bankroll gambling on dogfighting and helped kill some dogs not worthy of the pit.
Vick's guilt was never seriously in doubt as proof after proof emerged from the mounting pile of evidence against him, and in fact this merely puts the official seal on a case that has been pretty much moot since all of Vick's co-defendants agreed to plead guilty and give evidence against Vick. This, however, has not stopped the local NAACP and a number of columnists, including the New York Times's Selena Roberts from calling for Vick to be granted a second chance in the NFL. In fact, Roberts was very passionate in stating that this was not Vick's fault. She seems to believe that his friends ought to have stood up for him and not agreed to testify against him. Roberts wrote that Vick was "abandoned by his friends", as though Vick was somehow a victim.
Meanwhile, the NAACP is still trying to convince anyone who will listen that Vick is simply someone who "made a mistake". The also think that he ought to be allowed to resume his career without a single hiccup once he serves his time. According to one of their officials,
"As a society, we should aid in his rehabilitation and welcome a new Michael Vick back into the community without a permanent loss of his career in football," said R.L. White, president of the NAACP's Atlanta chapter. "We further ask the NFL, Falcons, and the sponsors not to permanently ban Mr. Vick from his ability to bring hours of enjoyment to fans all over this country."
White said the Falcons quarterback is a human being who has made a mistake and should be allowed to prove that he has learned from that mistake.
Funny- I don't recall either the NAACP or Roberts arguing for the Duke students accused of rape. I don't recall either of them making the case that since the worst that the students could possibly be accused of was holding a party where drinking took place and two srippers were hired. In fact, Roberts called for other students to step forward and incriminate their fellow teammates by telling the police and prosecutors stories of a rape that quite simply never occurred. However, she was strangely advocating the exact opposite position in respect to Vick- calling for his fellow criminals NOT to break silence and testify against him. Yes, Vick was clearly guilty and the Duke trio proved almost immediately that they had a strong case in favor of their innocence.
Roberts and the NAACP have proved once again that they are simply interested in advancing their own agendas- not in providing accurate or objective commentary on the subject of face in these United States. It would be nice if they would have given this much attention to the damage they did to innocent people falsely accused, and not to guilty people who will have to earn their way to redemption. But of course, that might mean actually being color-blind- something neither the NAACP nor Selena Roberts (despite the lily-white community where she lives) appears able to do.
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