Michael Vick: You Should Have Been Beating Women Instead

When the Michael Vick case first came out, I was quick to jump to the conclusion this was the railroading of a black man. Vick was probably not even remotely involved but the press was going to lynch him for it anyway.

Plenty of dog fighting rings being run by white guys that are still
running this very second, getting busted and not a whisper of it in the
news. Same ridiculous double standard the media always plays when it
comes to crime and the color of someone's skin.

Then I read a piece this morning by Sandra Kobrin, "Beat a Woman? Play on. Beat a Dog? You're Gone." I would add gay bashing, too, as Tim Hardaway, among others, still garner the adoration of many fans regardless of stating proudly, "I hate gays'" on national radio.

The double standard, it seems, is not only about race -- I still believe race played a huge factor in the reporting of this case -- but about what you are abusing. Hit a puppy? Go to jail. Hit a woman? Well, we all lose our tempers sometimes, don't we? Rape a woman? You might lose some endorsement money. Maybe. It depends on how well you can humiliate and discredit the victim in the press.

Ask the football players at the University of Colorado. Better yet, ask all the victims.

Kobrin points out the professional sports leagues policies being adapted to insure no animal abuse will ever be accepted on any level at any time. Everyone is quick to insure the safety of small helpless creatures. Lots of very serious talk about unacceptable behavior and the cruelty of it.

No such policy exists about spousal abuse or any domestic violence. Let's face it, in this country, beating or raping a woman is not as serious a crime as dog fighting or animal abuse. Michael Vick is facing FEDERAL charges. If he had women fighting in a pit, half starved and beaten to be violent? He could have sold the TV rights for millions.

Don't get me wrong -- I have a dog and cannot imagine ever hitting her for any reason. I also have a wife I cannot imagine ever hitting, either. Maybe it's just me, but I think my wife deserves more laws and protections than my dog does. I do believe her life is more valuable, her experience more important and her safety far more paramount to our society's well being than my dog's.

Today, however, the message is clear -- if Michael Vick had been beating women? He'd be in pre-season games instead of court.

Comments

[ding]

after reading all these comments i'm getting tired of all the domestic abuse apologists.
whitman's argument is a legitimate frame for the issue and one that male sports writers are asking more than other folks.
the issue, as whitman expressed (though not as skillfully as she could have) is that unless a pro athlete has been convicted and is actually *serving time* in jail, most acts of domestic abuse/assault are ignored by the leagues or given minimal punishment.
it took me just three hours to come up with a list of pro athletes (nfl, mlb, nhl and nba) who were arrested or indicted or convicted of domestic violence; these stories also reveal that most charges were dropped (as is the case in most domestic assault cases.)
what can't be ignored is that most of the pro athletes mentioned have issues following them from college sports but that doesn't prevent them from having a career:
darryl strawberry can punch his wife repeatedly but it's his drug use that gets him bounced.
christian peter was arrested 8 times while at nebraska, twice for two brutal sexual assaults that resulted in one settlement and one conviction; but he still goes on to play for the NFL.
brett myers (phillies) can assault his wife on a street in front of witnesses but the league calls it an 'off-field' incident they can't address.
julio matteo (mariners) beats and kicks his wife, gives her stitches and what happens? does he get kicked from the league? no; he gets bumped down to Triple A then traded to Phillies where he languishes in Double A.
bobby chouinard (diamondbacks) hits his wife and holds a loaded gun to her head but serves a 1 year sentence in 3-month increments during off-season so it doesn't interfere with the playing schedule.
there are other crimes that we could talk about but we're talking about how drugs, gambling, and weapons charges can endanger a man's career but slamming a woman's head through a window won't.
is that line of argument not good enough for folks here?

[escr1t0ra]

I don't think it serves anyone to argue over which is the more heinous crime: abusing people or abusing animals. We can all agree that both are terrible crimes that deserve punishment, regardless of the status and celebrity of the accused.

People say to me: "What about people? Don't you care about them?!" And of course I do! I care about humans, animals, and the like. The point is that I'm an animal rights activist, and therefore that is where I put my energy. If people want a particular issue heard, then get behind the megaphone and yell it to the rooftops!

Bottom line? I agree-- sports leagues need to get on top of their players for their bad behavior in a much bigger way than they have before.

[pizzmoe]

I am concerned that there are players collecting pay checks every day that have been convicted of domestic violence and no one seems to care.
but hurt a dog?

No, he didn't hurt them. He abused, tortured and killed them, all for fun and profit. Not exactly the same thing.

[mangymutt]

I have a dog. I love my dog. I think Vick should be punished. Sara feels Vick should be punished. The point is why aren't other serious crimes treated in the same manner? Like... abuse to women?

I was arguing this very point the other day, and yes, I brought up OJ Simpson. What outraged me the most about the OJ case was the fact that Nichole Brown Simpson had called so many times about abuse from OJ, and nothing was done. That is the point that still sticks with me....

What’s amazing is the response from this post: it mirrors exactly how most people feel about abuse to women. And to add insult to injury you actually believe in the justice system. Like if a woman brings rape/abuse charges the guilty is punished – is all of America living in la la land?

There is no justice in this country unless you have money. That is why athletes, celebrities and really anyone with money get away with murder, rape, etc.

We are a capitalist society -

[JimR]

"The point is why aren't other serious crimes treated in the same manner?"

This is a false construct that leads to nowhere. You can look at the Utah mine disaster and say "Why aren't deadly accidents at other workplaces given this much attention?"

The answer is that the media gives undue attention to stories that involve a celebrity or unusual circumstances. With the Vick case, they have both.

[ding]

it's not a false construct. it's a very good, pointed question. shrugging off the answer by saying it's the media's fault or it's the fault of celebrity just minimizes the issue.
if you look across all major league sports (nba, nfl, nhl, mlb) - or if you even track the names being mentioned in all of the sports columns written about pro sports and domestic assault - you'll see there are a substantial number of incidents involving assaults on women. but none of these assaults ever result in any harsh punishment by the league or law enforcement; charges are dropped and cases don't get made, yes, but that's no excuse. if you go far back enough in any of these players' histories, you can find red flags pointing to earlier assaults on women. usually, these arrests or accusations are settled out of court or ignored by college teams, recruiters, and ultimately ignored by the professional teams that pick them in their draft, thus making it an issue right now.
some names: lawrence phillips; bobby chouinard; markus curry; daryl strawberry; ron artest; kobe bryant; brett myers; michael pittman; christian peter; chad eaton; lionel gates; lamar thomas; aj nicholson; brad hopkins; samari rolle; jason kidd; reuben droughns; santonio holmes; rob reynolds; randy starks; sean locklear; brandon marshall; patrick roy; elijah dukes; julio matteo
with very few exceptions, none of these men have lost their careers for assaulting their wives or girlfriends. don't people think something should be done?

[crutnacker]

I agree that every a-hole who beats his kids, wife, dog, etc. should face charges and never play again. But none of that makes Vick's actions LESS deserving of the punishment he is getting. He's an idiot, cruel, inhuman, and should never play in the NFL again.

[Nommo]

You're just wrong about that. If he is an idiot, is cruel and inhuman, he should definitely play in the NFL. Besides, don't you all get that he is just a business man. Kind of like that guy that owns the mine in Utah. Suck everything out of the Earth till it is no longer life supporting. Who give a fuck about a poorly performing employee? Slave were subject to all extremes of punishment. They were human beings.
America has endorsed and made a point of cruelty
for way too long now. If the exposure of Vick had any real affect on the state of dog fighting, then all the brouhaha and squawking would be worth. But all will soon forget after the last dollar has been milked from this. Some little bright and shiny new thing will come along and all will forget about dogs.
Every one still enjoys a good catfight.

[suki21693]

Drug dealers on street corners are just business men too.

They know their business is illegal and so did Vick.

I can not believe how willing people are to defend the indefensible.

And by the way, America stopped endorsing slavery about 140 years ago.

[emjay1954]

We can all cite crimes that are worse than Vick's. Invading Iraq. Torturing prisoners. Running a child prostitution ring. So what? Does that mean Vick shouldn't be prosecuted?

As much as I condemn Vick's actions, AFTER he does the prison time he has coming, I have no objection to his returning to the NFL.

[buckinxile]

So Sarah, do you think it is just crimes against women that are ignored?

I would say that if you recruit people to indulge in a violent sport; i.e., NFL football, you are likely to find people who are a little less respectful of societal norms than, say, school librarians.
Sure enough, some of them violate laws on drug use, gun possession, dog fighting, gambling, and violence against women.
Once convicted, should they be banned from football? But allowed to be, say, school janitors? Burger flippers? Boxers?
I guess my point is that they are supposedly punished by the justice system. Should they also be punished by their employer? It appears the answer is yes, for gambling and maltreatment of dogs, no for other crimes.

[suki21693]

Here is the problem: if you want to make the argument that NFL players (or anyone else) who beat their wives deserves a harsher punishment than they are getting, then that is great. I really can not see how anyone would argue against you, but I am sure there are some neanderthals out there who might. (There obviously must be or else the whole thing would be moot as these people would be in prison.)

However, when you base your argument on the specious comparison between dogfighting and spousal abuse, it only serves to make your contention all the easier to disregard. You appear not only to be defending the indefensible, but also to denegrate the seriousness of both charges of dogfighting and spousal abuse with this trivialized analogy.

[trstrap]

Sara Whitman's blog seems well meant but off the mark. If Vick was discovered killing women he would not be playing ball. It could be a capital crime: lying in wait and a federal crime (the Mann Act) if they crossed state lines. Her analogy is too simple.

Another area that's been mentioned, though is intriguing. The plight of greyhounds pops up from time to time. I thought of them when I heard about the pit bill fighting. Greyhound racing is pretty ugly. Watch the first Simpsons episode to learn the fate of a greyhound who can't race. Santa's Little Helper was a continual loser at the Springfield Downs, he was tossed out after that fateful Christmas after losing and then was saved by Homer and adopted ). The huge difference between pit bull fighting and greyhound racing is this: Greyhounds can be rescued and adopted - they're runners not killers. Folks who bring horse racing into it seem to forget that "The Sport of Kings" indicates only that royalty has placed itself above the law for eons. Horse racing is anything but a noble sport. So the argument about greyhounds and horse racing fall short as examples. Pit bulls trained to rip each other apart by people are blood killers making them unadoptable; rarely saveable as pets. Greed and cruelty drive dog fighting there's a blood thirsty sociopathy to it - probably true of greyhound racing to some degree. Cruelty to animals is endemic but it is usually about money and always involves mankind. Vick and his friends appear to be emotionally deficient in areas that even those indifferent to pets or animals in general are not. An indicator for serial killers is cruelty to animals as a child. I'd like to know how these men behaved with animals growing up. When Vick and friends decided to victimize puppies and create killers they knew the risks and rewards. I suggest doing some of their time in a no-kill animal shelter as part of a fitting sentence and for these men - very hard time.

[commonsenselives]

"No such policy exists about spousal abuse or any domestic violence. Let's face it, in this country, beating or raping a woman is not as serious a crime as dog fighting or animal abuse. Michael Vick is facing FEDERAL charges."

Vick is facing FEDERAL charges because he crossed state lines in order to run his business. Had he stayed in his own state, I don't think he would be.

And there are laws against beating your spouse, so I really don't understand your logic. These were not a couple of slaps or a kick to the ribs (both of which a healthy woman would survive long enough to PRESS CHARGES, which obviously, a dog cannot do). These were cruel acts of brutal torture against helpless animals. A woman can defend herself (if she tries), she can call for help, she can fight back and even if she fails, she still had more of a chance than those poor pitbulls. Maybe that is why there seems to be so much more outrage over this.

[MoreMusicInSchools]

I just wish you would all get so up in arms about the point she was trying to make! The things Vick did should be punished, I don't think I read otherwise in this post. The real question is why are our professional sports leagues allowing other, just as heinous, crimes to go unpunished?

This post really isn't about the dogs it is about professional sports in the US and our consistent disregard for any athlete to be held accountable.

The perception of the free pass to our star athletes does so much more to harm our youth and our society than any dog fighting rings...

[JimR]

"The real question is why are our professional sports leagues allowing other, just as heinous, crimes to go unpunished?"

Such as.... ?

[CriminallySane]

I'm just going to reiterate the argument that it's because he's a celebrity. What his ethnic background is makes no difference. The only reason we're hearing about it at all is because (a) he got caught, (b) it seems a particularly egregious case, especially given his financial and other resources, and (c) he's famous.

You also make very bad arguments - and the best possible case I can make for anything you say is that literally anyone convicted of crimes of violence ought to be sent away. Sadists like Vick ought to be sent away for a very long time.

[suki21693]

And also, (d) he was the source of a lot of money which clearly supported this dogfighting ring. In this case he was the big dog.

[Danothemoderateguy]

"I think my wife deserves more laws and protections than my dog does. I do believe her life is more valuable, her experience more important and her safety far more paramount to our society's well being than my dog's".

There are Laws against beating, torturing, and electrocuting women...aren't there? You can get the death penalty for killing a woman, no? Your arguments just don't hold water. In fact , I'm not really sure what you're concerned about.

[SaraWhitman]

I am concerned that there are players collecting pay checks every day that have been convicted of domestic violence and no one seems to care.

but hurt a dog?

Go look up the average sentence for rape and compare it to what Vick is getting to plea bargin for.

[JimR]

Names, please.

Also, nobody knows what kind of sentence Vick has agreed to, though early reports are the prosecution is seeking 18-36 months.

And just to clarify, the main charges he is pleading guilty to involve running an illegal gambling enterprise.

[Zyzzygowski]

Everyone has pretty much said what I was going to say. So, I will just say your arguement is just plain silly.

[OtayPanky]

Exactly so.

[Shmuelman]

You have no evidence whatsoever that if Vick committed a violent crime against a women, that he would escape punishment, especially if the crime were murder. If Vick had been convicted of a first degree sex offense he would spend the rest of his life in prison.
Vick ran an operation that systematically brutalized animals. If you think that you can separate this kind of violence from violence against women - oops - I mean wymmyn, you are mistaken. Cruelty to animals as a youth is closely correlated to violent crime and incarceration as an adult, and is a common thread among serial murderers. His crime was more akin to child abuse or child exploitation. Maybe you should condemn the subculture that believes that this kind of brutality is entertainment.
I suppose from the Andrea Dworkin school of logic, you have some kind of point, even if annoying facts get in the way.