This week, Hampton University will be holding a youth football camp, with convicted felon Michael Vick serving as the camp’s host.
At an April press conference announcing the camp, Vick talked about being seen as a role model for kids. Vick said: “Time spent with kids – just talking with an NFL player for 15 seconds – can spark a dream. That's the purpose of this camp.”
The camp is open to kids between the ages of 8-17.
Vick, who was convicted of federal dog fighting charges, has been trying to mend his public image since his release from prison.
In October 2009, Vick told the Los Angeles Times: “I just want people to really get to know me as an individual. What I want to do is change the perception of me. I am a human being. I've made some mistakes in the past, and I wish it had never happened. But it's not about how you fall, but about how you pick yourself up.”
What Vick calls “mistakes” were actually felonies which could have sent him to prison for much longer than the 18 months he spent incarcerated. The fact is, he spent years torturing and killing defenseless animals.
When police raided Vick’s house in Surry County in 2007, they found 65 dogs (nearly all pit bulls), a dog-fighting pit, blood-stained carpets, and various equipment commonly used in dog fighting.
One of the items found on Vick’s property was a ‘rape stand’ which is a device in which female dogs are strapped into and restrained, to allow a male dog to breed with her.
According to the federal indictment, when dogs at Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels lost a fight, or failed to perform well in ‘test matches,’ they were routinely killed by methods including electrocution, hanging, drowning, and in at least one case by “slamming” the dog’s body onto the concrete floor. In one session in April 2007, at least eight dogs were killed through these methods.
Vick took part in these executions along with his partners Purnell Peace, and Quanis Phillips. The indictment detailed a March 2003 incident, in which a female pit bull who had just lost a match was killed. Vick and Peace decided to kill her by “wetting the dog down with water and electrocuting her.”
Is this someone that Hampton University should be promoting as a role model to young boys?
Comments
So, just out of curiosity, did Michael Vick change his name to "Convicted Felon Michael Vick" since you can't seem to write about him (even when he's doing good), without referring to him that way? Why even bother???
He did his time. It is time to get pass this and think about more important things such as: the homeless, feeding children in the US, fighting drug abuse among our youth, finding a cure for Cancer or AIDS. These things are more important than the Vick. That is the problem with society we like to keep things that are not so important anymore going and forget about the things that are so much more important.
So dionne, you say Vick's done his time and there's more important things out there. Well convicted pedophiles do their time too. Does that mean you want them around your kids when they get out of the slammer? This dude did some evil deeds to defenseless animals, which qualifies him as "Not a Role Model" for kids. Getting de-sensitized to these kind of things is the mindset our gov't is counting on.
Mike Vick is a great role model to the younger kids, yes what he did was wrong, and he did is time and is very sorry for what he did. but are you saying you never did anything wrong in your life? I am sure you did. but its not up to you to forgive mike for what he did. that is past news lets move on and report the good things he is doing.
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