Today I was watching ESPN's First Take (as I normally do on my day off) and the analysts on the show (Robe Parker of the Detroit Free Press and Skip Bayless) brought up the topic something along the lines of "if Michael Vick were a white QB in the NFL would he had been treated the same?"
I immediately said to myself that no he wouldn't for a couple of reasons. I always felt that each sport needed that one poster child for bad behavior and the consequences and repercussions that incur if you choose not to curb your behavior to suit that of the organization, and that the good ol' U.S of A is still plagued with underlying and masked racism.
So later in the day while on Twitter I hear the grumbling of an article wrote by an author by the name of Toure that wrote and article on the very same topic. There seemed to be a huge backlash over a picture that seems to represent what Mike Vick would look like as a white QB. (see pic at the top)
From my interpretation in reading the article, Toure expresses his feelings towards Mike and how he feels that his dog fighting actions weren't that of a impoverished black male growing up in the hood and achieving success, but that of an individual who had amassed the success and felt that his monetary successes gave him a sense of entitlement and invincibility.
Now I do agree with parts of the article and respect his opinion and POV, there are parts that I starkly disagree with.
Would a white kid have been introduced to dog fighting at a young age and have it become normalized to the extent that he builds it into his life after he joins the NFL? It's possible, but it's far less likely because what made Vick stand out among dog fighters is less race than class.
My answer to that is yes! Being afforded the opportunity to live in Virginia in 2007, I got the chance to explore different parts of the state and encounter a wide variety of people. From the wealthy independent business owners,stock brokers, to politicians, to athletes, to the dope boys, dudes stuck in the "trap", hood n****s, and everything in between. And the one thing about 80% of them had in common was a southern mentality and way of thinking. From the dudes in the hood, to the wealthy business men, they ALL talked about dog fighting. (mind you, I'm not a dog lover or anything) It was a way of life for them! It's just something that they did. Just the same way it would be normal for someone to catch a train, bus, or cab in NYC. The article just makes it seems as though only black impoverished people were a part of the dog fighting.
Another part of the article I found hard to grasp was when he asked.
"If Vick grew up with the paternal support that white kids are more likely to have (72 percent percent of black children are born to unwed mothers compared with 29 percent of white children), would he have been involved in dog fighting?"
This question seems a bit out of place for me because like I said experiencing first hand that a lot of black males that I encountered that were poor had both parents around and were still into dog fighting, but again YES! they would have because a lot of successful white people that I encountered were married with children and the father's were active in their children's lives fought dogs because that was the way of life down there.
Aside from those two points I enjoyed the article and it made me think enough to make me blog about it. Keep up the amazing work and much success to you and your upcoming book.
P.S. Please don't take the time out to respond to all that stupidity on Twitter. It'll exhaust you sooner than later.
Peace and Love
