Dog Fights on TV?

I think they should show it.  It's an integral part of the story, that is, how a human being could not only watch such a sickening activity, but actually orchestrate it, and participate in the violence himself.  I think there are a lot of people who do not know what dog fighting is, or what it looks like (I really didn't know what it looked like before the Vick pieces aired), and for those people it may provide the impetus to get involved.  I don't think there's a danger of being desensitized because the media is just not going to air that many stories about dog fighting rings (it just so happens this is a professional football player.)
 
Which reminds me, the NFL is not to blame here.  I know this is a bit off topic, but it's in response to something said above.  Is the NFL supposed to stop its schedule everytime one of its players is alleged to have committed a serious crime (by the way, that would likely mean no season these days)?  I guess I just don't understand the calls to boycott the NFL...I don't see how they are responsible for, or even complicit in this at all.

Which reminds me, the NFL is not to blame here.

 
I don't either really. Individual teams make the choices to bring in players..and believe me...they know when someone has a "character issue". This new commish...I think he knows he's gotta do something, and with the suspensions he's already handed out, and the fear basically the players are in every time they get pulled over for speeding? Yeah...
 
I worked with someone who had a drinking problem...wrecked his car....we never knew about it till HE told us. He wasn't fired...he was allowed to make his court dates and attend his meetings and try to work towards a better set of habits.
 
NFL players already live with a conduct policy far more intrusive and controlling than anyone of us does. Yeah they make a ton of money...but in return they get to be lumped together as this vast group...by people outside, who don't give players like Peyton, and countless nameless others...the benefit of the doubt that they are good, talented people, who do good things in their communities...and instead seek to again...punish an entire group, for the actions of a relative few. Sound familiar?
 
In short I blame the individual LAYERS....the "grown men" for the decisions they make. I will and have sent letters...asking that they be given penalties...but I do not boycott...because the good or at least law abiding men in the NFL...outnumber these knuckleheads, and their paychecks etc do not deserve to be affected by the actions of a few. Anymore than an entire section of society deserves to be targeted for the breed they choose to own.

i watched a clip of the dog fighting on CNN last night. What really really bothered me, is when they first let the dogs off of their leashes, they were wagging their tails and licking each other! Then the guys put them back on their leashes and tried to rile them up or whatever to make them fight. It kinda made me sick.

I think it should be shown personally.

ORIGINAL: pbarbato


Which reminds me, the NFL is not to blame here.  I know this is a bit off topic, but it's in response to something said above.  Is the NFL supposed to stop its schedule everytime one of its players is alleged to have committed a serious crime (by the way, that would likely mean no season these days)?  I guess I just don't understand the calls to boycott the NFL...I don't see how they are responsible for, or even complicit in this at all.

If the NFL had any integrity, they would throw this piece of @rap off the team, and forbid him to play. That's the trouble with some of the sports leagues today that give these hoodlums a place to get rich, and they don't enforce any of their own rules.  Unfortunately, the NFL  is all about the almighty dollar, and that is what the NFL released this morning that they are going to let this freak continue to play for the Falcons. Send them a meassage from this link, if you disagree with their position. 

https://community.hsus.org/humane/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=11740930

The NFL is actually cracking down on criminal behavior.  In this case, the man involved is charged not convicted.  There are contractual obligations that will also impact decision making.  Granted money is involved here, no question.  However, I do believe the NFL will act responsibly as the court case proceeds.

My biggest roblem is with corporate, individual sponsorship in the name of money, far more than the NFL which is following its policy to police its players more aggressively for criminal behavior.

Do I like he will play?  Of course not, but our legal system requires certain procedures be in place to protect all our rights.

Exactly. I would not want to lose my job because of something I was accused of...in fact I am not sure that's even legal. Does anyone know?
 
I also agree that the corp sponsors are a good thing to pressure and get upset about...
 
The suspensions handed down to Pacman and others seem to come after a repeated and well...intense pattern of breaking laws and I think convictions as well.

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

Exactly. I would not want to lose my job because of something I was accused of...in fact I am not sure that's even legal. Does anyone know?
 
I also agree that the corp sponsors are a good thing to pressure and get upset about...
 
The suspensions handed down to Pacman and others seem to come after a repeated and well...intense pattern of breaking laws and I think convictions as well.

Since the success rate of prosecutions under a Federal Indictment is upwards of 95%, I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for  Michael Vick to walk anywhere, but into a jail cell after the trial, especially considering the 17 page indictment and the convicted felons that are his dog fighting  buddies. In the mean time, the people in Atlanta, are really PO'd about this guy and many are demanding that he be thrown off the team right now. He  has a history of getting himself into trouble, so this is not a big surprise to many Atlanta fans, of which over 45% want him off the team now.  .

Here are some Atlanta Fans commenting on a TV newsforum..

[linkhttp://forums.ibsys.com/viewmessages.cfm?sitekey=atl&Forum=611&Topic=16202]http://forums.ibsys.com/viewmessages.cfm?sitekey=atl&Forum=611&Topic=16202[/link]

[linkhttp://www.kickvick.co]
[/link]

Then when he's convicted, he can be disciplined/pitched out of the NFL. I see no issue with that. Protests and such are very much within the rights of any citizen and I think it's great to do if you want to...so again...no issue there. I've written the Falcons myself as I already stated.
 
He's a distraction to the team...and they have a capable backup...it'll be interesting to see if he PLAYS or is benched in favor of said backup.
 
I don't recall what was done withn the NFL with the Rae Carruth thing...THAT was worse, IMO...and I have to look and see if he was suspended before the trial or during or what.
 
ETA: Here we go...
This, IMO...was the right call to make...running is rather an admission of guilt.
 
"Carruth Takes Off: When Carruth found out that Adams died, he decided to flee instead of turning himself in, as promised. FBI agents found him in the trunk of a friend's car in Wildersville, TN. and placed him back into custody. Up to this point, the Panthers had Carruth on paid leave, but once he became a fugitive, they severed all ties with him."

I do hope the Atlanta Falcon management attends to the concerns of the fans.... I would like to see the man jailed and fined SUBSTANTIALLY like in the multi millions.  But the legal system is neither fast nor efficient in such high profile cases with lots of money for lawyers, but I would hate to give it (juris prudence) up over all.

ORIGINAL: cyclefiend2000

i could understand them showing footage of the police breaking up a dog fighting competition or hauling a suspected dog fighter to jail, but showing images of actual dog fights is just sensationalism. it definitely seems put in there to shock and hopefully gain viewers.

i think the news should report about people being arrested for dog fighting crimes, and should try to make people realize that it is barbaric and wrong. i think they could do those things without showing images of dogs fighting.

 
Exactly my point, thank you for putting words to it for me.  Coming from a journalism background, and being the animal over I am, I guarantee these stories can be told and quite effectively, without showing the actual footage.  I forget who made the point that animal lovers are for the most part going to be the ones to take action against dog fighting and what dog lover can actually stomache the footage?  Sure some have to because they're law enforcement or whatnot but the average person who would go to Michael Vick's practices and protest his heartless behaviour doesn't need to see what happened to know how horrible it is.
On the flip side, I guess the news and news magazine type shows do show child abuse sometimes and that's very hard to watch too.  It's such a fine line between what's acceptable to show the general public and what's not.  Although the moral dilema's aren't the reason I'm not working in the journalism field right now, I'm certainly glad I'm not having to make the calls.

none of my money has ever been spent on NFL or football regalia because i disagree with their double standards.
this might rile up animal lovers, but yeah i agree that we are very much desensitized to horror, gore, blood and guts.
i cant turn on my tv in the evening without seeing some stupid crime show filled with murderers and blood.... so i dont watch tv if i can help it.... if it isnt advertised during the time Everybody Loves Raymond then i wont leave the tv on to watch it....
we only had a short news snip with the dog fights and all i could do was roll my eyes and think - itwont work.... showing the fights wont work.... explaining the money trafficking.. or  from what i read earlier on the news website... giving the NAMES OF BOOKS!!! these are how-to guides, and magazines  and websites that  give you step by step guides on how to do this.....

you can give information.. but you can give too much information. its counter productive. you dont need to  PROVE to me how easy it is  to do this.. telling me "Its really easy" is enough...  saying junk like "Its so easy! all you do is look for this and that and this guy... see?! this is how much money makes!"  what... are you  selling something?

Exactly. I would not want to lose my job because of something I was accused of...in fact I am not sure that's even legal. Does anyone know?

they (the falcons) could at least suspend him (michael vick) from play until this is resolved. i know when police (at least here) are charged with a major crime, they can be suspended pending the outcome of any legal proceedings or internal investigations.

i dont believe the nfl as an organization should be involved in it at this point. the team should be the ones taking action until guilt or innocence is found. then the nfl can intercede if necessary.

i for one think the conduct policies of the nfl and the individual teams should be made stricter than they are now. other sports teams and governing bodies place much stricter policies on the athletes involved, and for the most part the athletes are paid much less than the average nfl player.

i do love the sport and i hate when crap like this is happening. as gina said many players are law abiding citizens who make contributions back to their communities. there are bad apples in every sport... it doesnt make the entire sport bad though.

At least Nike has seen fit to suspend a Vick money making product....http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/stories/2007/07/19/vicknike_0719.html

Exactly my point, thank you for putting words to it for me.  Coming from a journalism background, and being the animal over I am, I guarantee these stories can be told and quite effectively, without showing the actual footage. 

 
Except a few posters have already stated that they didnt know the horribleness of this until the Michael Vick thing opened up and we see first hand.  
I think there are a lot of  non dog lovers out there that don't even care much about it except they are worried about trouble for their beloved sport...maybe these people will see how awful this really is and it would impact them.  On talk radio a few weeks back the host admitted he never paid any attention to dog fighting until seeing film clips and was horrified on what he saw.  NOW he spent an hour talking about in on his radio show. That can only help.
 
First, no matter what...it has to be proved that Vick is guilty, it our American way.  So maybe the NFL can't do anything about it until then.  Nor the Falcons.  But a lot of noise from the public could make a huge impact. Obviously Nike is afraid of the public...thank goodness.