...or is killing a dog worse than killing a person?

The facts go like this:

Michael Vick was an all-everything quarterback at Virginia Tech who, after college in 2001, went on to fame and fortune with the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL. Tragically, the fortune is gone and the fame became infamy.

In August, 2007 Michael Vick entered into a plea agreement with the federal court in Richmond ,VA. In the agreement he pled guilty to financing an enterprise known as the Bad Newz Kennels which was a trainer and promoter of fighting dogs. He also admitted to participating in dog fights (presumably not as a combatant) and sharing in the proceeds of the dog fights. He was aware of dogs being killed for poor performance (a concept the NFL briefly considered but rejected) but he claims he never killed a dog himself.

Judge Henry Hudson, apparently unimpressed with Vick's expressions of contrition, sentenced him to 23 months in a federal prison. The fact that Vick failed a drug test while on probation can't have helped.

Vick has served most of his sentence. Although there is no parole system for federal prisoners, Vick has been granted home confinement for the last few months of his incarceration. Aside from the radio sports talk mavens discussing whether he will be allowed to play football and for whom, interest in the Michael Vick story has waned. Aside from the made-for-TV movie that is certainly in rewrite as we speak, the sad tale of great talent wasted isn't getting much ink.



Now we have the case of Dante Stallworth. Stallworth is an eight-year pro football player out of Tennessee. He currently plies his trade of wide receiver with the Cleveland Browns. Although no Michael Vick, Stallworth is a good, not great, pass catcher. On the morning of March 14, Stallworth was headed for the beach in Miami. On the way, he struck and killed one Mario Reyes who was crossing the busy MacArthur Causeway trying to catch a bus. Stallworth was over the legal limit both in speed and alcohol. (50 in a 40 on speed; .12 in a .08 state on booze). Stallworth stopped immediately and submitted to a blood alcohol test. He was ultimately charged with DUI and second-degree manslaughter. He received a sentence of 30 days (actually knocked down to 24 days) and has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL.



In mitigation, it should be noted that Stallworth has never been in trouble...aside from a short stay in the NFL's substance abuse program. He acted responsibly at the scene (well, after he killed a guy) and the victim was out in the middle of traffic. Stallworth has made a "financial arrangement" with the Reyes family which at least avoids a wrongful death lawsuit.



The ponderable issue for today is: was Michael Vick's sentence too severe considering there was no loss of human life or, was Dante Stallworth's too lenient? (No animals were harmed in the manslaughter of Mr. Reyes.) It's true that the crimes were committed in separate states and tried before separate judges but comparison is inevitable. Both men are public figures. Both are African American from modest backgrounds. As star football players with big contracts, both are new to affluence. (Stallworth was driving a Bentley the morning of the accident.) Were they treated differently because of their celebrity?

In Michael Vick's case, his notoriety killed him. Any public figure seen torturing animals can expect few friends in the courts or the press. Even OJ's jury would have marched Vick to the gallows. His four co-defendants can serve their time and slink off into obscurity. Michael Vick's punishment is ongoing.

Stallworth will suffer none of the stigma that dogs (sorry!) Michael Vick. It says something about who we are that animals, (actually only domestic animals) hold a higher place in our emotional hierarchy than people. Even the most soulless of people can love a dog. It's just strange. If Michael Vick were guilty of cock-fighting he'd have done 30 days suspended. If Mario Reyes had been walking his chihuahua that morning in March, Dante Stallworth would be picking out curtains for the cell he would be occupying for the next year or two. The moral of the tale is unclear. However, if you're driving down the street and you've had a cocktail or two, if a choice arises, point the car at the creature with the fewest number of legs.

...could Michael Vick get a job with World Wrestling Entertainment?

There once was an athlete named Vick.
For whom football was never a trick.
But while helping his peeps
Even though they were creeps.
He stepped squarely onto his dick.

Attend the tale of Michael Vick. Rarely has a person with so much ability managed to flush his life down the crapper with such totality. (insert Mike Tyson) Seriously, could he have chosen a more heinous crime in the eyes of Americans? O.J. killed two human beings and a jury let him walk. Vick's peers weren't going to make that mistake. He was going to jail even if the jury were Klingons. Perhaps, if Vick can demonstrate either true remorse or exceptional football skill and, if some team owner is crazy enough to give him a shot, he might return to the game that made him rich and famous. Possible but unlikely.

As with most bizarre crimes, the public response says as much about us as it does the criminal. Martha Stewart did a little time for shading the truth about her investments and returned to being America's most annoying homemaker practically overnight. Michael Milken served two years for insider trading (actually a 98 count indictment) and is now the face of philanthropy.(I believe the first thing he gave away was his hair.) Robert Blake killed his wife (probably). Phil Spector killed his girlfriend (definitely) Then, of course, there's the Juice. None of these offenders could expect the level of contempt likely to accompany Michael Vick should he return to a public life.

O.J. was actually a minor celebrity right up to the moment he invaded the hotel room of some low-life in Vegas. Thankfully, there is no statue of limitations on stupid.

It's difficult to imagine a crime against any human (except children) that could have earned Michael Vick more enmity among the citizens of this country. So let me see if I understand, torturing dogs for sport is a serious crime. Torturing people to support megalomaniacal desire to wage war is praiseworthy. Please don't misunderstand, I like dogs too but dogs, like cows and chickens, are animals. I'm not suggesting that we permit felons like Michael Vick to go unpunished, only that we accord human beings the same level of dignity that we grant Lassie. (Presumably, if Vick had explained he was only trying to get the dogs to tell him about the next attack, he'd be a free man today.)

This is not either/or. Both crimes should be treated as crimes. Many people recommended mitigation in the Vick case because, they said, dog fighting was more culturally acceptable in the black community. That's racist crap but beside the point. Dick Cheney claims that he was saving America. Also crap. Also beside the point. Haul the son of a bitch into court and let him explain why a potential war with Iraq was worth shredding the Constitution. He might make a case for mitigation but not exoneration.

No one should want to see Michael Vick wear a football jersey any time soon. He should be barred from the game for the same reason that Pete Rose and Mark McGuire aren't in the Hall of Fame. Sports isn't just a job it's a contract with the fans. You have to be more than an exceptional player. You must also be a passable human being. The higher you rise in adulation, the higher the expectation of your character. Even Charles Barkley has to keep his demons under control.

Americans want to feel that their elected leaders meet those same high standards. Bill Clinton destroyed any chance of being considered a great man when he chose to play up-skirt with an intern. If the Bush Administration is so proud of its record, they should stop hiding behind executive privilege and come clean. Michael Vick's cell will be available shortly. We are a pretty forgiving country...unless you kill dogs.