Vick's world crumbles

Reaction to the Falcons quarterback's indictment is fast and furious

By Ryan White
The Oregonian
July 22, 2007

PHOTO: Dogfighting is illegal in all fifty states.

The truth, as Michael Vick is learning the hard way, is that he'd have been better off accused of throwing someone through a window, involved in a strip club melee, or busted with dope and a gun -- the classics of the misbehaving jock genre.

The classics never go out of style, and we're so darned used to them our reactions anymore are muted. Oh, look at that, the Minnesota Vikings had a party on a boat. Isn't that funny? Tony La Russa was asleep at the wheel of a stopped SUV and drunk? While not at all funny, it happens all the time.

But Vick reached and found an allegation as exceptional as the potential he entered the league with in 2001. What arrived Tuesday was an 18-page federal indictment accusing Michael "Ookie" Vick, quarterback, Atlanta Falcons, NFL superstar, plus three associates, of all kinds of cruelty to animals related to the fighting of dogs.

"I'd like to cover him in liver and let the dogs see if he's as fast and elusive as they say he is," Jon Stewart said on Wednesday's "Daily Show." "My guess is no."

On being a two-sport star, football and dog fighting, Stewart added, "It's not really as impressive as the Bo Jackson thing."

Wednesday, Al Sharpton and hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons signed on with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in support of suspending Vick. Thursday, Nike delayed the late-August release of Vick's next signature shoe, and was picketed by the Humane Society of the United States on Friday, the same day PETA protested outside the NFL's New York offices. While protesters chanted, "Sack Vick!" NFL boss Roger Goodell was inside meeting with officials from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Thursday, Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., took to that chamber's floor to shout "Barbaric" four times, then said: "Let that word resound from hill to hill and from mountain to mountain, from valley to valley across this broad land. May God help those poor souls who would be so cruel. Barbaric! Hear me!"

We hear you: We'll put up with a lot, but even the accusation of the systematic abuse and destruction of man's best friend leads to rapid mobilization in the name of Spot.

"The strongest affinity to another person or being in our lives is our kids," said Mike Paul, a crisis communications expert and New York public relations executive (MGP & Associates PR www.mgppr.com) who writes "The Reputation Doctor" blog. "No. 2 to our kids is our pets, and some people do not have children, and they treat their pets as children."

Looking for angles this week, stories piled up about what the charges mean for Vick The Endorser, the guy Sports Illustrated says earned $7 million pitching products in 2006 alone. Looking for an analogy, most of those stories raised Kobe Bryant's 2003 rape charge. The criminal case was dropped in September 2004 when Bryant's accuser refused to testify. That day, Bryant issued a statement that said: "I want to apologize to her for my behavior that night and for the consequences she has suffered in the past year."

A civil case eventually was settled out of court.

It probably is the closest, best comparison, but it's different in one very uncomfortable way -- the human element. Humans aren't perfect. We in fact make most of the world's mistakes. Mistakes, in the hands of talented defense attorneys and public relations specialists, turn into opportunities to cast doubt. The cult of celebrity is leveraged into victory in the court of public opinion -- which is where Paul notes all these cases are first fought.

"Kobe cheated on his wife," Paul said. We seem willing to let that go, at least "more so than giving a pass to a guy who wets down a dog and electrocutes it."

Animals, like children, are innocent. They're not asking to fight. They have no say in the matter. So when we read the indictment and the viciousness of some executions and we go home, look into the Lab's loving eyes and the blood boils.

There's a book you can get at Amazon titled, "The Dog Pit -- Or, How To Select, Breed, Train And Manage Fighting Dogs, With Points As To Their Care In Health And Disease." It was originally written in 1888. There are 47 customer reviews, 45 of them can be charitably described as hostile.

"They say you can gauge the civility of a country by its treatment of animals," begins one.

From this week's reaction to Vick's charges, you can say we've come a long way since 1888, and you can safely assume Vick yearns for the days when we were all wondering what was in that secret compartment at the bottom of his water bottle.

And this story has only just begun. It'll pick up speed Thursday when he's in court, and the Falcons begin practice. Coverage will be pretty hard to miss.

Ryan White: 503-412-7024; ryanwhite@news.oregonian.com