Welcome to Hell
My oh my. Which Federal Investigation involving the sports world to comment on first? The NBA referee who was allegedly shaving points for the mob over the past two seasons? The NFL Quarterback who has been indicted for sponsoring and running an illegal dog-fighting ring on his property? Or perhaps the fall of the most hallowed record in all of sports, being toppled by a man under Federal perjury investigation?
Quite a week to be a scandal reporter. Their BlackBerries are going to need a long charge after this is all sorted out.
I think for the purposes of this post, we’re going to stick to the Vick story. Mostly because I simply wish Barry Bonds would go away, and I don’t want to fall victim to the insta-reaction of the NBA case. Plus, I’m not that big of an NBA fan anyway, so why waste space with uninformed analysis? Let’s just say that if it’s true, that sport is in trouble.
I haven’t been a religious person for quite some time now, but I have always believed that there is a special section of Hell reserved for those that prey upon creatures that can’t defend themselves. Mike Vick may have just punched his ticket.
Ignoring the legal side of this story, the sports and sports business angles are absolutely fascinating. For starters, the guy is probably toast with any endorsements, no matter the outcome of any potential trial. It’s like a person whose name is tossed into any allegation of something heinous – rape, murder, etc. – no matter how it turns out, there’s always a lingering suspicion. There will always be people who believed that three Duke lacrosse players raped a “dancer” (re: hooker), no matter how much evidence is provided to the contrary.
Sure Nike hasn’t dumped his ass yet. Just wait. They’ve already pulled his “signature shoe” and are yanking ad campaigns left and right. I wouldn’t be surprised to see his other sponsors (I believe Gatorade falls into that category) pull their ads shortly.
The bigger business side of this is what happens if these sponsors threaten to pull ads from the NFL in general? Can you imagine watching a game without seeing someone telling us to Just Do It? Or what about not seeing Peyton Manning drinking a huge cup of Gatorade and sweating little fluorescent green and orange dots? (Actually, yes I can imagine that one. It’s a very pleasant thought.)
The NFL has got to be terrified that animal rights groups can convince big money advertisers to yank their sponsorships until Vick is suspended or expelled from the league. How does the NFL respond if that happens? If they suspend him and he’s acquitted, they look like fools. If they don’t suspend him and lose advertising dollars, the league could (for once) actually be looking at money trouble.
And that’s not even factoring in what might happen if he’s found guilty. You can’t tell me that other players aren’t participating in things like this as well (see Portis, Clinton), and that they see nothing wrong with it.
Although, the league seems to have no problem with convicted criminals playing for them (uh… possible double-murderer and former Super Bowl MVP Ray Lewis ring a bell?).
That’s the problem – even with the “get tough” stance of the new league front office, there is no way for them to come out of this without pissing somebody off. Either Falcons fans are angry that Vick is suspended/exiled, other fans are pissed that he’s not, and there’s always the advertising dollars to factor in. As we’ve seen with the NFL in the past, money drives the ship.
Of course, Vick will probably just plead out to some BS misdemeanor charge exactly the same way Lewis did, roll on his “friends”, and skate on the serious stuff to ensure that he stays out of jail. And then he can go back to being the most overrated QB in the history of the league.
Lata.
Labels: Dogs, Hell, NFL, Suspension, Vick
posted by Big D @ 12:45 PM
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