On Aug. 25, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed a oneyear deal contract worth $970,000 to former Falcons and Jets quarterback, Michael Vick. While this could be a good move for Pittsburgh’s offense, Steelers fans have made their opinions evident.
Multiple petitions have been started to try and remove Vick from the roster. Thousands of tweets have been sent out, expressing their disgust for Vick and his past actions involving animal abuse. One Facebook page entitled, Pittsburghers against Michael Vick, has over 20,000 likes and is continuing to grow in size. This group protested outside of Heinz Field last Thursday, holding signs that read, “I‘ll take Pits over Points” or “Real Men Don’t Fight Dogs.”
Obviously what Vick did was disgusting and monstrous. No one can question that. However, Vick did his time in prison and has been trying to make amends within the NFL community and with the public. He’s apologized various times for his actions in the past, and has expressed his gratitude for a second chance.
Pittsburgh fans need to realize that Vick isn’t the only player on the roster with a criminal record. Fans love wide receiver Le’Veon Bell even though he’s been charged with driving under the influence and possession of marijuana multiple times. James Harrison has been involved in domestic violence, once hitting his girlfriend in an argument about getting his son baptized. Even Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was suspected of sexual assault charges and providing a minor with alcohol in the past.
Vick’s crimes seven years ago will continue to haunt him for the rest of his career, and that alone should be enough persecution.
The NFL has a surplus of players with past criminal records, and Steelers fans should quit pretending like Vick is the only Steeler who has made mistakes in the past. While Vick’s crimes are once again absolutely terrible, there are players in the NFL who have been charged with murder. Yet, they still remain to play and are still loved by some fans.
Overall, it’s ridiculous that the NFL is so lenient on what their players do in their spare time. Regardless of Vick’s past, the NFL has way too many criminals within its ranks.
Some players do a large amount of philanthropy work for some communities, yet it seems that players are featured in the news more for their mistakes. These people are paid millions of dollars to simply catch a leather ball. Yet, they are allowed to do whatever they want and have to pay a mere fraction of their extensive salary for their mistakes.
Perhaps one of the reasons players get involved in situations like Vick’s is because of the extensive wealth they have. Wealth and fame have ruined plenty of NFL stars. If the NFL had a stricter punishment system, perhaps there would be fewer criminals in the NFL.
Regardless of the “slap on the wrist” punish system of the NFL, Steelers fans need to grow up and realize the facts on recruiting Michael Vick. Yes, he messed up. He served his time in prison, and paid thousands of dollars. How many times can one person apologize for their mistakes and try and move on? Rather than accepting Vick’s blatant apologies to the public, they remain stubborn and unmoved. There are plenty of stars in the NFL that have done much worse than Vick, yet they remain in the NFL and are loved by thousands. Vick could be a valuable asset to the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the fact that Pittsburgh fans can’t get over it represents Pittsburgh in an ugly fashion.
