29 December 2010 A second chance for franchise owners

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/postpartisan/2010/12/the_real_reason_vick_got_a_sec.htm

12/29/2010

The real reason Vick got a second chance

By Richard Cohen



The commentary about President Obama's call to the owner of the Philadelphia Eagles regarding that adjudicated dog killer Michael Vick has now reached an apogee of stupidity that strongly suggest that too many otherwise smart people have lost their ability to reason. Obama, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie recounted, said, "'So many people who serve time never get a fair second chance.' He said, 'It's never a level playing field for prisoners when they get out of jail.' And he was happy that we did something on such a national stage that showed our faith in giving someone a second chance after such a major downfall.'' It helps, I think, that Vick has completed 63.2 percent of his passes and has 20 touchdowns. He is not your average felon.

Cassi Creek:

He is also not – (Column A) your average mechanic, not your average truck driver, not your average artist, and not your average student. He may be – (Column B) an exceptional ball player, runner, or vaulter. He/she may also be – (Colum C) an acclaimed actor, comedian, talk-show host, reality show participant, or manufactured celebrity.

We’ve all grown up with people like Vick. We’ve watched them coast through grade school, junior high school, and high school because they turn out for practice and excel at one of the major athletic games that public schools fund as their contribution to the national franchise owners’ farm teams. We’ve watched them take a test multiple times so that they can magically acquire a “C” grade in a subject that they’ve never bothered to study. We’ve seen them awarded scholarships to colleges and universities that want them for their state/public sponsored part of the national franchise owners’ farm teams. We watch them rake in the under-the-table money, watched them show up with new cars and/or trucks, We watch them as they are flown around the nation from one resort or hotel to another by rich men who want to fund entourages so that they can pretend they are young and good at athletics.

We read in the papers that they are arrested for illegal gambling, for assault, for sexual assault, for theft, for all manner of illegal actions that they fail to recognize as wrong by anyone’s morality but that “get it while you can, get all you can.” Mantra drummed into their heads by teachers, coaches, administrators, preachers, cops, and others who have turned their heads away from the athlete’s transgressions from the day it first became apparent that he might be able to run, jump, kick, throw, or hit better than most others. No one ever tells the potential athletic standout, “no!” No one wants to be the person responsible for causing him/her to miss the big game. Even the most serious crimes are brushed aside long enough for the “star athlete” to play in the post-season games. Perish the thought that he and the team that spawned him might be punished effectively and in a timely and appropriate manner.

Almost no one ever drops the hammer on these spoiled thugs. Almost no one wants to be the bad guy and ruin the team or the “star’s” chances of a winning streak, a scholarship, or a pro career by pointing out his academic failures, by pressing charges for his assaults, his rapes, his thuggery. Almost no one will. But it is time we do.

There is no reason I can think of for the taxpayers to fund the pro-athletics training program using schools that can’t afford textbooks or teachers to prevent the franchise owners having to be out of pocket. There is no reason that thugs should be lionized as role models or allowed to escape the consequences of their actions. There is no reason that anyone should profit from professional athletics that steal from the public by convincing cities to build new venues for the franchise owners. There is no reason that men should be allowed to ignore the law because of their physical prowess. And there is no reason that parents should be allowed to earn from the actions of their children who can’t tell right from wrong but who can throw or run. It’s time we hold these thugs accountable, beginning with their first days in school.

There was no justification for Obama to champion Vick. If the same thing had been done by an unemployed mechanic, no one would be talking about a second chance. Nor should Vick’s need for a second chance be any greater than anyone who can’t run or throw.