Muller: Michael Vick Gets Key To The City Of Dallas? Unreal
By Shawn Muller--
So, let me get this straight: Michael Vick got the key to the city of Dallas this weekend, by Mayor Pro Tem, Dwaine Caraway?
Um…what?
I have seen some ridiculous things in my 31 years on this planet, but Michael Vick getting the key to the city of Dallas because he, according to Caraway, "is telling the kids and exchanging with them the rights and wrongs of the things that he did and encouraging kids to further their education and to not deal drugs. To obey their parents and pick the people they hang around with. That is a message I would challenge anybody to say that not one kid across America shouldn't hear from people in notoriety such as Michael Vick."
Come again?
No offense Mr. Caraway, but you are a complete idiot.
Look, I understand that Michael Vick has "paid his debt to society" for the crimes that he committed, but to give him the key to the city of Dallas? Really? I am sorry, but I just don't buy it, and, quite frankly, I think this is a complete joke.
Michael Vick deserves the key to the city of Dallas about as much as Charles Manson deserves parole. Now, the Manson comparison is obviously extreme, but the point is, both situations are absurd. How could anyone with half a brain think that what Mr. Caraway did would be a good idea, and he not expect some sort of back lash because of it? You have proven, Mr. Caraway, that you are a joke and you have made the city of Dallas—undeservedly so--a joke as well.
I am sorry that I don't feel the same sense of "pride"—for a lack of a better word—towards Vick that some people do because he "rehabilitated" himself, and, all of a sudden, has become such a great human being. Sure, he may have done his time, but that doesn't make him a "model citizen" for kids to look up to…not today and not in the future.
If you really wanted to give the children of your great city a role model Mr. Caraway, how about giving the key to the city to a football player that actually exudes what it truly means to be a positive influence on and off the field.
How about a player like this year's Walter Payton Award winner, Vikings safety, Madieu Williams? Instead of paying $2 million dollars in legal fees, this man actually put his money to good use…you know…towards a positive cause. His generous donation helped create the Madieu Williams Center for Global Health at the University of Maryland, which focuses on public health issues in Maryland and his native country of Sierra Leone. He has also funded the construction of one school in Sierra Leone and is in the process of funding another.
Oh, by the way…I forgot to mention that Williams wasn't on hand to receive his award at the Super Bowl on Sunday… he was too busy visiting with members of our armed forces in the Persian Gulf. Seems like a person I would want the children of my city trying to emulate. Don't you agree?
Williams, along with the other Walter Payton Award finalists, Chicago's Israel Idonije and Oakland's Nnamdi Asomugha, exude a selflessness that is rarely seen in today's pro athletes. These players use their influence and place in the spotlight to better the lives of people, instead of trying to take advantage of the judicial system for their own well-being.
Let's be honest, shall we?
Michael Vick is not sorry for the actions he took that put him in prison.
He is sorry that he got caught…plain and simple.
Do you really think that he would not be doing the same horrendous things he did to his dogs prior to being caught because—all of a sudden—he would wake up one day and realize what he was doing was wrong? Of course he wouldn't, and anyone out there that really thinks this would have occurred, is lying to themselves as well.
What separates people like Michael Vick from your everyday scumbag is, people like Vick have the money—or the opportunity to make enough money again-- to make their problems "magically" disappear. How are the people that make millions of dollars a year more "deserving" of getting their lives back on track as opposed to the guy that has nothing? How are they able to shed the negativity surrounding their misdeeds, while a person who commits the same acts that isn't famous, basically gets "black balled" from society? Are stars lives more important than yours or mine?
No…they are not....and money or no money, they should be treated the same way in the eyes of the public and inside the walls of a courtroom. People make excuses for the transgressions of famous people all the time. They try to paint them in a positive light...like they miraculously "saw the light" during their ordeal and they have learned from the mistakes they made.
If they have learned anything, it's the fact that, no matter what the crime…and no matter how dirty the skeletons in their closets may be…if you have the money you can make all your problems disappear.
And apparently…get the key to a city.
Do you agree with Shawn? Post your comments below.
Shawn Muller has lived in Chicago for 7 years. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and just recently received his certificate in radio broadcasting in October of 2010. Sports have always been a passion of Shawn's. In his free time, Shawn enjoys spending time with his wife Melissa and 3 year old daughter Ava, catching any live sporting event, and traveling. Check out his radio show, "Grab Some Bench with Muller and Bangser" at www.blogtalkradio.com/spmuller24.
