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VICK CASE NOT AS SIMPLE AS DEMANDING AN APOLOGY 

Like most people who follow sports, I followed the Michael Vick saga a couple years ago when he was found to have engaged in an illegal dogfighting operation. The depth of what he did made me sick to my stomach, not least because I am an unabashed dog lover and beneficiary many times over of the love and fulfillment that owning a dog can provide.

That being said, even I got tired of seeing this story plastered all over the news outlets as if Vick was Osama Bin Laden, Jack the Ripper or the Beltway Sniper. He was caught committing an illegal activity. He was found guilty and sentenced for his crime. He served his time and is now completing the process of once again becoming a free man. End of story.

Of course, the media doesn't see it that way, and as a result we've been bombarded with point-by-point details about Vick's return to Virginia, meeting with his probation officer, etc. What's next, him getting up in the middle of the night to take a dump?

Media types will, of course, blame the public for wanting to see all this overkill, otherwise they wouldn't show it constantly. At least that's their argument. But the real truth is that something here is filthy, and if it's not the media, then it's us. After all, the only thing we Americans love more than putting people on pedestals is tearing them down again at the first sign of trouble.

The Vick case and others like it are perfect examples. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has stated publicly that, for Vick to be readmitted to the league, he must admit the wrong that he did (fair enough), describe what he learned from it (whatever that means), and show genuine remorse and humility (WTF?). I have a huge problem with that last one, and it's simple.

What if Vick isn't really sorry for dogfighting? What if he believes that dogfighting in itself is not wrong (morally, since it is legally)? People all over the country believe in things that are illegal. I'll give you an example.  What if someone says one day that all Crips, Bloods, Latin Kings, etc. should be shot? That is what a person believes. It doesn't mean that person will go out and shoot a dozen gang members. We don't hear anyone being taken to task for saying that. So why should Vick have to come out and say how bad dogfighting is if he believes it's okay? Because he's a public figure? Give me a break.

If Vick has truly changed his perspective and his belief, then great, I'm happy for him. I believe dogfighting is morally wrong, heinous and signals someone with a control problem. But I am not going out of my way to force someone who believes otherwise to change if that's not who they really are. And it shouldn't be a condition for his continued participation in the NFL.

But the NFL has the power to decide who plays for them, you might say. That might be true, but it's also a copout. Power for power's sake just makes you look stupid. All Vick really owes Roger Goodell is to apologize for breaking the law and embarrassing the league, and promise never to do it again. Simple as that. To expect "genuine remorse" or anything else is to potentially get into the area of mind control or reeducation.  Leave that to the Chinese.

Furthermore, I don't believe Vick should be beholden to PETA and have to grovel before them to get off his case. I think he should show up to his first PETA meeting with a bucket of KFC and a pair of alligator shoes.  And the first time they run a negative story, sue like hell.

Somewhere along the line, we have lost what it truly means to be American. We're so afraid of hurting someone's feelings that we've gone out of our way to lie just to make people we don't even know feel better about themselves. To put it bluntly, I'm ashamed that my country's skin has grown so thin that we can't have an honest debate anymore on anything. The alternative is what we have now, that basically we can think what we want (until some idiot develops mind control), as long as we don't say it.