Belated Super Sports Saturday: NFL

Yeah, we know that ol' Michael Vick is out and now eligible to play in the NFL again, but the question now regards who will take him (if anyone). I know that we are all taught to forgive and forget, but in a society where money talks more than justice and where a man who enables the abuse and gruesome death of so many innocent animals can get off with basically a slap on the wrist, I am appalled that Jesse Jackson is actually suggesting that the National Football League is actually colluding against Mr. Vick!

I know that many others have the same feelings, and if the powers-that-be in the NFL are colluding, good for them! I sincerely doubt that there is such a situation (spoken, at least), but if Mr. Jackson honestly wants "teams to explain why they have a quarterback who has less skills but is playing or at least is on the taxi squad, and a guy with more skills can't get into training camp," then I will be happy to oblige.

First, Jesse (can I call you Jesse?), like I alluded to above, there are actually very few teams in the NFL who are willing to hire a man who allows this to happen to his pets. It is one thing to commit crimes against other humans who can reasonably defend themselves, but it is another, entirely more devastating offense when these horrors happen to the pets who want nothing more than a little food, water, and love from their owners. Vick took advantage of his status and position and thought he could get away with it. I believe the NFL teams are now telling Mr. Vick that you can't just sweep these atrocities under the rug. Mr. Vick had his chance to shine, and he may well have, but he threw it away on gambling and death.

But, I understand that the above moral argument may have no sway on you Reverend Jackson, so I will explain in a different manner. Let me remind you briefly of last year's pre-NFL summer where a certain former Green Bay quarterback decided to come out of retirement and wanted to be reinstated as if nothing had happened. Many thought that the head honchos of the Packers were crazy in telling this quarterback that he could come back but that he would have to try out for the position just like the other guys. Obviously this offended and angered the guy and he sought a job elsewhere eventually joining the Jets.

Mr. Jackson, teams spend copious amounts of money on every player, especially quarterbacks, and the thing they despise most is having someone throw a wrench in the machine. Changing any position up this late in the game can have disasterous effects, so many teams simply say, "sorry, see us next year." I'm sure that eventually some team like the Cowboys will be happy to pick up Mr. Vick, and if he shines, like I know he might, I know that the NFL, like Hollywood, has a way of forgetting even the most horrible of offenses. So, don't blame the NFL for colluding against someone, blame Mr. Vick and tell him simply, "better luck next time."