Before last night’s historic Philadelphia Eagles beat down of the Washington Redskins arguably the fastest receiver in the game Eagle DeSean Jackson got into a pregame tussle with Redskin safety Laron Landry. This caused both teams to center around their respective player amping up the Monday night atmosphere even greater. It has been reported that Landry may have been taunting Jackson in regards to concussions that he had previously suffered.
So what words did the teammate of felon Michael Vick use to describe how the altercation motivated the team. Well, here it is if you can believe it:
“The pregame altercation got us going. It had us ready. We came back into the locker room pumped. We were like pit bulls, ready to get out of the cage.”
DeSean could not have manufactured a worse metaphor than a caged pit bull. For the handful out there who may not know the Eagles starting quarterback Michael Vick was convicted and sent to prison for the vicious torture and murder of dogs involving a massive underground dogfighting circuit. He’s now a felon turned Philly folk hero.
Whether you’re on the side of Vick or not, if you feel he’s served his due sentence for the crime committed, this was a terribly poor choice of words used by his teammate and reflects an abrasive if not ignorant attitude. DeSean Jackson is a representative of the NFL, a league that has now laid down the law on what it deems violent and unnecessary hits, sending out fine after fine looking to clean up the game.
Just as a reminder, Michael Vick pleaded guilty to the following:
“Conspiracy to Travel in Interstate Commerce in Aid of Unlawful Activities and to Sponsor a Dog in an Animal Fighting Venture”. He admitted to providing most of the financing for the operation and to participating directly in several dog fights in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina. He admitted to sharing in the proceeds from these dog fights. He further admitted that he knew his colleagues killed several dogs who did not perform well. He admitted to being involved in the destruction of 6–8 dogs, by hanging or drowning.
Vick has walked the fine line and has followed the rules set forth by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell for reinstatement. He is playing at an incredible level not seen before in his earlier days with the Atlanta Falcons. Each person has to decide on their own if they’re O.K. with seeing tens of thousands of people stand up and cheer his conquests. But by no means should any NFL player, especially a teammate of a man who has plead guilty to the vicious murder of dogs, make such an ignorant comment without consequence.
Top Photo: UPI/Kevin Dietsch
