Animal rights group lobbies FOX Sports to fire Michael Vick
An animal rights group under the moniker "Rally for Animals" is petitioning FOX Sports to fire Michael Vick from his role as an NFL analyst ahead of the upcoming season.
The activists penned a letter on Change.org to FOX Sports president Eric Shanks, arguing that Vick should be removed from his position.
Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison for his role in a dog fighting ring in December 2007.
Here is a partial excerpt of the petition addressed to Shanks:
We are asking that you remove Michael Vick from his position as an analyst at FOX Sports. While we believe in second chances and that convicted felons should be able to acquire gainful employment, we do not believe that Michael Vick is repentant and as such, he should not hold a position of influence. He has never inquired as to how his fighting dogs fared after leaving his property nor did he offer any type of financial assistance to aid in their care outside his court-mandated fine. In fact, he served an abbreviated sentence for racketeering, not animal cruelty.
We believe that whatever it is within Michael Vick that made him capable of performing violent acts against innocent animals for entertainment and profit is not something that goes away. Call it evil, call it psychosis, call it what you will, but it is inherently woven into the fabric of his character. It's still there. This is why he never reached out to ensure his dogs' well-being.
Shanks defended the decision to hire Vick, however.
"We absolutely and completely understand," Shanks said via A.J. Perez of USA TODAY Sports. "It's not a different reaction than what we had prepared ourselves for internally at FOX Sports. We discuss it. We talk about what happened then. What type of person is Mike is now? What debt has he paid to society? We still believe it's the right thing to do."
"Clearly, we knew that there was potential to be a reaction," Shanks said. "We spent a lot of time with Mike. We looked at his experience playing in the league after he paid his debt to society.
"We looked at his interaction and support he's gotten from people like Andy Reid at the Chiefs and (former NFL coach) Tony Dungy. Over the last 10 or 11 years, not only has he paid his debt to society, but he's done everything a person who has made a terrible mistake like that can do. We felt it was the right person at the right time for us."
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