I've always tried to avoid writing about Michael Vick because he's the center of debate for two sides who share little in common besides being incredibly obnoxious. When it comes to the NFL's biggest lightning rod there's apparently no room for nuances. One side hates him for life. The other holds him up as a symbol of redemption.
As you may be able to see, my profile picture up top is me playing with my two dogs, which is there partially due to my lifelong love for the animals, and partially because I have no idea how the hell to remove it. Like a lot of people (at least, I hope) I think what Vick did was disturbing, but reasonable people get over things. The news of Vick's dog fighting broke in 2007. There's got to be some other story you've latched onto since then.
Still, that hasn't stopped Vick from being part of another controversy related to his criminal past, something that seems to happen every time he switches teams.
As you might've heard last week, Michael Vick was signed to a contract by the Pittsburgh Steelers. And, as you also might of heard, that made a small and vocal minority of their fans very unhappy. Less than a week after the ink on his contract dried a petition to kick Vick out of the Steel City has amassed 30,000+ signatures. In addition to that, a group of fans organizing on Facebook have decided that this Thursday they'll gather outside Heinz Field to hold a candlelight vigil for "Victims of Michael Vick."
The elephant in the room, of course, is that the guy Vick is backing up has faced multiple sexual assault allegations (enter your own theory on why that is here).
Thus far, out of the 5,600 invitations, 739 people have RSVP'd for the vigil, which is scheduled to take place this Thursday evening from six until eight.
Expect this not to be the last you've heard about Vick and dogs, at least until he decides to retire.
And even then, probably not.
[via Facebook]
Send all complaints, compliments, and tips to sportstips@complex.com
