Let due process take its course in Michael Vick case

News Virginian
Published: August 6, 2007

The FBI apparently has done what so many linebackers could not: Bring down Michael Vick. The quarterback whose slippery scrambles and mad dashes made him one of sport's hottest commodities is on the brink of personal ruin over allegations that he financed a dogfighting ring and plunked down thousands of dollars in wagers on the action.

If the former Virginia Tech star is guilty, he deserves whatever the justice system metes out.

That could mean prison time along with tens of thousands of dollars in fines in addition to the tens of millions of dollars already lost in cancelled endorsements.

That would be a fitting punishment for a crime that is as foolish as it is horrific.

Vick, whose off-the-field troubles have become as remarkable as his play, should have known better.

Yet almost as mystifying as Vick's alleged transgressions is the spectacle surrounding his descent from the top of the sports pantheon.

On one side are the animal-rights groups whose aim appears to be as much about getting in front of television cameras as it is about safeguarding this pseudo sport's four-legged victims.

On the other side are the NAACP and other groups who have dragged race into the conversation.
People who participate in the barbarism of dogfighting are pitiable.

That a young man of such immense talent would fritter it all away by engaging in such mindless cruelty is just plain sad.

Yet such people also are culpable. People who willingly break the law should not be surprised when authorities come knocking.

Let's allow the system to work in Vick's case. And in the meantime, let's hope we're spared the mock indignation on all sides.