Tank, Vick, and Pacman

[jdisney]

As some of you might have heard Tank Johnson was arrested again for suspicion of DUI in Arizona. And the Bears have released him.

I want to know if anyone else thinks that the Media, NFL, Fans, Law enforcement , etc. is targeting some of these players.

Nothing has been proven about Mike Vick having some greens in his water bottle at the airport also nothing has been proven on this whole dog fighting situation. But when you hear the media talk about he may as well already have been convicted of these things. A ton of sports writers are draggin his name down all from speculation. I read an article a few months ago where a guys was calling him a "dope smoking thug that ought to be sent away for a long time to make an example out of him."

Pacman has also been arrested several times. Yet NO CONVICTIONS!!! And he is now out of work for an entire season. With NO PAY!!! And sure enough an incident happens some place that he was at and his name is the first brought up and slammed by the media once again.

Tank has been convicted of crimes. He even served some time. Yet he was only suspended for 1/2 the season. Does that make any sense? A guy with no convictions get suspended for the season and a guy who just got done serving time only gets 1/2? And today Tank gets arrested again. Any chance you think he was being watched a little closer than your average citizen?

So give us your thoughts on this. Are these guys being watched closer than you or I would be?

[nick]

Yeah, these guys have brought some of it on themselves, as far as being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Also being rich and black doesn't help much. They definitely make easy targets for the law and media, but not to totally excuse them from some dumb choices they have made. It doesn't take much to figure out that if every time I drink or go to a nudy bar something goes bad, that maybe you should stop putting yourself in those positions. I learned that when I decided to try to live for God and do better, that I lost a lot of so-called friends. Sometimes you have to lose some bad company to do better in life. These guys need to learn that before they end up dead. Real friends encourage you to do better, not help you go down. At least in my opinion.I could go deeper and further in this topic, but my 2 month old is in my lap figgeting around.

[jdisney]

I can dig that Nick. I don't think they are being targeted for no reason. I think they all put themselves in situations where there was a very high possiblity for sh*t to go wrong. But now it seems like now all you will hear about these guys is the negative.

I read an article online earlier today about how Vick rescheduled his charity event to help the victims at Va Tech. and somehow someway the writer managed to tie it to the dog fighting situation. When it really had nothing to do with it.

[nick]

Yeah I feel you. It is funny that they tied the two together. Even if that is the reason he postponed the event, is that really surprising? I mean seriously, if I was under FEDERAL investigation, I'm not sure how much I would be showing my mug in public. Its funny how our society as a whole focuses on negative much more than positive. You would swear all these guys have already been convicted. Seriously I hate to talk about race a lot, because people tend to act like it isn't real, but there have been many white athletes, actors, celebrities or whatever that have gotten off the hook very easily after DUI's and domestic disturbances and run ins with the law. You might hear about them for a day or two, but these black athletes seem to catch it everyday.This isn't just the football players, check any sport. Mark McGwire...Barry Bonds, thats all I have to say. 6 months ago, you never heard an ill word about Michael Vick.

Seriously I could go on and on.

[Vizzini]

Nick I would have to say it seems that way because.....who is it that is running these stories? The media. They are the ones who shovel crap down everyones throat, so if they have an agenda they can easily bend the news towards their liking. I think you're right that race does play a part. Black athletes do tend to be put in the spot light....whites not so much. This does go beyond sports, but in every high profile profession. The media made a big deal about Wesley Snipes tax issues, but have you heard a whole lot about Tom Sizemore? He just got sentenced to 18 months in prison, but his issues were but a blurb in the news. The media focuses on things that will lead, i.e. death, drugs, race, etc. You'll hardly ever hear good things in the media. The old mantra is "If it bleeds, it leads". That's pretty darn' sorry. So basically what I'm saying, without trying to start anything with anybody here, the media will always focus on touchy issues. In this case race. So, you will always hear about the "black" person this, or the "black" person that. Trust me on this, there are plenty of whites that get there arses handed to them, you just don't hear about it. There's so many of us in this country who cares if another white person did something. What do you think? Give me some feedback.

[nick]

I agree with you totally.Well said, I don't think anyone can deny that. For the record, I don't get offended because that is the way it is. I only get offended when people deny that this is the way it is.

[jdisney]

I do think that the media blows things up due to high profile status and race at times. This most definitely being one of them. But I think if a middle class white guy did the same things some of these guys have done. Their a$$ would have been in jail long time ago.

No doubt in my mind if I walk into an airport and try to board a plane with a water bottle and put up any kind of an argument about throwing it away; my a$$ isn't gonna make it on that plane. Or a baton that was a "movie prop" Guarantee I would be cuffed and questioned.

[nick]

TRUE, class is like a secondary race.Big difference between rich and poor. Pacman got out on bail facing felony charges.Do you think I would be able to do the same?

[justjohn]

As heard on the radio when Paris Hilton was temporarily let out, "I'll see your Paris Hilton and raise you an OJ and a Michael Jackson."

As far as being put in the negative spotlight - people put themselves there. For every NFL player getting negative press we could name at least 100 not REPEATEDLY making poor decision and not being put in the spotlight.

Of course we focus on the negative - because negative is usually the exception. What percentage of us were NOT involved in brandishing a weapon at a strip club recently? It's pretty close to 100%.

The only reason we hear about Pacman, Vick and Tank so much is because we're football fans watching the NFL channel every chance we get. 90% of non-football fans are probably oblivious to their problems.

Are they being profiled/targeted? As for Pacman and Tank, I sure hope so. I hope ALL habitual felons, regardless of race and profession, are watched more closely than law-abiding citizens. Should we have to wait until Pacman or his Posse actually shoots someone dead, or Tank kills someone while driving drunk? If either one could go a year or so without doing something stupid they wouldn't have to worry about being profiled/targeted.

Tom Sizemore, a celebrity, is facing 4 years in prison for beating up his girlfriend. Sadly, as common as domestic violence is in this country, the only reason this is news is because he's a celebrity. Wesley Snipes, a celebrity, faced 40 years for defrauding the government out of $7.4 MILLION in taxes. Which is more rare/newsworthy - beating up your girlfriend or getting caught cheating the government out of $7,400,000?

[jdisney]

justjohn said:

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[bearcats58]

I think the nfl is right to expect these guys to be roll models but how far can they go to control thier lives? is it right to fire or fine someone that did something not at work. if you got a DWI or put in jail but did not miss work should you lose your job. I don't think what some do is right but just think if you were 18 or 20 yrs old and was given 2 mllion a year and told you are the best or toughest player around would you believe the hype and be influenced by the money and media? some have good roll models to look to but how many don't have a father or someone to look to for advise. big money that young can turn alot of kids into trouble, or make bad choices. I had a good christian family but i don't know that i would have even made smart choices at that age with that money.

[Vizzini]

Chris I understand your sentiments but there are some jobs that are represented by the employee 24/7. For instance, being in the military, if you get into trouble in the civilian world you're going to get hammered by the military. Not because they want a free shot at you, but because you represent them. Same goes for a police officer. If he's off duty and robs a bank shouldn't he lose his job? When you start talking about millions of dollars then the pressure of behaving should be very high. Who wants to pay a punk millions to act like an a$$ and represent your organization? Ok ok ok, I stand corrected.....you're right Sean Penn gets to be that way in Hollywood. Wait, I'm sure all of Hollywood gets to be that way, but they're the exception.

[bearcats58]

I agree lots of kids look up to ball players, I now what you're saying about some jobs i am a fire fighter, and its a public image. I think they should be held to a high standerd but they are human and in some cases they are punished before they are even found guilty by the courts just because they are in the media. To bad other so called roll models arn't held to the NFL standerd like those in music and movies this country might be a better place.

[justjohn]

cavs58 said:

I think the nfl is right to expect these guys to be roll models but how far can they go to control thier lives?

You're looking at this all wrong.

There's no constitutional right to play in the NFL. In addition, the players have their own union to represent them.

The NFL can't force them to do anything. However, if they want to stay in the NFL they need to meet the NFL's expectations. It's really quite simple; if you don't want high standards placed upon you 24/7/365 then find another line of work.

[justjohn]

cavs58 said:

...but they are human and in some cases they are punished before they are even found guilty by the courts just because they are in the media.

The Duke Lacrosse players aren't celebrities and they got the same treatment.

[justjohn]

cavs58 said:

...but they are human and in some cases they are punished before they are even found guilty by the courts just because they are in the media.

The Duke Lacrosse players aren't celebrities and they got the same treatment.

caniplay said:

TRUE, class is like a secondary race. Big difference between rich and poor.

Rich and poor had the opposite effect in the Duke Lacrosse case.