So, as we all know and previously discussed, Michael Vick is human garbage. No surprise that the NFL was happy to have him back though since we also all know that the NFL has for years been one of the top employment opportunities for sociopaths and scumbags who have some physical prowess. People still line up to pay huge amounts of money to see fucked up criminals play a game with each other and cheer them on as heroes and role models because they can throw a ball or run really fast. And that’s total fucking bullshit.
Would we not mind so much about that whole hating America and perpetrating 9/11 if Osama was the next Vince Lombardi? Would anyone give a fuck if Hitler was the Joe Montana of 1930s Germany (I mean besides the obvious historical interestingness of Hitler being a star athlete)? Charlie Manson has a hell of an arm, so while that terrible “incident” was indeed terrible, he’s sorry and really just ready to put it behind him and play some ball so lets all move on. Yeah, right, that’s totally fucking insane. Yet we get a multitude of stories this week about “The Redemption of Ben Roethlisberger” (Like this one that just drives me insane… )
So let me get this straight; dude is at the very least enough of a sexual predator that the we’ll-hire-convicted-murders NFL was willing to suspend one of their top quarterbacks for six weeks yet now he’s going to earn redemption because he wins the Superbowl. WHAT. THE. FUCK? So let’s just say for arguments sake that he was wrongly accused and isn’t a rapist piece of shit, what does his playing football well have to do with any of that? Karma dictates that because he was wrongly accused, he gets to win football? Is he getting sweet biblical revenge on all the “haterz” cause Jesus is hooking him up on the get back? Only a wrongly accused rapist gets to actually win a Superbowl. No? That’s crazy talk? Oh, well that’s pretty much what everyone is saying is the case, just more in a “he’s overcoming adversity” sort of parlance. Though I suppose getting in trouble for being a rapist is pretty fucking adverse for someone so it’s not really an out and out lie…
Even better/worse, let’s say he is in fact a sexual scumbag who at the very least is using his position of power to take advantage of women. But now he redeems himself cause he’s good at throwing a ball. He doesn’t find redemption in fully accepting culpability for his past crimes, apologizing to his victims and profoundly changing himself for the better. He get’s saved because he wins the Superbowl. I mean, shit, sorry ladies but this dude can play!
What the fuck is wrong with people that they think this is at all reasonable? You want to have rapists in your sports? Fine. You want to look up to them? Fine. These are personal decisions that people are free to make. You are a pretty fucked up asshole if you’re getting in line to support a rapist as a role model, but it’s a position one can take no matter how fucked up it may be (yay America!). However, you cross a line into totally fucking insanity land when you try and act like someone can be absolved of totally unrelated assaults against fellow humans based on their subsequent ability to do good at sports.
IT DOESN’T MATTER OF DUDE WINS THE SUPERBOWL OR NOT. If he is a rapist, HE IS STILL A RAPIST EVEN WITH THAT SWEET RING! Winning the Superbowl doesn’t somehow makes things better for his victims or do anything to show that he’s changed his attitudes about rape. It disgusts me to be a part of a society where we not only seem to embrace “redemption” only in the case of rich/successful/charismatic/famous people (cause really, fuck poor minorities who get caught with a joint three times, lock those fuckers up for life) but we try to make it such that this “redemption” is achieved not through deep soul searching and profuse heartfelt apologies for past transgressions that leads to serious personal growth, but through being successful at something totally unrelated. Nah, you don’t have to say sorry to that crazy bitch, just go out there and win slugger…
An even snottier aside… if you are going to go watch the Superbowl and back the NFL? Well guess what, you are part of the problem. You might complain about it, but you’re still supporting a culture and industry that is profiting OFF OF YOU, and perpetuating this sort of bullshit. It isn’t until people are willing to step the fuck up and say “hey, NFL, figure it the fuck out or I’m not going to watch your games and give you my money” that they will ever really change cause at the end of the day, they just care if they are getting paid or not. If you are really that nuts about sports that you can’t possibly not watch the NFL (oh Chino…), then you really need to be doing something, a lot of something, to make a loud voice from within that lets it be know that you will not just stand by while this shit is accepted and perpetuated.
Check out Dave Zirin, leftist sportswriter for the Nation.
http://www.edgeofsports.com/
What’s funny is that I don’t really even like sports that much, though I like reading about them, yet I’ve been writing about sports a lot lately. That dude looks interesting.
Dave is awesome. He is a sharp political mind, who just happens to write about sports. He has written a few books too. His first one called “Whats My Name Fool” is about left wing political resistance in sports and his newest is called “Bad Sports” and it exposes how owners have ruined sports.
I’ll check it out.
Also, seeing it on there reminds me how much Charles Barkley rules. On a whole bunch of levels, that dude is just great.
Hah strong dislike, although I totally back all your arguments. There are definitely lots of moments in my life where I wish I didn’t care, but I can’t help it.
Chino: You should check out the link above. The dude is awesome, but he is a Redskins fan.
matt- do you still have the charles barkley action figure. haha. tell me it is at least still in your mothers kitchen!!
Beautiful! I’ve been saying all along the only reason people get down on Michael Vick and not Ben Roethlisberger is that dogs can’t be persuaded to drop the charges.
I can say that its definitely not in the kitchen.
True, most sports ( baseball, football, basketball, etc) have a bunch of scumbags playing but some peeps will say the same about martial arts or mma. It’s about the GAME, man, THE GAME!!!
And the entertainment industry is just as bad. If you make money all is forgiven
A less tired defense of sports… Although there are a ton of criminals playing sports and profiting from the sports and the entertainment industry, I’d argue that the percentages aren’t that much different than the population. There are almost 2000 players in the NFL, and I’d say less than 5% have a criminal record and in sports like baseball and hockey, the percentage is much less. I hate Roethlisburger and Vick and will root against them every time, especially with Ben’s new found religious redemption, but there are a lot of examples of players using their fame and money for a better good. The Big Ben ‘redemption’ bothers me, Michael Vick being voted NFL Comeback Player of the Year after a self-induced prison stint is awful and if either of them were on my team, I’d have a harder time as a sports fan, but there are still players to root for.
The problem isn’t so much that all athletes are criminals, but rather that pro athletes should be held to a higher standard if they want to be millionaire role models. Like you said, there are plenty of fine people to look up to in sports, but it really seems as though if you are good enough, you can be as big a scumbag as you want and still reach the highest heights. Vick is a perfect example of people just easily glossing over his past because he’s doing really well. In very few other arenas would someone with his past be able to a couple years later be in the position he is in. If a firefighter sexually assaults someone, nobody cares if they are they best firefighter in the world, they are fucking done.
Personally, I’m a big fan of rehabilitation and redemption for people with past criminal acts (with some strong exceptions), but you have to walk a long hard path to reach that point. These dudes make some bullshit apology (or don’t even) and get to have hundreds of thousands of people rocking jerseys with their name on it. People need to recognize that if you are repping Roethlisburger, you’re pretty clearly saying that you don’t give a fuck about sexual assault as long as the perpetrator is good at something you like. Why isn’t everyone in the media and elsewhere making a much bigger deal about stuff like this?
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