OT: Nike to drop Michael Vick

[Thomas Rogers]

In off topic news:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Athletic shoe and sportswear manufacturer Nike Inc. said on Friday they were suspending sales of products endorsed by Michael Vick following accusations the National Football League star had sponsored a dog-fighting operation.



Nike said it had suspended Vick's contract without pay and would not sell any Vick apparel or shoes at its company-owned stores at present. "While we respect the legal process, we find the allegations against Mr. Vick too disturbing to ignore, and cannot in good faith support any person who would harm an animal for pleasure or entertainment." said Reebok, a division of Germany's Adidas AG, in a statement.



The statement by Nike coincided with their launch of a new line of leather sports shoes.

Disclaimer: The above was slightly altered by me to be a satirical parody.



TJR

 

[Alan Beaulieu]

I agree with Nike. I am a military working dog handler. My partner is an explosive detector dog. I could not imagine h ow horrible a person you have to be to do that to those dogs. To FORCE those dogs to fight and to drown/hang them when they were "too weak" I think Vic should spend a lot of time in jail and the NAACP needs to stay quiet in this issue.

 

[Johnny O]

In yesterday's paper, a guy here beat his neighbor's dog to death with a ball bat and got two years.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

JohnnyO said:

In yesterday's paper, a guy here beat his neighbor's dog to death with a ball bat and got two years.

And yet if that same guy went to his backyard, grabbed a chicken by it's head, spun it around, snapped it's head off all he would get is the making for chicken and biscuits.



I guess it's all because puppies are cute and don't taste so good.



TJR

 

[Todd Z]

I guess it's all because puppies are cute and don't taste so good

That depends on what country you live in.....



Todd Z

 

[Thomas Rogers]

That too, Todd Z, that too.



Kill a cow here, you eat a hamburger, do the same in India and you get reincarnated as some lower life form.



TJR

 

[Todd Z]

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Steal something in a 3rd world country and they take your hand off.



What's your point?

 

[Thomas Rogers]

SST,



The point, we all seem to be able to rationalize what is good, vs what is bad, when essentially much of it is all the same....at least fundamentally. Ultimately its all just the killing of animals to serve our pleasure and/or desires. 2 years for killing a dog, no time for killing a cow...we rationalize the difference.



TJR

 

[Tom Schindler]

Since when is Nike and Reebok the same company?



A while back, a guy was sent to jail for feeding his pet snake unwanted kittens. As if a Rat is any less deserving of a life than a cat it.



What about a mosquito? Mosquitos are living creatures. When we slap them, arent we being cruel to animals?





Tom

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Addias owns Reebok. Reebok is the sponsor for all the NFL Official Jerseys/Uniforms.



TJR and Caymen??? He doesn't deserve the jail time?

 

[Jenn D]

TJR, this is not as black and white as you make it out to be. The difference is, the killing of cows is not for pleasure. Rather its done for consuption purposes and/or survival of mankind. The killings of those dogs was out of hatred, pure emotion, and a sick sense of reality.



Senarios:



dear hunting - considered, for the most part, okay in our society. While still full of instinctual emotion, it's ultimate appeal is for survival/consuption.



being attacked by a wild dog and killing the dog to save yourself - considered, for the most part, okay in our society. You are protecting yourself, and this falls under survival mode, thought not consuption (thankfully).



Michael Vick and friends torturing a dog for underperforming - considered inhumane by society. There is no survival or consuption to be gained by the killings. It is pure malice.



As a civilized society, we are not so one sided as you think.

 

[TomT]

Being able to rationalize is part of being human. If your unable to rationalize your unable to tell right from wrong which means your either retarded or a lower form of species. I'm not sure which one Vick is. Maybe a little of both.

 

[Johnny O]

That depends on what country you live in.....

Todd Z,

Is Pit Bull Hot Sauce made from pit bulls or for pit bulls? :lol:

 

[Tom Schindler]

TJR and Caymen??? He doesn't deserve the jail time?

Never said that. Is it cruel because they are dogs or was the fighting part bad? If we took two male Beta's and put them in the same bowl, and then took the loser and put them in a microwave, would that not deserve the same punishment?





Tom

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

Wasn't he also convicted of an illegal gambling ring?

 

[Thomas Rogers]

SST,



Do I think he deserves jail time? I dunno. Maybe. Do I think some guy that kills his dog should get 2 years jail time...absolutely NO WAY.



My younger brother was 4 or 5 years old when he put one of our house cats between two pails and suffocated it. My mom freaked on him, slapping the crap out of him. Luckily this was 30 years ago. Today if that happened and someone found out it would be juvy hall, child protective services, you name it.



I believe there are humans, then there are animals, and the punishment for killing a human should be very severe. Animals however, many of which we kill for sport, for fun, for food (though we don't really NEED to eat cows to survive...Jenn D), is a whole different matter. If we think killing one animal is okay, and another is cruel, than we do so simply by rationalizing.... the same rationalization that allowed some in the past (and allow some to still today) kill other humans and think they are doing it for some greater good.



I'm not some PETA dude. I enjoy a good steak. As I do so I recognize there's not that much difference between the suffering that the cow went through and one of Vick's dogs went through...AND I AM OKAY WITH THAT. I don't need to rationalize one as being that much more or less cruel, or noble than the other.



TJR

 

[Bill V]

Is Pit Bull Hot Sauce made from pit bulls or for pit bulls?

Reminds me of the classic line from the Addams Family movie at their lemonade stand:



Snotty Girl Scout customer: "Is your lemonade made from real lemons? I only drink lemonade made from real lemons."

Wednesday: "Yes."

Girl Scout: "Tell you what. I'll buy a glass, if you buy a box of my delicious Girl Scout cookies."

Wednesday: "Are they made from real Girl Scouts?"

 

[Mike Wilson]

This throws a new twist into the whole thing, doesn't it?

 

[TomT]

There are laws against dog fighting put in place by the people. There are NO laws against killing a cow for food or beta's fighting. If your going to do the crime, be prepared to do the time. Vick new it was wrong. It's unfortunately just part of his culture and many blacks culture. He was trying to "keep it real". "Keeping it real" is keeping a lot of blacks in jail. Maybe one day they will figure it out that keeping it civilized is more important then keeping it real.