Jack’s Blog

Michael Vick and Ben Roethlisberger made mistakes.  Who among us haven’t?  What makes their errors in judgment especially egregious is not that they’re high profile athletes (although that is something that ought to cross their minds when they’re out).  What their major errors were (giving them the benefit of the doubt by using the past tense), was being out with the same cats who were with them in their previous scrapes (once again, using a word that gives the benefit of the doubt).

Loyalty is an admirable quality - until those to whom you’re giving it to are assisting you in wasting God-given talents and screwing up what you’ve always wanted to do.  I’m not sure but I think it was John Maxwell who said:

“If you can’t change the people around you, . . . change the people around you!”

. . . as if there haven’t aready been enough people express their views on this topic.  I, for one, don’t plan on making a case either way.  My strategy is to listen to as many opinions as I can and throw them out there in one post.  Then you, the tiny minority who have yet to make up your minds, can piece it together and come up with a belief - not that it will affect the outcome (unless you’re the commish and, although I’ve had friends tell me of some relatively “famous” people whom they know have read this space, no one’s even hinted that this blog has seen the inside of NFL headquarters).  Their loss.

In an earlier blog (8/21/07), I mentioned no team would ever give Vick a chance, mainly due to the negative pub and potential boycotts that would be inevitable.  But, two years is a long time.  Ask Vick.  I’ve never had - and hope I never do - the experience of two years in prison (except for the tradition my high school had of sending our basketball playing juniors to play a game against the inmates at Rahway State Penitentiary, I’ve never set foot in one).  The feeling I got hearing the door close behind us was enough to make up my mind as to which side of those bars I decided to be on - which was, obviously, why our school had the tradition in the first place.  I couldn’t fathom, nor would I want to spend any time doing so - what a couple years on the wrong side must feel like.

That’s the side many of the Vick supporters are taking.  The legal system is designed to punish people for whatever crime was committed.  There can’t be only one form of punishment, e.g. a motorist running a red light can’t be given the same amount of prison time as a mass murderer.  For that matter, a motorist running a red light can’t be given the same amount of prison time as another motorist running a red light - who hit school children crossing the street - and then, subsequently, is found to be intoxicated.  Vick’s penalty was served and now he’s out.

That doesn’t mean anyone has to like him, or even forgive him, but to say he shouldn’t be allowed to play in the NFL sounds a bit like jealousy (as if anybody would have volunteered to trade places with him two years ago).  I saw a lady on television who was holding a poster that read something to the effect, “Vick should be allowed to get a job, but not in the NFL,” clearly intending that although he may have paid his dues, he shouldn’t be have the opportunity to do something he likes to do or, more to the point, get a job that pays so much!  As if the justice system wasn’t flawed enough, we need this lady to fix it.

Another take I heard was Chris Rock’s, who is as witty and quick on his feet as anybody.  On this one though, Chris might be guilty of generalizing a little bit too much - whether it was for the purpose of getting a laugh, helping out a friend or trying to minimize what Vick did.  Rock’s logic was that the same people who are saying the punishment for Michael’s dog-fighting (and killing) wasn’t enough are the very same who hunt.  One major difference might be that, yes, the hunters certainly do intend to kill what they’re shooting at.  However, it’s done during the proper “hunting season” which, I’m led to believe, has the purpose of thinning out the species -and don’t give me the “how would I like it if people were thinned out” BS since I’m pretty sure there was never any deer that had the possibility of making an impact on society that any human did.  Another reason is that hunters don’t torture the animal until it dies. 

Believe me, I am the very last person who would ever consider being a member of the NRA, but Chris Rock’s defense, while amusing on the surface, has little similarity to that of hunting - and, yes, I eat red meat, chicken and fish.  Even though I have a biger than normal appetite, I can safely say that I would not eat any of those if it meant the animal had to be hanged, electrocuted, body slammed or whatever else Bad Newz Kennels did with its “losers” in order for me to enjoy a meal.  If you say killing is killing, think about (as absurd as it might be) if you were ever with some psycho and knew you were about to die, would it matter to you if it was with one quick shot, or if you were to going to be treated in the manner those dogs were.  If you say there’s no difference, I truly hope you’re never actually faced with such a decision - because at that time, I’d bet the (Bad Newz Kennel) ranch you’d change your mind.  

And about that comparison to Leonard Little killing a person (and is still in the league), while Michael killed animals, if someone can’t see the difference in a traffic accident that resulted in manslaughter and intentionally training dogs to kill other dogs (while being mauled themselves), all for the purpose of entertaining your customers, your sense of humor - and reasoning - might need some work.   

Some in Vick’s corner say he’s sincere about changing and he has attended some kind of education program - be it about the viciousness of cruelty to animals (which he said was simply part of his life growing up where he did - and who are we to judge, unless we lived the childhood he did) or just a plain old human decency class.  He is also now a spokesman against the types of dastardly deeds he committed.  I don’t think he can “phony it up” for as long as he’s going to have to perform his community service so, on that count, we’ll have to wait and see.  

An extremely wise move on his part - or whoever decided to enlist someone to guide him - was bringing in Tony Dungy.  Nowhere has a man in that high profile a life “walked the walk” like Dungy did.  From allowing his assistant coaches to bring their wives and kids to the Bucs’ and Colts’ training facilities, to knocking off early, to the way he got through the suicide of his son - with such dignity - puts him in a class that might not have another pupil.  There is absolutely nothing in this mentoring program for Tony (other than what he claims, i.e. helping another human he happens to know).  He’s already won the biggest game of all, retired from a job on his terms, few in his line of work can claim and is as “agenda-less” a soul as there could possibly be.

Now a word about those few, but loud, people out there who are saying this is about race.  Can’t you for just once leave race out of it?  Do you loudmouth, publicity-seeking blowhards think for one nanosecond that if a white player (or a Latino or an Asian or a Martian) was caught bankrolling the heinous acts that Bad Newz Kennels was, for as long as they were doing it) that they would have gotten off?  Can you actually say -with a straight face - that if it wasn’t for the fact that Michael Vick is black, that PETA wouldn’t be up in arms about his return to the NFL?  Do you not realize how much you are hurting the black cause?  You’re the people who really need Tony Dungy.

Whether Michael Vick should play or not is out of all (but one) of our hands, and after hearing all the evidence I have to date, I’m thankful I’m not that one - because I still can’t decide.  As one of the great philosophers of our time, Jimmy Buffett, said:

“Indecision may or may not be my problem.”

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As the 2009 NFL season gets under way, there will be many fans whose wishes will be kept alive with some early season success.  Others will have their dreams dashed right out of the gate.

The beginning of the season allows fans to engage in what’s quickly becoming America’s favorite pasttime - trash talking.  And when it’s your team that gets crushed in the first two regular season games, you need to take it out on someone.  After all, it can’t be your fault.  I mean, you don’t play.  (Funny though, how much bravado you display when your team wins). 

Who that someone is will most likely depend on where you, or rather your favorite team calls home.  If Buffalo tanks early, T.O. will be a scoundrel, a cancer that everyone knew he’d be all along - even if he’s putting up big numbers (we’re talking reality football here, the way the game was meant to be played, so when the team loses, people who root for that team get upset).

If Oakland goes south, Al Davis will be catching the overwhelming majority of the criticism.  He probably doesn’t deserve all that he’s gotten the past decade, but it’s pretty close to proportional to the praise he received when the franchise was bordering on a dynasty.  That wasn’t all Al’s doing, either.

In Chicago, should Da Bears lose, Jay Cutler will be villified - super stats or not - and all because he popped off when there was no need - right after the trade.  There is a group of loyal fans there who will forgive his losing, but only if the Bears cover.

And, if it were multiple choice question as to which of the Falcons would catch hell if that club started poorly, every answer to that question (but the last one) would be Michael Vick.  And the last answer would be “All of the above.”

Naturally, if these same teams busted out of the gates playing near perfect football, these same cast of characters would be hoisted on the city’s shoulders for their godlike qualities. None of the above have been portrayed - at least recently - as a “nice guy,” which should bode well if you’re a devotee of the man whom a complex is named after.  One of the most diminutive, but nonetheless, effective bosses of all time, Napoleon, is credited with saying:

“A leader of whom it is said. ‘He’s a nice man’ is lost.”

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The number one sports question of all time, in any sport, that is argued the most (by far) is the universal, “Who is the greatest ever?”  Team, player, player at a certain position, coach, sportscaster/writer, play-by-play man, color guy, what or whoever? 

Invariably, someone tries to enter statistics into the discussion.  This is always touchy because statistics in different eras tell different stories.  Whether it’s field, court or track surfaces, equipment, training and coaching methods, diet, outside influences, the list seems to be endless and it’s mainly due to something Tony Sparano, coach of the Miami Dolphins, said in an article in Sports Illustrated (9/15/08).

“It’s the competition,” Sparano said, but his response was toward the question regarding “the motivation that drives NFL players to squeeze every snap out of their bodies, and why teams are eager to open their doors to anyone who can help them win.”  He was referring to Brett Favre and why he was having such a hard time retiring, to guys getting multiple chances after various social blunders (many of them resulting in arrests, e.g. Adam “Don’t Call Me PacMan Anymore” Jones).

That same quote, though, could also apply to 1 - steroid use (talk about squeezing every last …) 2 - one of the ultimate second chance stories (should it ever materialize) in Michael Vick and 3 - more benign, yet still considered radical (at least by the “old timers”) moves made by teams (in all sports) such as bringing in the latest gadgets (underwater treadmills and the University of Oregon’s Bod Pod, which measures fat-to-muscle ratio), improving facilites and equipment (include golf, tennis and swimming into this discussion), hiring nuitritionists, chefs, flexibility and player development coaches, and “feel good” guys (motivational, inspirational, team builders, psychologists, yoga instructors, even hypnotists). 

Some will argue technology has inflated statistics, while the N-Geners claim specializtion and strategies have improved to a level that they have had an adverse effect on today’s stats.  Changes such as the relief pitcher (back in the day, players were batting against the tired arm of a starter who had nothing left late in the game, thereby padding their stats) or, the short reliever (even moreso,  teams carrying a lefty, whose sole job is to get out - possibly - one left-handed batter per game).  Or, the defensive specialist in basketball or the nickel defense in football (not to mention that going both ways has gone the way of the buffalo).

Rule changes have rendered comparison of statistics virtually useless.  How many more points would great shooters, e.g. Pete Maravich, have scored if the three-point line had been in place when he played at LSU?  How about the goal posts being ten yards closer!  Changing yards to meters in races?  The new configuration of baseball stadiums - or, simply playing in Denver?

In an unrelated article in the 8/4/08 edition of SI, Phil Taylor wrote a column about Tim Forneris, the Busch Stadium groundskeeper who retrieved Mark McGwuire’s 70th home run ball and, rather than trying to sell it for the fortune it would have commanded back then, he gave it to McGwire.  Fast forward to the present day and, as Taylor wrote, “who would have thought that 10 years (later), the hero of the story would be Tim Forneris?”

When it comes to arguing the “who’s the greatest” question, let’s hope that, at the very least, for the integrity of each sport and athlete, each individual involved would, as Phil Taylor describes the action of Forneris:

“Do right when so much around them is wrong.”

A short blog on the Michael Vick-dog fighting saga - with a pertinent quote.  Vick got sentenced to 23 months in prison for his role in the well-documented case.  Following the sentencing, his lawyer, Billy Martin, made a statement which said all the right things - about how Vick has taken accountability for his past mistakes, how he hopes to get a second chance in society or football (in that order) and how he was prepared to serve his sentence and put that part of his life behind him.

Most of the pundits have the feeling he’ll get another shot in the NFL, citing others who committed unlawful acts of an extreme measure, e.g. Leonard Little and Ray Lewis, and were welcomed back into the league.  If he truly repents and pays his court-ordered dues to society, why not give him a shot?  It will be a public relations nightmare for the team, owner, GM and coach who take him, but pro sports being what it is, all that will be forgiven if he still has the skills to help a franchise to win.

A recent article on Vick in Sports Illustrated detailed his demise being connected to what they referred to as his “ghetto loyalty,” his inability to attach himself with the Atlanta community and his insistence to return to friends from his childhood in Virginia.  This, in spite of the efforts of former Atlanta mayor, Andrew Young, to get him involved in a church in the community and with others in Atlanta.  Andrew Young was the type of positive role model Michael Vick should have listened to, if not associated with.   At the end of the article was a quote from one of his “home boys” who said something to the effect that they were there when Michael got sent to prison and they’ll be there waiting when he gets out.  His future success - in society or football - will be tied to his relatiuonship upon entering either “world.” 

The pertinent quote I alluded to at the top of the blog is one I read earlier this year:

 “Almost all our sorrows can be traced to relationships with the wrong people.  Almost all our joys can be traced to relationships with the right people.”

As many in the country did, I watched the apology by Michael Vick last night on television.  He spoke for nearly four and one half minutes, without notes, and did remarkably well.  He said the right things, apologized to the right people and took the hit for his misdeeds.

But does he really feel this way or is he saying these things because he got caught, i.e. if his dogfighting racket was never uncovered, what chance would there have been for him to step forward and admit the very thought of this behavior is reprehensible?

It’s reminiscent of the press conference Kobe Bryant had after his encounter with the young woman in Colorado.  One of Kobe’s quotes was about how he was disgusted with himself.  No one present asked if his disgust was for his behavior or his getting caught.  If the young lady had never stepped forward and said anything, would Kobe have held the press conference to apologize in order to clear his conscience?  He mentioned his disgust was for committing adultery, but once again, no one asked if this was the first time he had done so - or only the first time he was exposed (pun intended).

Michael Richards blurted out racial insults and then claimed he didn’t know where words like that came from.  Watch the video and it’s pretty obvious where the words came from.  Same with Don Imus.  Would he have apologized and retracted what he said about the women’s team from Rutgers (see 4/16 blog) if there was no uproar from the nation?  Mel Gibson made some of the most heinous anti-Semitic remarks of recent time and then apologized.  Sincere apology or hollow words?

I had a student in class whom I had to ask to stop talking while the class was going on.  When I asked him to be quiet, he said, “I’m sorry.”  I asked, “Because I caught you talking or because you were being disruptive?”  The answer will be easy enough to find out.  How long before that student talks again to a classmate during the lesson? 

Someone named Tessie Rose (I believe in the book, The One Minute Apology), said:

         “An apology, not followed by a change in behavior, is an insult.”

Warning: This blog will be all over the place, going in several different directions.

#1 Some claim dogfighting is a tradition in the South.  So was lynching, but no one apologized for the guys in sheets when they were arrested.

#2 Why would somebody do this?  It’s a classic case of a person making too much money.  It wasn’t like this “hobby” took all Vick’s dough.  What he did for his former high school is well documented and he also gave a ton to Virginia Tech, his college alma mater.  Undoubtedly, there were other expenses.  And still plenty of mad (dog) money left over.

#3 With all the problems, sleazy activities and illegal acts people in professional sports are accused of, why is this transgression so hideous?  Next to children, cruelty to pets really sets people off.  And remember, dogs are referred to as “man’s best friend.”

#4 How can his teammates still support him?  If you asked that question, you’ve probably never been part of a team - not a good one, anyway.  Although it’s a cliche, a team truly is like a family and you don’t turn your back on a family member independent of how ill-advised an act (s)he committed.

#5 Will he ever play again?  What?!?  Can you imagine the reaction of the fans of the team who’s going to sign him?  How are they going to spin that transaction?  And what would his first road trip be like, e.g. how do you think the Browns’ Dog Pound would treat him?

#6 Taking low lifes, with absolutely zero positive skills and giving them carte blanche to his home and, for all intents and purposes, his checkbook, then having them turn on him, is probably what Vick should have expected.

Niccolo Machiavelli was once attributed the quote, “The first method for estimating the intelligence of a (person) is to look at the people he has around him.”