During the Ed Schultz show, Ed championed the cause of Michael Vick and his reinstatement into the NFL. It sickened me and I won't watch his show any more.
Ed certainly has a right to his opinion, however, I am amazed at the amount of time he devoted to this subject and the use of his bully pulpit to do so. His "text-poll" amazingly showed the exact opposite of the poll running all day on CNN regarding whether Vick should be allowed to play in the NFL again.
Ed believes that as soon as Vick throws his first touchdown pass in the NFL, the controversy surrounding his conviction on dog fighting charges will disappear and the public will be quick to forgive him. He believes that he has the right to redemption and I can't argue that. He paid his time and is now free to walk the Earth. I don't even doubt that Vick is a good athlete but major league sports are high profile and, like it or not, the players are held to a higher standard. There is nothing admirable about Michael Vick.
I am not a huge PETA supporter, but I am an animal lover and the brutality that came out of his Atlanta home was stunning. I do not understand how anyone with any conscience could allow and participate in the electrocution, hanging, and drowning of helpless animals. This is not something that Vick just stumbled upon. This was a deliberative act requiring the purchase of these animals that would knowingly end in their demise. This was a business to him and his friends, not a backyard past time and certainly nothing innocent about it. Some of the animals rescued from his home are forever scarred and unable to live in normal households. I work with shelters and these type of abuses are seen everyday. It may have been a game to him and his friends, but it was life or death for these innocent dogs. His actions have left a huge mark in the animal protective world.
Unlike Ed, I don't think the public is going to forget Michael Vick's actions any time soon. The franchise that picks him up will have a public relations nightmare on their hands. At the time of his arrest, public opinion was decidedly against Vick and I can't imagine that 18 months changed that opinion very much. The NFL managed to survive 18 months without Vick and they will continue to do so. There are equally, if not more so, talented athletes in the NFL and without the baggage.
Like Ed, I am a huge football fan but I'd rather not have the taint that goes along with Michael Vick a part of it. At the end of the day, it's about the money. Money for the NFL, the owners, and adoring sports media and of course Vick. Corporate interests are again at the heart of this, which surprised me, because I thought Ed was a champion against corporate interests. Luckily most of the content on Ed's show is repeated in some context during Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and Rachel Maddow so I doubt that I miss anything.