Rooting for athletes vs. personal feelings: Where do you draw the line?

I don't want to suggest that he is anywhere close to the miscreant that some of these clowns are, but the three years Mike Ditka coached the Saints were like Chinese water torture for me.

I always thought he was an arrogant jerk who was overrated as a coach, and I hated that he was coaching my favorite team. Fortunately, they were so bad during that era that I could sorta kinda ignore them.

 

I never quite understood the visceral reaction to Vick. Sure, his crimes were despicable, reprehensible, and any number of assorted verbs. But the guy did his time, repaid his debt in federal prison.

Leonard Little, meanwhile, got drunk ran over a woman in St. Louis. Dude was more than twice the legal limit, yet never went to jail, and was suspended 8 games. FOR KILLING ANOTHER HUMAN BEING. Then he was arrested again for DWI in 2004, and that didn't derail his career either.

Donte Stallworth got just 30 days in jail for his DUI manslaughter, though the circumstances were somewhat different. It's still 30 more days than Little served.

Ray Lewis settled with the families of the two men killed in Atlanta in the hours around the 2000 Super Bowl.

There are three guys who either took the life of, or have direct knowledge of the deaths of four people.

Vick, meanwhile, served nearly two years killing dogs.

I don't root for Vick. I also don't work myself into a lather because he's back in the NFL. Not when players who participated in far more destructive actions with far fewer consequences are playing right alongside him.

 

Just beause others did worse does not make Vick's crimes any less despicable. He derived pleasure from cruelty. That is disgusting.

Vick didn't deserve less punishment. Little deserved more. So did Stallworth and Lewis, but particularly Little because of that second DUI arrest. That said, if I remember correctly, Little did serve time in jail. It was just way too fucking short of a sentence.