The Last Place You'd Expect This

I am beyond furious. And I am a little startled with my reaction. This morning I was quietly working away and my phone rang. It was Max ... asking if I had seen the news regarding Michael Vick. Ummm ... no, what's going on?

Michael Vick, the star quarterback of the Atlanta Falcons had a federal indictment handed down on him regarding dog fighting.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19836601/site/newsweek/site/newsweek/

I tend to not react too badly when stars are idiots. It's what they do. There are so few of them anymore that do anything to garner my respect, I just plan on them being low-lifes. And sports stars? Puh-leeze. They make millions of dollars for doing their thing. Not something I will give them a lot of respect for. The ones that we decide to honor generally turn out to be ... well, idiots. They pump steroids in their bodies, they beat their wives and girlfriends, they act like morons when they drink. Pretty much just like the rest of the general population, but they get paid large amounts of money and plant themselves firmly in the public eye.

So why am I so furious? I am sick and tired (and avoiding all of the expletives I'd like to use as adjectives) of these sports stars parading around the world, asking for young people to give them respect and their money and they have absolutely no sense (avoiding more expletives) regarding their own responsibility.

What is this man thinking? That it's appropriate for him to be killing animals and torturing them so that they will fight with each other? That abuse like that is the right thing to do? What in the hell?!?!

I picture a young boy from Georgia sleeping at night with a number "7" Atlanta Falcons jersey and tonight, his mother just can't stomach allowing him to wear it one more night. So, she has to explain to her son that this man isn't worthy of his adoration. Or young men graduating from high school, who have thought all along "I can be that good. I can work hard and become a star... just like Michael Vick. He's a hero." And tonight. He's not. He is less than a fallen hero. He's a jackass. Has he given a celebrity's approval to the hideous sport of dogfighting? Something that is illegal in more than 50 states? What in the hell was he thinking? How does a man who makes millions of dollars playing football think that he needs to make more money doing something as awful as this.

I'm furious. I want this man slammed in jail for a very long time. I want him stripped of all of his endorsements and I want the Falcons organization to dump him right now. I don't do rage very well and I generally want to wait until things are out there before I make judgments. I rarely believe that excessive jail time is appropriate. But, tonight. Throw the book at him.