Philadelphia Eagles Celebrate Character … of Michael Vick
[Guest post by DRJ]
If you wondered just how out-of-touch some NFL players are with the true meaning of courage and character, consider that the Philadelphia Eagles have named Michael Vick the 2009 winner of the Ed Block Courage Award, an honor given to a player who shows courage in the face of adversity:
“One recipient is selected from each NFL team, usually for things like coming back from injury, doing good work in the community or long, dedicated service to a franchise. I’d be surprised if the award’s founders intended for the honor to be given to someone doing community service as part of the terms of his parole or for showing courage in the face of reporters asking legitimate questions about federal crimes.
The Eagles’ vote is not only a slap in the face to the Ed Block Courage Award Foundation, but to the other 31 players who won the award for their respective teams. Some men are truly deserving of the honor, like Ravens safety Dawan Landry(notes) who was nearly paralyzed last year, but has come back in ’09 with four interceptions and a touchdown or Mike Furrey(notes) of the Browns, who does extensive volunteer work in his community. Adding Vick’s name to the roll makes the award seem illegitimate and meaningless.
Apparently Philadelphia players confuse Vick handling dogfighting questions and booing with a measure of class as some sort of courage. That Vick only got a chance to show this mild courageousness because of the extreme cowardice it takes to murder helpless animals isn’t something that crosses their mind. They confuse Vick’s desperation with some sort of integrity.”
The nation discussed whether the NFL should even let Vick play again when he was signed by the Eagles last August. What a difference 4 months makes. That’s how long it took the Eagles players to forgive, forget and honor Michael Vick.
— DRJ
I guess if the NFL were some glorious and shining brand of integrity then I guess I could see how Mr. Vick’s moral failings had crossed a line. But it’s the NFL.
happyfeet (71f55e) — 12/24/2009 @ 12:41 pmC’mon, give the poor man a break – hasn’t he suffered enough?
Couple this act of true idiocy with Ravens Linebacker Ray Lewis getting out of a witness to murder conviction, and that pretty much says it all for the NFL’s sense of morality these days.
Dmac (a964d5) — 12/24/2009 @ 12:41 pmI’m not a fan of Vick’s; I’m still find his crimes and lifestyle repulsive. His celebrity and athletic talents have given him an extraordinary chance — which he threw away, and now he’s getting a second chance after “paying his debt to society,” at least within the authorities’ eyes and as a formal, legal matter.
He’s no proper target of admiration — not yet. Michael Vick will be on moral probation, as far as I’m concerned, for several more years yet.
Let him spend, say, three more years of post-release good conduct and works. That would be the point at which he ought modestly decline any such honors, if offered to him. Then try again in, say, five years. If he’s continued the exceptional post-release trend, then let’s give him a pat on the back while always, always emphasizing that we’re continuing to condemn his “bad old ways.”
Credit where due, to the extent due. The credit he’s due so far is a solemn nod, if he’s in fact mended his ways so far. That and his second chance ought to be ample.
Has he been behaving himself? I haven’t noticed any reports to the contrary, but I also haven’t looked.
Beldar (70e6da) — 12/24/2009 @ 12:43 pmThe sad thing is, a lot of people on the Eagles, in the NFL and all over the country, have no problem with torturing dogs like that. These people have no souls yet, I have no doubt, there’s a few of them who’ve done public service commercials for some other kind of cause. They just don’t get it, and never will.
jimboster (fe0b27) — 12/24/2009 @ 12:48 pmIn other news, incarcerated felon Charles Manson was today named the inaugural recipient of the Dept Of Justice’s “New Leaf” award for having not killed anyone this year.
“At least, not yet,” he replied through a spokesperson.
ras (88eebb) — 12/24/2009 @ 1:05 pmThere seems to be an terrible trend of stories like this. Evil seems to be celebrated.
Polanski is a another example. Any bets on an academy award of some type for him this year?
snookered (6f83c5) — 12/24/2009 @ 1:15 pmYet another reason why I don’t watch NFL football. Give me a good college game, even on the radio, and I’m happy. Now, if the Illini ever get beyond awful for a year or three, I’ll be a happy man.
Red County Pete (92112d) — 12/24/2009 @ 1:21 pmHas he been nominated for a Nobel Pooch Prize yet?
ropelight (8fa168) — 12/24/2009 @ 1:49 pmropelight, you almost got it: how is this different from ObaMao’s Nobel Peace Prize? It’s all about “potential.”
But of course Rush Limbaugh is not of the high moral character required to participate in the NFL … right?
Harry Arthur (250a94) — 12/24/2009 @ 2:55 pmAnd the Heaping Pile of Dogshit award goes to:
Each and every Eagles player that voted to give Vick this award.
Icy Texan (9e4c68) — 12/24/2009 @ 10:26 pmAs an Eagles fan, I wish they’d never signed the guy in the first place. This ‘award’ really sticks in my craw.
JEA (203e86) — 12/25/2009 @ 11:54 amthe only reasonable response to the award
[note: fished from spam filter. –Stashiu]
kris m (e33806) — 12/25/2009 @ 11:54 amI was a rabid Steeler fan in the 70s. I later became a Steeler fan. That was followed by a strongly biased onlooker. Then I became a slightly interested onlooker. As of this year, “I’ve never heard of the NFL.”
I’m not sure at which point the piled-up anecdote pelts become a dataset pointing to a systemic poison. To whom much is given, much is demanded. If you cannot live up to those standards, then what you’re given is taken away from you.
And the Philadelphia Beagles, of all people, shouldn’t have signed the guy.
John Hitchcock (3fd153) — 12/25/2009 @ 12:16 pmConsidering all the wife-beaters, girlfriend-beaters, rapists, felons and other criminals that play in the NFL, Vick hardly stands out at all. Compared to OJ Simpson or Rae Carruth, he’s a saint.
Technomad (677f63) — 12/26/2009 @ 11:38 amWhen the Eagles first signed Vick, Sports Illustrated’s Peter King* talked about how great this is for Vick because the Eagles organization is run by “good people” who could reform Vick and make him a better man. Apparently the first step is giving him a medal for exhibiting courage.
*Don’t be surprised when CNN decides to cut a few jobs from SI when they go through lean times next year–SI still thinks Honduras exiling Zelaya was a coup.
Roger (e92e71) — 12/27/2009 @ 12:26 am