Wow, Michael Vick a Steeler?!?!
- Thread starter The Spin Meister
- Start date
Officially signed. I just cancelled my NFL Sunday Ticket and won't be watching a game at least for as long as he's on the payroll. F*ck that.
The guy paid his debt and he had no issues when he was an Eagle. I think he deserves a chance.
I would guess that every NFL has at least one person on the active roster charged with some crime. Not all convicted but charged, or at least a person of interest (Big Ben). The fact that your boycotting the organization because of Vick is confusing. I am a Steeler fan but by no means are they the spotless organization some pretend they are. Bell is suspended for the start of the year for drugs and a DUI, we all know big Ben's history, James Harrison was arrested for domestic violence, and I am sure others on top of that. The fact that you were ok with all of that, but Vick being signed is what is too much for you is a head scratcher. And no I am not ok with what Vick did, and I don't want him on this team because he isn't any good anymore.
Art Rooney Sr. would never have even talked to this guy, let alone signed him.
exactly. he did his time, paid his debts to society has not had any run ins with the law since then as far as I know, he only blames himself for what he did (yes after he got caught). I'm all about giving people second chances. I'll hold off on judgement so all this overreaction "I'm not watching another Steelers game!" IMHO is just that, overreaction but hey to each his own. Instead of canceling your NFL subscription why don't people just donate money to the SPCA.
It is an interesting insight on human behavior that we see very often in sports, politics, with coworkers, etc. If they are a member of 'your team'- there's a lot of leeway often given or a very different perspective/ approach taken as compared to when a member of the 'other team' (whether sports team, political party, person in another office, etc) does a similar thing. We all do it to some degree or another.
I'm done! Pittsburg has just dropped to new lows. NFL sucks anyhow
steelgles fan her and agree with your post. Was not a fan when he went to the Eagles and laid some cash on his over-under before he was cut. Lost that bet.
As my two dogs lay on my bed, i will say if i saw what he did in his prior "pastime," i would have shot him on the spot. I don't care about his on the field performance, but he has done a great job of redeeming himseslf since getting out of jail from one of the worst crimes out there.
If you are surprised that there are criminals actively playing in the NFL you need to read more. Guys that beat up their wives get second chances all the time. Why not Vic? IMHO, either throw them all out for a felony conviction or give them one strike. Vic, to my knowledge, has been a pretty good citizen since getting caught with the dog thing. Agreed that Big Ben deserves as much or more scrutiny. But he also has been a pretty good guy since his issue.
Agree he paid the debt that our society asked of him. I'm not saying he should be back in jail. I just can't support my sports team making him a member. It's just my persinal decision. I'm not saing everyone has to, or should, agree.
Ugh. Surprised it took someone this long to discard logic and make this leap. Because it apparently needed to be laid out more slowly for you, it's not the fact that he's a 'criminal' that is the issue here. All crimes are not equal.
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IIRC, Ernie "Arrowhead' Holmes spent three (or was it six) months in psychiatric hospital.
Ernie was diagnosed mental illness and did no jail time. Vick did 21 months in a Federal Prison. Ernie was a Steeler at the time of the event and Mr. Rooney would not turn his back on the guy. Vick, obviously, was not. I stand by my statement that Art Sr. would not have signed Vick.
So, you would have shot a guy in cold blood, thinking that is an appropriate reaction to the dog fighting? And you consider yourself to be...what...some sort of hero?
Did you even proof read your post before hitting "post reply"?
So, crimes against dogs are more severe than crimes against women?
You mean he was the only available back up QB out there? Pah lease.
He's 35, not very good and has an innate ability to get hurt, geez whats not to like?
Interesting that those who usually favor the idea of rehabilitation rather than punishment, don't want Vick to be able to use his marketable skills. Would they rather see him unemployed, dependent on the government, or worse, go back to being a criminal?
That is the second issue. I know Landry Jones isn't much, but I would have liked to see him play with the first team offense a bit. He did look decent Sunday.
Oh my god. WTF is wrong with people's ability to read these days??? Where did I even imply that?? Good god.
Yeah, the "dog people" are out in full force on this one. They would be ok with the Vick signing if he had merely killed people.
No. If he plays at all, they would rather see him playing for someone other than the Steelers. Oh, and as far as unemployed and dependent on the government, didn't he attend Virginia Tech for 3 years? Yes, he left early, but surely he learned enough there to stay off the government dime.
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Exactly. I don't care if some other team wants to sign him up. And frankly I wouldn't care if the Steelers hired him for some internal job (sweeping floors, an accountant, whatever). It's that the steelers chose to make him a representative of their team -- put a Steelers jersey on him -- that I hate. Picturing him there on the sidelines in a Steeler jersey, standing next to Tomlin, make me want to puke.
Ernie Holmes shot at a police helicopter while they were chasing him. Art Sr. got him off, twist it however you want though. I'm a Steeler fan but this crap that the Steelers some how do things different needs to stop. It's yinzer urban legend and the locals around here slurp it up by the spoon full.
I haven't been rooting for the Steelers since Ben got away with rape. Lost respect for the Rooneys as they shoulda traded him away then.
I know that if one of us did what he did, the very least that would have happened is that we would have gone bankrupt on lawyer fees to stay out of jail. Probably would have had to plea bargain down to sexual assault, short prison term, and a life time of registering as a sexual predator with all the restrictions and career damage that come along with that.
Even a back up QB would have been cut. But a star, Super-Bowl-winner QB gets away with it. That's football culture that I can't abide by.
But I do find it strange that people are more upset about Vick than they were about Ben. Facebook is going crazy over this. People and their pets are just crazy anymore.
I know that if one of us did what he did, the very least that would have happened is that we would have gone bankrupt on lawyer fees to stay out of jail. Probably would have had to plea bargain down to sexual assault, short prison term, and a life time of registering as a sexual predator with all the restrictions and career damage that come along with that.
Even a back up QB would have been cut. But a star, Super-Bowl-winner QB gets away with it. That's football culture that I can't abide by.
But I do find it strange that people are more upset about Vick than they were about Ben. Facebook is going crazy over this. People and their pets are just crazy anymore.
I didn't get to see the Steelers/Green Bay game but the previous games and last years pre-season games I thought Jones was horrible.
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Not only did he shoot at it, he hit it and the bullet went through the ankle of the pilot, ending his career. He was forced to land the helicopter in a field and get help before bleeding out.
Holmes was treated for mental illness. Met him once after he retired and he wasn't the brightest candle on the birthday cake.
What makes the Steelers special? This myth about the "Steeler Way", is well, a myth. The Steelers are no different than any other NFL team. They have had their share of players with questionable character just like everyone else going back to Ernie "gunner" Holmes and others during the 70's. The only NFL games I watch are Steeler games, I live in the Pittsburgh area, but the Steeler fans who want to act like the Steelers are somehow better than other organizations are delusional. They have had and have protected questionable players just like every other team in the NFL. Bottom line, they measure what the player did with how much the player can help the team. More often than not, if the player can help them win, they over look their indiscretion. Vick went to jail, served probation and put in a lot of community service hours. He has payed a bigger price than a lot of other NFL thugs who have committed worse crimes. I have no problem with him being the back up QB.
I am not a big Steeler fan. Yes, I live in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, but I don't live or die with their wins and losses. I rarely watch the games. Nothing they do colors my judgment. I am a lawyer and I deal in facts. Steelers Ernie had mental issues. I know that for a fact. He was diagnosed with acute paranoid psychosis. That is why he was shooting at the helicopter. On the night of the incident, before he fired the shots, he stopped a police officer and told him "trucks were after him". The police officer ignored him. Ultimately he did fire at the police and was arrested. In this country we try to get help for people with mental problems. Ernie got help, spending 2 months in a psychiatric hospital. When he got out he continued to receive help and became a productive member of society. I see a distinction between this and the Vick case. You do not. Fair enough.
You people trying to compare a wife/ girlfriend to a dog is a joke! Not that hitting a lady is EVER right! A lady can leave a dog on a chain be beaten daily used for bait for other dogs shocked into fighting for there lives is NOT the same thing!
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