Jamal Spencer takes a look at the Vick situation in a very interesting way. A must read for all people!

Since the saga that is Michael Vick has begun grumblings in the black community have been growing louder and louder. “If he was white they wouldn’t make

Since the saga that is Michael Vick has begun grumblings in the black community have been growing louder and louder. “If he was white they wouldn’t make such a big deal of this.” Or “They’re only going after Mike because he’s a black athlete.” I heard this, and processed it and ultimately came to this conclusion: NONESENSE. While the part of me that has seen injustice that many would never understand says “Well maybe the Feds and the NFL ARE going after Mike”, the common sense in me wins out and I realize that bottom line: He’s guilty. That’s why he was indicted. That’s why he copped a plea. That’s why he’s in trouble.

  

Race has nothing to do with it, and as much as blacks want to say that it does, it doesn’t. Facts are facts; they’re color blind, and the facts point to Michael Vick committing illegal acts and being punished for those acts. We as a people should stop playing the race card so much and start actually looking to the facts. Because if it happens too much, when there actually IS a racial injustice, it’ll be the story of the boy who called wolf. Now I am not Jesse Jackson. I am not Al Sharpton. I do not consider myself a “black leader” and I do not speak for all black people. I am only voicing my opinions and sharing my experiences as a man that happens to be black.

  

I understand the beef that blacks have when they point to the lack of prominent white athletes who are punished or even accused of wrong doing to the severity of blacks. But there is more to it. A lot of my peers understand that if you’re wrong, then you’re wrong. If you commit a crime you deserve to be punished. But they think there is a catch: If your wrongdoing or crime involves the majority or an animal then your case will be magnified. I am not here to debate guilt or innocence, but for example I believe that if Kobe Bryant wasn’t accused of sexual assaulting a white woman in a Colorado suburb his case wouldn’t have been as well documented as it was. One of the reasons, again in my opinion, that the Duke Rape case was so appealing to the nation was that it involved a black woman accusing white male athletes of rape. Also the bigger you are, the more likely you are to be made an example of. Former NBA bench warmer Qyntel Woods actually pled guilty to animal abuse stemming from first-degree misdemeanor animal abuse charges in 2005. He was sentenced to 12 months probation and 80 hours of community service. Now I know that was a misdemeanor, but his female Pit Bull was still placed in protective custody. Maybe it wasn’t made a bigger deal of because it was a misdemeanor. Maybe because he wasn’t as big a star as Michael Vick. 

  

Racism is still alive we all know this. But do we all know when it actually happens? In the courtroom a man is innocent until proven guilty, but in the court of public opinion a man can be found guilty upon being accused. Michael Vick is being made an example of because he’s guilty, not because he’s black. Save that argument for when it’s actually needed.