Michael Vick & others~

[PghLybrt]

MV…Hate what he did. I am not an Eagles fan , thankfully. I understand why they want him, it is a business.

Making Athletes into Heroes…… I do. Ever watch or hear of the IWFL? Now those are women I can look up too! I know our team (Pittsburgh Passion), all members have full time jobs, some have families and they volunteer for many charities. They also practice after work (Sometimes until 2 am) 5 + days a week, pay for their own travel, pay for their equipment and still give it their all. The Steelers ( and a few other players from other teams) that come to games are always really impressed by how hard the women play. They do it for the love of the game, not the fame( Even though they are in over 10 million homes on tv) and most definitely not for money, (they have to come up with $1000 in sponsors before they can even practice).

 

[FireDancer]

MV…Hate what he did. I am not an Eagles fan , thankfully. I understand why they want him, it is a business.

Making Athletes into Heroes…… I do. Ever watch or hear of the IWFL? Now those are women I can look up too! I know our team (Pittsburgh Passion), all members have full time jobs, some have families and they volunteer for many charities. They also practice after work (Sometimes until 2 am) 5 + days a week, pay for their own travel, pay for their equipment and still give it their all. The Steelers ( and a few other players from other teams) that come to games are always really impressed by how hard the women play. They do it for the love of the game, not the fame( Even though they are in over 10 million homes on tv) and most definitely not for money, (they have to come up with $1000 in sponsors before they can even practice).

I don't think it is bad to have athletes for role models, I just don't think they are role models simply for being athletes. It sounds like these women have, through actions, legitimized your view of them. None of them, however, are role models simply because they are who they are, they have to earn it. This should be true of everyone: athletes, musicians, movie starts, pundits, and anyone else who gets celebrity status.

 

[browneyes106]

First, you can enjoy a sport without making athletes your role models. I watch a lot of soccer (hard to tell from my signature I know) and wouldn't name a single soccer player as a role model. Second, the "role" part in role model is often forgot. For example, I am a big Lance Armstrong fan and in the role of cyclist I look up to him. In the role of family man I do not. It is possible to want to be like an athlete professionally and not like that athlete personally. Blindly making any celebrity a role model because of their job is just small minded.

Role models are chosen by us, they are not automatically role models because of what they do for a living. My models in life are people around me that have influenced my life, not detached celebrities whom I will never meet.

As far as Vick goes, he served his sentence now let him get on with his life. People convicted of killing people with their cars, abusing their wives/girlfriends, violating various drug policies numerous times, and even being involved in a murder are allowed back into sport. Vick is not better or worse than any of them. Vick is a good QB so there is no reason to let his personal life get in the way of his professional life. They are two separate things. I don't let what an athlete does when not in the sport effect how I view him in the sport in the same way I don't care what my accountant or mechanic do when they are at home. As long as my taxes are right and car is fixed correctly what the heck do I care what is done in their personal lives?

I agree athletes shouldn't be made into role models. They are many athletes, actors and musicians who have done good things for charity and I do admire them for that. But I don't look at them as role models. Celebrities like Carrie Underwood and Anna Faris have said that they don't want to be held to the standard of being seen as role model simply because they in the entertainment business. I think people should look to friends and family for role models rather than famous people they will never meet.

I agree. Vick served his time, paid his debt to society and now needs to get on with his life. As a working member of society, even if you all think he is overpaid, he becomes a taxpayer and contributes. What skills does he actually have other than to play football? Should he be denied an opportunity to make a living because we don't like him? And I don't like him. I don't need to like him. If he makes money for the Eagles then he contributes.

Good point it seems that people forgot that Vick will be a taxpayer and he also has to pay other people involved with his career.

My DH and DS work in criminal justice and law enforcement. Part of the reason their field is so busy is because convicted criminals are not given a second chance and therefore go back to what they know - crime. He paid for this crime now let him try and redeem himself.


If he was arrested before the law was enacted he is sentenced by the laws in effect at that time. He was arrested in April if I remember correctly so the new federal law was not the standard at the time he was sentenced.

I am from Philly and a die-hard Eagles fan. I have my reservations but I feel everyone deserves a second chance. I will continue to root for my home team and hope that he shows true remorse and tries to redeem himself. I am also an animal lover and owner and have a dog and 2 cats, although at one time it was 2 dogs, 8 cats, 2 birds and a rabbit.

I'm like your attitude about still rooting for the Eagles. I hope Vick shows remorse. One of my coworkers said they watched him on 60 Minutes and he does seem like a changed man.

^^ You said that better than I did. I absolutely understand the people who don't want him playing. I don't want him playing and certainly not for my team. But I don't expect everyone to feel the same way. But I also believe that Roger Goodell did not have any other option.

Let's all hope that having someone like Tony Dungy as his mentor will help him turn his life around. That's the one ray of light in this whole thing for me. At some point, I'd like for him to really realize what he did and how lucky he is to have this second chance. He should go talk to Josh Hamilton and Kevin Everett. The former seems to completely embrace the mistakes of his past and is greatful for the second chance he was given. The latter won't ever have that second chance at the game (though no fault of his own), but was still granted a second chance. Maybe with enough positive influences, he can someday have a positive influence on someone else.

Tony Dungy has volunteered in prisons for a long time and he considered leaving the NFL at one time do a prison ministry. His sister is a nurse at a Michigan prison. I think Tony will be a good mentor for Vick. I hope Vick finds others to help him.