The face of ... well, you call it

At the very close of 2010, Tucker Carlson made a strong big for Cretin of the Year. Which isn't that surprising. Carlson's ability to continue to find employment on one cable news network or another speaks to the content of the 24-hour news cycle (not favorably).

Saying that Michael Vick should have been executed for the killing of dogs may not be the dumbest thing he’s ever said, but it’s certainly in the top 5.

I would explain why it’s dumb, but if you really need an explanation, you most likely wouldn’t understand it.

Oops … he did it again?

It appears that Michael Vick might have been less than forthcoming in a statement to authorities.

If true, this would surprise us … why?

Vick — I don’t really have to go into his history, do I? — said through his lawyer that he was “long gone” from the Virginia Beach, Fla., restaurant that hosted his 30th birthday bash by the time someone was shot nearby.

That someone has been identified as Quanis Phillips, a co-defendant in the dogfighting case that resulted in Vick being a guest of the feds for 18 months — and someone Vick was supposed to not have any contact with as a condition of his parole.

Vick lawyer Larry Woodward said Vick departed between 10 and 20 minutes before the gunshots rang out, but a partner of the restaurant says a video surveillance tape shows Vick leaving just three minutes before shots were fired — and he was heading in the direction of where the shooting took place.

And yes, the partner has turned the evidence over to the police.

Responded Woodward: I stand by what I said, that Michael was long gone before the shooting, does not know who did the shooting and had nothing to do with the shooting," Woodward said Tuesday. "Anyone who says any different better be very careful."

Gee, counselor, that sounds awfully like a threat. But may I suggest — every so respectfully — that Vick has a history of uh … prevarication under stress. And he’s the one I think who ought to be careful. He’s still on parole, remember? And the last time I looked, courts and their authorities don’t liked to be lied to.

Oh, and neither does the NFL commissioner. Your client just might remember what happened the last time he was less than truthful to Roger Goodell.

Friday column: Time to get in touch with reality

I thought it a good thing when the NFL reinstated Michael Vick, and I believe that Vick, for the most part, has handled his return pretty well.

I root for him to continue to rebuild his life. America, after all, is a redemption nation. And today is Christmas, which is the beginning of a redemption story.

For all that, I was taken back by word that Vick’s Philadelphia Eagles teammates had voted him the Ed Block Courage Award, given to players throughout the league who exemplify commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.

No doubt going from a luxe life to prison following his conviction for running a dogfighting ring was difficult, and coming back and facing the public’s scrutiny and, in some cases, hostility, was difficult.

On the other hand, what was he going to do? He knows how to do one thing: play football, and this year he’s being paid $1.6 million to do so. Next year, if the Eagles pick up his option, he’ll be paid $5.2 million.

Courage? Really?

“I’ve overcome a lot, more than probably one single individual can handle or bear,” Vick said. “You ask certain people to walk through my shoes, they probably couldn’t do. Probably 95 percent of the people in this world because nobody had to endure what I’ve been through …”

Has Vick actually taken a look at what so many people in the world have to endure on a daily basis? His comment suggests he still thinks of himself — to some degree — as a victim. If that’s the case, his teammates didn’t do him any favors by honoring him for his “courage.”

* * *

As Vick, it appears, still has enablers to buffer his encounter with reality, so does Tiger Woods. No one in sport was bigger than Woods, and the bigger the athlete/celebrity, the bigger the entourage.

Think of how many people must have known about his serial infidelities, and not only stood by and watch as he put his family at risk, but actively helped, setting up rendezvous and covering his tracks.

Such a favor they did him.

Even now, he has “friends” making excuses for his behavior, saying such things as the public doesn’t understand the pressure he was under. Now, Woods’ agent, Mark Steinberg, is beseeching the media, “Let’s please give the kid a break.”

Kid? In five days, Woods turns 34. He may have acted like a adolescent, but a third of his life is gone. Woods needs to start acting like an adult.

This cannot be a merry Christmas for Woods or any part of his family. Next year’s could be better. But to make it so, Woods need to do many things, including come out from behind his protective barriers and facing the world — sans sycophants.

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.

Friday column: Gladwell might be barking up right tree

In a recent New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell drew a comparison between dogfighting and football, especially pro football.

He drew an analogy between the damage done to dogs in the pit and the damage done to players on the field, between the disposability of dogs and the disposability of players.

I first thought Gladwell had gone around the bend. But after looking at Roger Goodell’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, I’m not so sure.

In his article, Gladwell brought up Michael Vick, who spent 19 months in prison for running a dogfighting ring. One of the things that intensified the reaction to Vick’s actions was his lying about them, his refusal — until forced — to accept responsibility for the terrible physical damage he had caused.

The long failure to accept responsibility was one of the reasons Goodell made Vick jump through so many hoops to get reinstated to the game — including a
4 1/2-hour interview with Goodell so the commissioner could determine if Vick’s remorse was sincere.

Which brings us to Wednesday’s hearing on the NFL and head injuries, where Goodell refused to answer a straightforward question from committee Chairman John Conyers.

In the wake of studies connecting football head trauma with dementia and other cognitive problems — including a study sponsored by the NFL — Goodell was asked if he believed there was a a injury-disease connection.

His response was to tout the league’s desire to make the game safer. A longtime politician, Conyers knows stonewalling when he hears it. “I just asked you a simple question,” he said. “What is the answer?”

Goodell responded that a medical expert could give a better answer than he could. Well, as a matter of fact, they did, and cited for the committee “growing and convincing evidence” of a link between the football and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a condition that has resulted in depression, rage and suicide.

I understand why Goodell wouldn’t admit what seems to be increasingly obvious. If he admits the truth, he admits liability, and he knows there will be consequences. Much like Vick knew that if he admitted to sponsoring dogfights, there would be consequences.

More and more, the NFL is looking like Big Tobacco when it denied that smoking causes cancer. And a little bit like a certain former Atlanta Falcon who denied having anything to do with brutalized “animal athletes.”

Eventually Vick was compelled to admit the truth about his activities, and the damage his “sport” caused. One day, the NFL and Goodell will be compelled to admit the damage their sport caused and continues to cause.

When that happens, I wonder if former players and their families will want to interview Goodell for 4 1/2 hours to see if he truly is remorseful.

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.

Even when he was killing those dogs?

Here’s the thing.

If you’re going to wear something in a football game as an endorsement or sign of support — such as Terrelle Pryor wearing eyeblack with the name “Vick” on it — you really need to be able to explain that support.

It doesn’t have to be much, but it has to be coherent.

And saying the following, as the Ohio State quarterback did after the Buckeyes’ season-opening victory over Navy, doesn’t quite cut it:

“Not everybody's the perfect person in the world. I mean everyone kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me, whatever. I think that people need a second chance, and I've always looked up to Mike Vick, and I always will.”

“Everyone kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me ...” What?

“I've always looked up to Mike Vick”? Always?

With friends like these …

So far, things have gone pretty well for Michael Vick. Whether you believe he’s truly repentant or not, he’s basically handled himself well, resulting in his signing with the Philadelphia Eagles.

He’s forged an alliance with the Humane Society, and PETA, while not supportive, has been rather quiet — for them. Everything’s going well.

Time for the NACCP to get involved!

Yes, the NAACP and other civil-rights organizations scheduled a pro-Vick rally Thursday at Lincoln Financial Field, unnecessarily injecting the divisive issue of race into the equation. Leading the charge was one J. Whyatt Mondesire, head of the local NAACP, who distinguished himself in 2005 with a bizarre, racially tinged broadside against fellow African American Donovan McNabb (don’t ask).

“We believe Michael Vick has served his time, paid his debt to society, and deserves a second chance, and the animal-rights groups want to hold him hostage for the rest of his life,” Mondesire said.

Actually, as noted above, the animal-rights groups have thus far played it fairly cool.

We’ll see what they do after you get through, J. Whyatt.

Props for McNabb

It is to Donovan McNabb’s credit that he not only approved the Eagles’ signing of Michael Vick, but lobbied for it.

For any NFL quarterback to lobby for the signing of another athlete that conceivably could take his place — regardless of the circumstances — takes cojones. And something else.

Heart.

Friday column: Can Vick turn life around? Let’s find out

The running of the dogfighting ring — and all that entails — is bad enough. The consistent lying — to his team owner, to the NFL commissioner, to the feds — is bad enough.

But what’s really disturbing about Michael Vick’s crimes is his hands-on involvement in the killing of the defenseless animals. It implies an enjoyment of the act that suggests a deep sickness of the soul — if not sociopathy.

So, I understand the attitude of those who don’t want Vick back playing football in the NFL, making millions of dollars — even if he owes millions to creditors — or being in the limelight — even if, as he says, he’ll use that limelight to fight the kind of animal cruelty he participated in for years.

“Why?” asked two people — both women — when I said I was glad the Philadelphia Eagles had signed Vick. I mention gender because a Marist Poll showed a split on the issue. Although 69 percent of male football fans polled backed Vick’s reinstatement, only 39 percent of female fans supported it. Overall, while 57 percent were in favor, 43 were opposed or unsure.

I understand the resistance to giving Vick a second chance.

If I had a dollar — wait, just a nickel — for every athlete’s apology that was insincere, I’d be on the Cote d’Azur sipping a cool one rather than writing this column. Just two weeks ago, I made fun of plans for a “Michael Vick Celebration Day” in his hometown of Newport News, Va., a celebration reportedly conceived of by Vick himself. I thought it suggested that despite the 19 months Vick spent in prison, he still hadn’t “gotten it.”

But doubts are not enough to prevent a man, once freed from jail, a chance to work. The real question, of course, is how free is Vick from his old lifestyle and his old way of thinking?

The answer: Who knows?

Other than the “Celebration Day” hiccup, Vick has said and done the right things. Vick’s mentor, Tony Dungy, an intelligent and honorable man, says the quarterback is truly repentant.

Such a turnaround is possible.

I think of another man who participated in acts in barbarism — in this case, to fellow human beings, perhaps to Vick’s ancestors. He traded in men, women and children — as depraved an activity as is possible.

This man was John Newton, who became an Anglican clergyman, wrote “Amazing Grace” and successfully fought against the very slave trade he had engaged in for years.

Over time — and it takes time — Newton, once a collaborator with evil, became a force for good, and a formidable one at that. Can Vick do the same?

I don’t know. Let’s give him a chance and see.

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.

Now, it's up to him

Based on his inviting his hometown to host “Michael Vick Celebration Day,” I questioned whether the former Atlanta Falcon and recent jailbird had truly “gotten it.” I still question that, but I’m glad an NFL team — Philly — has stepped up and signed him.

So he has his chance. With the wise assistance of Tony Dungy, perhaps he will prove doubters like me wrong. I hope I will be proven wrong. We’ll see.

Friday column: So ... so much to celebrate

So.

You’re Michael Vick.

You’ve gone away to prison for 19 months. You’ve lost tens of millions of dollars in income and fines and are tens of millions in debt. You recently were voted the most disliked man in sports.

You’re a pariah not only for your conviction on dogfighting charges but for your personal, hands-on role in the savage torturing and killing of innocent animals.

Your “conditional” reinstatement to the NFL is dependent upon your behavior, your true repentance and evidence that you finally “get it,” that you — you alone — ultimately are responsible for the unmitigated disaster that is your life.

So you …

… decide it’s time for Michael Vick Community Celebration day!

Yes, the good folks in Vick’s hometown of Newport News, Va., are cooking up a day to honor the life of one Michael Dwayne Vick — with Vick’s blessing.

Actually, it’s with more than his blessing.

“It was his idea,” John Eley, one of the organizers, told The Associated Press. “Vick wanted to give back to the community, like he always does.”

Vick wants to “give back to the community” by staging a celebration for himself?

Uh yeah, he definitely “gets it,” all right.

* * *

So.

You’re Dodgers owner Frank McCourt.

Your team went ahead with Manny Ramirez bobblehead night even though your left fielder had been suspended for 50 games for having taken a banned drug.

OK, you’re a business, and 50,000 dolls already had been ordered. I understand.

Then it’s revealed that your left fielder apparently was a steroid user back way back in 2003, thus bringing more embarrassment to your team.

So you …

... order up another 50,000 dolls for a second Manny bobblehead night!

Why not another night for you, Frank. You’re the real bobblehead.

* * *

So.

You’re Boston’s David Ortiz.

When news comes out that your name was on the list of players who tested positive for banned substances in 2003, you say, “You know me — I will not hide and I will not make excuses.”

So ...

... you hide and refuse to answer questions for more than a week!

Now you say you’re going to address the issue Saturday, so we’ll find out then about the not-making-excuses part. If you stonewall, may I suggest a bobblehead night for you? Or perhaps even a “David Ortiz Community Celebration”?

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.

Dept. of Denials

It's not true, not any of it.

That's the word from Larry Woodward, a lawyer for Michael Vick.

A report that Vick spent his first night of freedom at a Virginia Beach strip club is, Woodward said, "absolutely, categorically false."

Vick, he said, was not been Virginia Beach Monday night, let alone at a strip club.

Ben Roethlisberger, meanwhile, says allegations by a Lake Tahoe casino hostess that he raped her a year ago are "reckless and false."

“Saturday was the first I heard of her accusations,” Roethlisberger said. “Her false and vicious allegations are an attack on my family and on me. I would never, ever force myself on a woman.”

Friday column: Getting to the heart of things isn't easy

Roger Goodell wants to search the heart of Michael Vick.

I wish him luck.

In discussing the former Atlanta quarterback’s chances of being reinstated to the NFL, the commissioner said, “I think it’s clear he’s paid a price, but to a large extent he’s going to have to demonstrate … that he has remorse for what he did and that he recognizes mistakes that he made.”

Vick has apologized, but Goodell is looking for more than words; he’s looking for something that indicates true repentance, not just regret for getting caught.

But how does one judge a person’s heart, especially when there’s incentive — in Vick’s case, millions of dollars from a resumed NFL career — to feign contrition?

Candor was the question facing Houston Texans running back Ryan Moats and his wife this week when Officer Robert Powell apologized for turning a traffic stop into a scene from RoboCop.

Powell acted like a jerk after pulling over Moats for running a red light as Moats and his wife tried to get to a hospital to see her mother in the final minutes of her life. Powell not only was not sympathetic, he pulled his gun and pointed it at Tamishia Moats when she kept walking toward the hospital and her dying mother.

It’s worth noting that Powell’s apology came through his lawyers, and that it’s not the first time the officer has been accused of over-reacting, leaving him on thin ice with the Dallas Police Department.

Despite that, on Monday the couple accepted the apology. Ryan Moats did add, however, “I hope it’s sincere.”

Ah, there’s that heart thing again.

If motive for proffered remorse is suspect for a man trying to reclaim a fortune or a man trying to keep his job, how about for a man facing a life sentence for torture and murder?

Tuesday, Kaing Guek Eav — better known as Duch — former commandant of a Khmer Rouge torture house, apologized in a Cambodia courtroom, saying, “I would like to express my heartfelt sorrow.”

Prosecutors were unimpressed, noting that Duch’s contrition didn’t come until many years later. The time lag, of course, doesn’t preclude the sorrow from being genuine. But who knows?

I will say this: Duch struck the right chord when he said, “My current plea is that I would like you to please leave an open window for me to seek forgiveness.”

Powell resigned Wednesday, which doesn’t change the fact that Moats and his wife left an open window for him. Was their acceptance of his apology justified? If Vick and Duch are believed, will that belief be justified?

Some 14 centuries ago, a Hebrew prophet named Jeremiah said it best: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

As I said, I wish Goodell luck. Anyone judging hearts needs it.

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.

The usual suspects

So.

The NFL Players Association is appealing the fine and suspension given Plaxico (Quick Draw McGraw) Burress after his little nightclub shooting incident.

What a surprise.

The NFLPA, after all, exists in part to contest the consequences of bad behavior, coming to the aid of such notables as Michael Vick and Pacman Jones.

That’s what the union does, I mean, when it’s not allegedly conspiring with EA Sports to cheat retired players out of the money due them for use of their likenesses in the popular Madden NFL game.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080930-lawsuit-nflpa-conspired-with-ea-to-cheat-retired-players.html

Also coming to the defense of Burress is Miami linebacker Joey Porter. (That's him above in one of his calmer moments.)

"For a person to carry a gun, I mean, you're not carrying a gun to show that ‘I'm tough.’ It's safety, it's nothing but safety," Porter said.

And exactly how did carrying a loaded pistol — which his firing into his thigh indicates he obviously didn’t know how to handle — make Burress safe?

It should be noted that Porter is sensitive to the issue of player fines, having been hit in the wallet several times himself, most notably for nearly $150,000 after attacking Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Levi Jones in a Vegas casino in 2007.

Friday column: Reinstate Vick? Why not? He'll fit right in

Michael Vick is eyeing an early release from stir and a return to the NFL.

As Vick’s recent bankruptcy filing indicates, he has several reasons — several million, in fact — to get back to the league that once enriched him to the tune of $62 million and promised him tens of millions more.

And he has several reasons to believe he will find a job in league that would find a place for Ghengis Kahn if the Mongol could get a key first down in a big game against a division rival.

Consider Jerramy Stevens.

Stevens’ record includes a string of arrests involving alcohol, drugs and violence, and he almost certainly sexually assaulted a 19-year-old woman freshman during his days at the University of Washington. Stevens was booked in the incident — in which a date-rape drug may have been used — but for reasons of incompetence and football favoritism, he was never prosecuted. Reportedly, however, he did pay $300,000 to settle a civil suit in the matter.

None of that moral baggage has stopped Stevens from finding gainful employment in the National Felon League, most recently with Tampa Bay.

I would call him an animal, but it would offend the sensibilities of PETA — and rightly so.

But the word animal, of course, brings us back to Vick, convicted in 2007 of multiple dogfighting charges.

In recent days, three stories shedding light on Vick and his situation have hit the news:

One concerned Vick’s bankruptcy claims, a tale of bad judgment and excess illuminated in part by his writing “chump change” on a $1,000 check to his mother, and his sporting diamond-stud earrings and a charm with the inscription: “World Is Mine.”

Another concerned his pleading guilty to state charges in a plea deal that could spring him from prison by July 2009. Vick told the judge, “I want to apologize to the court, my family, and to all the kids who looked up to me as a role model.”

Of course, this is the same Vick who, when the feds first raided his canine gulag, told NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell “I love dogs.” Which brings us to the third story.

According to a David Whitley column in the Orlando Sentinel, a confidential report on Vick’s criminal activities paints an even darker picture of the man than we had, including his putting family pets in the ring with fighting dogs and laughing as they were mauled.

Still, in a league that that gives Leonard Little — who has a manslaughter conviction on his rap sheet — Pacman Jones and, yes, Jerramy Stevens multiple chances, what’s to keep Vick from putting on a helmet again?

Nothing that the NFL believes in, that’s for certain.

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.

Friday column: Such touching personal sacrifice

This story moved Monday:

“NEW YORK (AP) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein and six other top executives at the bank will not be receiving cash or stock bonuses for 2008, a spokesman said Sunday.

The decision was made by the seven executives themselves, said spokesman Lucas Van Praag …. The executives made the decision ‘because they think it's the right thing to do,’ Van Praag said.”

Now, the story didn’t mention that Goldman was under a bit of pressure, as it and eight other banks had recently accepted $125 billion from Uncle Sam, leading the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to wonder how — in light of that taxpayer bailout — the banks could possibly justify billions of dollars in pay and bonuses.

Still, I’m certain the Goldman honchos are just doing “the right thing.” And I, for one, am quite moved by their sacrifice. For now the execs will have to live on their paltry base salaries of $600,000.

With luck, they remembered to sock away some of their past bonus money for these hard times. Last year, for instance, Blankfein (that's him in the photo) received a $70 million bonus. I hope he didn’t blow it all on the purchase of, say, a small Third World country.

My heart goes out to the Goldman execs, not only because of their reduced circumstances but because they’re inspirations to us regular folk, as are all the recent sports figures who’ve made sacrifices for the greater good — for purely humanitarian reasons, you understand. Surely you remember these stories from recent years:

— Jan. 11, 2008
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — Marion Jones will voluntarily give up competing in the 2008 Olympic Games, she said Thursday in a phone call from a federal courthouse. “I think it best to give some younger girls the opportunity to shine,” she said, adding, apparently to someone in the room with her, “Do I get time off for good behavior?”

— Sept. 14, 2007
Boston (AP) — New England coach Bill Belichick said he would voluntarily stop surreptitiously taping his opponents’ signals for the “good of the game.” Said Belichick: “It’s just not fair what I’ve been doing, it’s just not right,” adding, apparently to someone in the room with him, “What $500,000 fine?”

— Dec. 10, 2007
ATLANTA (AP) — Michael Vick said today he would voluntarily give up playing quarterback for the Falcons, allowing the team to “move on” and find another signal caller. “I’ve caused them some embarrassment, so this is just the right thing to do. They don’t even have to pay me my salary,” said Vick, adding, apparently to someone in the room with him: “Officers, are those leg irons really necessary?”

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.