogs and they are a big part of their families, we just don't in our family.
OK, so what Vick did was wrong. Obviously. Most everything the man has done in his life since becoming a professional football player has been wrong. He has been treated by the people around him in a way that allows him to feel that he has done no wrong. You would think that his teammates on the Atlanta Falcons would have turned their backs on him after he left them without a quarterback this season.
You'd be wrong.
In a series of moves as misguided as those who wear "Free Mumia" t-shirts, or attend Hillary Clinton rallies, Vick's former teammates show signs of support while losing to the New Orleans Saints on Monday Night Football.
DeAngelo Hall, who also played with Vick at Virginia Tech, had "MV7" on the shade under his eyes. Subtle.
Roddy White wore a t-shirt under his jersey that read "Free Mike Vick" and showed it off after scoring on a 33 yard pass from Chris Redman (who?). Apparently, his Che Guevarra shirt was dirty.
I'd like to remind Hall and White of one simple fact. Your team stinks and a lot of that is due to the absence of Vick. The Falcons are 3 and 10....I guess that leaves Atlanta the chance to draft another malcontent to lead them on the field next year. But Hall and White would rather wait until 2009 when Vick gets out of prison and probably gets reinstated by the NFL.
Maybe Hall and White would like to have Pac-Man Jones and Tank Johnson on the Falcons by then.
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So last night I am in bed, winding down my day, trying to get to sleep when an ad for a feminine hygiene product comes on. Normally, this does not get my attention. However, it is about "girls in southern Africa" that do not go to school when they have their period. That is sad, I agree. But this company is going to donate a box for each box sold here in the US. Nice gesture.
How about helping here in the USA? Seriously, Oprah built a school in South Africa rather than help the incredibly poor here at home. Nice gesture, look at how it turned out.
Seriously, I am all for helping others. But this is a case of reaching out to parts of the world where you cannot be sure that your help is really getting to those who need it. I am not saying that there is a huge black market for feminine hygiene products, but there could be.
And no offense to other nations, and maybe you could call me jingoistic, but I'd rather insure that the children - male and female - of the United States get educated.
Once things are taken care of here at home, help out the rest of the world.
Besides, this takes the "poor children of Africa" thing in a whole different direction.
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Had a few calls this morning pointing out the number of trucks from Pike Electric and others coming to town to help restore the electricity throughout the area. The Pike Electric crews came from North Carolina...I followed them here back in January after those storms...they had to drive 12 hours plus to get here. Thanks to them for getting here to help out.
Apparently, they have a sense of humor about their workload. One of them told a listener that they were here for a Texas Hold-'em tournament.
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More to be added this morning. Comment as you see fit.
