We have signed veteran QB Michael Vick & placed QB Bruce Gradkowski on the Reserve/Injured List.
TRANSACTIONS: http://t.co/XWbG1mWR4s
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 25, 2015
We had a good run, guys. But I’m done with the NFL for now. And fuck you, Rooneys.
raven
Go Bears!
Baud
Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Keith G
I have been away from pro football for a while. Did Vick try to molest a co-ed?
In better areas:
BTW, The Atlantic has an interesting long read up on its site looking at the confluence of economic and rock music histories. The title is, Born to Run and the Decline of the American Dream
There is a lot in this piece, but it is at its most interesting as it surveys the rock/pop music scene when I was in high school and connects it to the greater society:
Since I grew up in NW Ohio listening to AM radio serving Detroit, I spent more time listening to the Temptations or Marvin Gaye than the Boss and spent more time contemplating the society of “Poppa Was a Rolling Stone” than the one in “Born to Run”.
JMG
Dear John: I know where you’re coming from, and I sympathize, but I ask you to look at another side for a moment. Vick was convicted of a horrible crime, did hard time, was released, has expressed remorse, and AND FAR AS WE KNOW, meant it and had been an acceptable citizen since. He’s just another backup NFL QB now, and perhaps it would be best if we treated him that way.
MoeLarryAndJesus
The Browns have the Dawg Pound and now the Steelers have a guy who pounds dogs. I’m glad he’s not a Patriot
Turgidson
What’s even the point of signing Vick at this point, strictly as a football move? It’s not like he’s any good anymore.
ETA – As far as pure raw tools go, young Vick was ridiculous though. Could throw the ball 70 yards in the air with a flick of his wrist and was always the fastest guy on the field (granted, pinpoint accuracy was never his thing). It was like watch a video game cheat come to life sometimes.
David Koch
Who let the dogs out!
too soon?
Tree With Water
That’s interesting, Cole. I feel much the same today about the NFL, if for different reasons. And if enough hard core fans start to feel likewise, that league will be in trouble. I mean, more than it already is.
Mike J
@JMG: Yeah, unless you believe every crime desrves a life sentence, you have to let people work when they get out of prison.
raven
@Keith G: James Taylor’s album on Apple came out in 69. “Born to Run” came out in 1975.
rikyrah
sorry for you, Cole.
Atrios
When the iggles signed him that was my first reaction. But he got busted, was convicted, and did a reasonable amount of time for his crimes. The right amount of time? I don’t know. but it wasn’t nothing. He didn’t escape the legal system. Once people are done with their punishments they should be done. Vick did his time, he can continue to play football. Big Ben still has his job.
Tree With Water
@Turgidson: Couldn’t hold a candle to Randall Cunningham, though, the QB ever fan hoped he’d turn into.
elftx
I don’t hate the man and I have never been a football fan; but I can’t even look at his name..I just scroll by quickly.
and Motown all the way!!!
raven
@Atrios: Ding
raven
@Tree With Water: That is total bullshit.
NotMax
Joe Montana is still alive.
Just sayin’.
:)
EthylEster
@Tree With Water wrote:
JC is a pretty hard core fan.
But I don’t think the league is in trouble…yet.
Hal
This is one of those times when I’m glad to be a stereotypical gay man who could not care less about sports in general, unles it’s a real sport like figure skating or women’s tennis.
Please note that I am not being sarcastic.
satby
@Atrios: @Mike J: I’m a rescuer but I feel the same way. He did his time, after which IIRC included lobbying for stronger dogfighting laws. I wouldn’t give him a pet, but he and other offenders need to be able to reenter society and work.
@JMG: this too
BillinGlendaleCA
@raven: When did the first Apple Badfinger album come out 1970?
ETA: Yup, Magic Christian Music came out in Feb 1970.
NobodySpecial
Well, that’s certainly a Republican stance. If you supposedly believe in second chances, you have to give this guy one too.
Mr. Twister
Hey John, did you see this ? It is very interesting.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13463272/how-former-san-francisco-49ers-chris-borland-retirement-change-nfl-forever
John Cole
@Atrios: Big Ben was never charged or convicted.
BillinGlendaleCA
@John Cole: Neither were the Banksters. Nothing to see here folks, sorry about the foreclosed house.
Turgidson
@Tree With Water:
I dunno, maybe I don’t remember younger Randall Cunningham at his athletic peak, but I thought Vick’s raw speed and arm strength were better. Not that that makes him a better QB by any means (see also Jeff “Golden Arm, Shit for Brains” George).
Big R
This may seem insensitive, but I’m trying to put myself in Cole’s shoes and think about the situation the way I would. I wonder (and feel free to tell me precisely where the sun shineth not that this idea can go) if the logical chain goes something like “Vick fought pit bulls” -> “A pit bull killed Tunch” -> “Fuck Vick forever and ever, world without end, Amen.”
If that’s the case, then while I agree with Atrios and others who have counseled that Vick should be treated like every other post-release felon should (i.e., as if they were no longer a menace to society, unless and until they re-offend), I can understand Cole’s reaction as well.
If it’s not the case, well, you’re also allowed to just Not Like Michael Vick.
Betty Cracker
I feel your pain. (Disgusted Bucs fan). And to those of you who are saying he did his time? Yes, and for that he gets out of fucking jail. But that doesn’t mean we have to root for a heartless prick who tortured and killed dogs for fun. Fuck that motherfucker.
Kyle
I much prefer college ball anyway. You know, that institution where the players play for free (or near abouts) and the institutions participating in the game make untold billions.
And I’d have a drink with Michael Vick. I’d kick Big Ben in the balls and run very fast. He is far worse, in my opinion. The only reason he wasn’t convicted is that he had the money to destroy his accuser’s life. See, also, too, Koby Bryant.
cokane
Cole
WTF did you expect from the team that regularly plays the dirtiest football in the NFL? And that’s kind of a high bar
Also spare us, we know ur going to make posts as soon as the regular season starts
srv
I, for one, do not believe in giving any leeway to people we demand entertain us with head and other crippling life-long injuries.
My moral compass is on a much higher playing field.
kped
Eh, if you supported them when multiple time “alleged” rapist Big Ben was their QB, you can support them when…multiple time “alleged” rapist Big Ben is still their QB and is backed up by Dog Killer Mike Vick.
I mean…isn’t a step up in terms of morality? (morally, both are awful. I just view rape as far, far worse).
(and i realize he was never convicted or tried. Those cases are hard to try, especially in a town that worships its team and QB. But as always, I give the woman the benefit of the doubt. And I give multiple women more benefit still).
cokane
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap2000000300186/article/nfl-steelers-hit-on-bengals-kevin-huber-was-penalty
Other teams do not do shit like this, it is clearly part of Tomlin’s coaching. On a fucking punter for chrissakes, a potentially lethal hit — that’s not an exaggeration
Tree With Water
@raven: It’s how I feel, that’s all. I think the NFL’s golden goose is being axed by greedy and stupid owners as I type. That might well be bullshit, but it’s also an honest opinion. It can be both, you know.
redshirt
Fix your blog, Cole.
Or should I send this request via Twitter, so that you actually read it?
redshirt
@kped: Vick has more moral character than Raplessburger.
smintheus
Wow, spectacular new move in Hispanic outreach: Trump has Jorge Ramos thrown out of a campaign event.
kc
He did his time.
BillinGlendaleCA
@redshirt: There’s always ALL CAPS EMAIL, it gets Cole’s attention and he loves seeing em.
MikeBoyScout
To err is human; to forgive, divine.
Forgetting even Ben’s alleged transgressions, NFL football coddles violent men and law breaking for $$$.
If you want to cuss out the Rooney family think of all the men they’ve put through the grinder to bring home 6 trophies.
e.g. Mike Webster
Mike J
It won’t be too long before football is like boxing. Something people might enjoy watching now and then, but only the children of poor people will actually do it.
east is east
I know we should all let bygones be bygones. This guy is a dirtbag. Anyone who takes pleasure in watching dogs fight should..well, I just don’t know.
redshirt
From everything I’ve read, Vick has been the definition of a model ex-felon. As such, the court recently let him get a pet dog.
east is east
@kc: so did the dogs. They don’t get a golden parachute.
geg6
@smintheus:
Jeebus. Just…Jeebus. Speechless.
NotMax
@efgoldman
The way things are deteriorating, that page won’t load until December.
;)
themann1086
Relevant.
Joel
I know, Bruce Gradowski. Sheesh!
DougJ
Vick served his time in jail and now works with Humane Society. People deserve second chances.
boatboy_srq
@Betty Cracker: Pretty much. Vick gets to play football – and we get to cheer for someone else.
DougJ
@redshirt:
Also this.
raven
@Tree With Water: That doesn’t have shit to do with who was better.
AxelFoley
Wow, so Vick can never be forgiven after doing his time and being repentant, but some here are willing to give people who hurt other people second chances?
I swear, some white folks love animals more than they do human beings, and I say this as someone who loves dogs. I just don’t love them more than people.
SMH
John Cole
@redshirt: What is wrong with it?
east is east
@DougJ: Yeah, and I’m sure that has nothing to do with his public image. He’s changed. For a few million dollars.
John Cole
@redshirt: And fuck you.
east is east
@AxelFoley: The old you must love animals more than people bullshit. I do love my dogs as much as I love people. People actually often suck. Dogs, not so much.
Betty Cracker
@east is east: I’ll take “Die in a Fire” for $500, Alex.
raven
Put another thread up this is a fucking dry hole.
AxelFoley
@Atrios:
BOOM!
Ben got off for sexual assault, but I never saw Cole get mad about that.
kc
@east is east:
Everything I’ve read tells me that Vick is truly remorseful. I love animals too, but I’m all for giving the man a second chance in these circumstances.
Triumph
Yes, let us all condemn the Rooneys for hiring a convicted dogfighting ring runner and ignore the rapist they’ve had playing starting qb for a decade now…
boatboy_srq
@DougJ: True. Still doesn’t mean we have to buy tickets to their games, wear their Official NFL™ gear or do anything else beyond support their right to find gainful employment.
Joel
@EthylEster: Cole ain’t leaving for the same reasons that Chris Borland left.
I’ve been trying to swear off the habit for years now, but it’s been difficult.
schrodinger's cat
Do you still have that gaudy Steelers blanket? Tunch tones it down a bit, but even he cannot give it any dignitude.
raven
Bern should go to jail for just being in fucking Milledgeville!
east is east
@kc: I know, I know….it’s just the abuse of those poor dogs. Really upsetting. I’ll take a deep breath and try to move forward.
Howard Beale IV
@raven: James Taylor was on Warner Brothers, not Apple.
Omnes Omnibus
@John Cole: Inordinately slow loading.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
Only tangentially OT – Best trash talk: Tampa Bay Mayor Bob Buckhorn said
He should give his speechwriter a raise.
raven
@Howard Beale IV: Yea, you know what you are talking about,
AxelFoley
@east is east:
Man, fuck you. This, from a guy getting mad over others using the word “ginger” this morning.
Sit your ass down.
Bobby Thomson
They were today’s installment of Why Your Team Sucks on Deadspin. I was more disturbed by Dan Rooney excusing Harrison beating the mother of his child because the argument was over a baptism.
east is east
@AxelFoley: We worked that out. You’re the person who introduced the false equivalence of people vs. dogs. Get a grip.
raven
James Taylor on Apple.
You had to be there boys and girls.
raven
So for all you non-Amazon Prime Haters check out Catastrophe.
Mr. Twister
@smintheus: Remember how the press was so made cause Hillary was mean to them ?
Bobby Thomson
@John Cole: nor Bill Cosby. That’s not a good thing.
Condi's Cousin
Ben was never convicted huh? Last I checked Bill Cosby was never charged with a crime either. Nice to know you apply the same standard there eh John?
eric
@efgoldman:
no kidding, when you have an off duty cop on your payroll to destroy the video evidence it is a lot easier to not get charged.
Howard Beale IV
@raven: Ah, different album. My mistake.
Bobby Thomson
@smintheus: Trump is a fucking pussy and that will ultimately be his undoing. Unless he can pay off fall the hosts of comedy shows, someone is going to do a parody that sticks.
BruceFromOhio
Puh-lease. It’s pre-season. Don’t fucking try to bullshit your way past. They go 10-0 you’ll be flaunting it like all the rest of yinz Stiller whacks. Hell, 8-2 and you’ll be watching it, especially if they are putting the smackdown on the Gaia-damned Ravens.
raven
@Howard Beale IV: It was only that one and most people don’t know it. It was really meaningful for me at the time so it’s burned in this old brain.
It also pretty interesting that Something In The Way She Moves was on it and it’s not the Beatles song.
eric
@Howard Beale IV:
Here it is right from Taylor himself:
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/watch-james-taylor-recall-nervous-beatles-audition-for-apple-records-20150619
good read about his experience auditioning for Paul McCartney and George Harrison (no pressure there or anything)
raven
For $100., since Taylor was the one and only non-Brit artist on Apple who was the first Non-American white dude on Mowtown?
Mike E
@raven: My only regret as an NFL fan is that Randall got cheated out of playing Elway in the SB by those stinkin dirty birds! Other than that… I’m good.
BruceFromOhio
@raven: Kiki Dee?
ETA: Oh heck, you said ‘dude’. n/m
raven
@BruceFromOhio: Adam Ant.
kped
@Bobby Thomson:
Well, i mean, it was over his childs immortal soul!!!! She had it coming. The Rooney’s are model owners and stuff.
Joel
Highly relevant. I mean, if manipulating the criminal justice system isn’t what drives you away from the Steelers, I guess Vick will do it.
Steve from Antioch
You were a concussion ball fan until Vick started playing for a team you like?
WTF, dude?
poptartacus
look mike vick fucked over some dogs and paid the price for it. I love dogs but is there no redemption? Too harsh
Calouste
@NobodySpecial: Cole is still a conservative at his core. Easily fooled, things are in black and white, people never change. The only reason that he left the GOP was that he was pissed when Jeb! rubbed it in with the Schiavo affair how easy it was to fool him. I mean, Cole was still defending Sanford a couple of hours before the press conference where he admitted his affair in Argentina. I must give it to Cole though, he tries to work on it.
east is east
@poptartacus: fucked over some dogs? Please do, get a clue.
Zinsky
So, the Steelers have a rapist and a dog killer in the #1 and #2 slots for QB. Sweet.
BruceFromOhio
@raven: Don’t drink, don’t smoke – what do you do?
ETA: Wiki says different, EMI, CBS, MCA, and Do It Records. No mention of Motown or sub-labels?
CONGRATULATIONS!
There was a time in my late twenties and early thirties where my life revolved around NFL Sunday, as did most of my friends. The parties were legendary.
Then SF decided to become a bedroom community of Silicon Valley and – within three years – every single last one of us was forced out of the city. Some of us had lived there for decades. So we went our ways, but I kept watching football.
Until Vick. You see, I own dogs.
What he did was unforgivable in the literal sense of the term. He might as well have been torturing and murdering kids, no difference in my book. His dogs looked to him as a leader and he broke their backs and whipped them to death for fun.
The NFLs attempts to protect him and keep him out of prison was something I found so outrageous that I swore I was done. And mostly, I was. Still would watch some playoffs, still the Super Bowl.
Then they let him back in.
That was the motherfucking end.
But also a beginning; you start looking at the price it takes out of the players (Junior Seau, a hometown guy, oh, that was rough. He deserved better). The lives it ruins. The communities bankrupted. The oceans of money that should be going to teach kids getting taken out of classrooms and dumped into this damned sport, which gives said kids nothing but dreams to be dashed and a boatload of early brain damage to boot. You look at how the players treat women. And the owners. And the fans. You look at how the fans comport themselves both during game day and during the week. And my conclusion was clear; we, as a society, cannot afford football. The cost is too damn high. Fucking senseless waste.
ETA: comments are sadly about what I expected. There are some crimes beyond redemption. Torturing and murdering animals for fun is one of them.
Mike E
@CONGRATULATIONS!: I agree with a lot of things you are saying, but…the NFL didn’t lift a finger to lessen Vick’s punishment, and my Eagles owner Jeff Lurie loves his dogs as much as you do, so he vetted the situation assiduously. For realz.
These are the proverbial Interesting Times, and transitional characters are sorely in need to help flip the calendar for the good. As awful as the whole Vick episode was, his role is needed now…whether or not he has the character to make that happen, I believe he serves as a catalyst for change. Im rooting for it, more than I ever did for any damn player. YMMV
Doug R
didn’t really need another reason to hate the Stealers. Go ‘hawks!
rikyrah
@CONGRATULATIONS!:
He went to jail. He did his time.
The end.
Eric
So, the rapist doesn’t bother you. But the dog killer does. Got it.
Steve from Antioch
@rikyrah:
Someone who is a reprehensible asshole doesn’t get purified just by passing through the penal system.
Omnes Omnibus
@rikyrah: I largely agree with you, but I understand why people still dislike him.
Betty Cracker
@Mike E: It sounds like you’re talking about more than football here. What kind of change do you envision Vick ushering in? Why do you think Vick, a multimillionaire dog torturer and killler for five years, is the person for the change agent role?
He did his time, and he’s got a right to make a living if he can convince a team that his on-field performance will offset the revulsion he’ll incite among many pet-loving fans, which he’s managed to do so far. But he’s not entitled to anyone’s support or goodwill just because he’s served out the sentence for his horrific crimes.
Personally, I think what he did was unforgivable. I don’t care if he found Jesus. I don’t care how many PR-driven charity events he sponsors or how much dog shit he shovels at the Humane Society to burnish his image. I don’t care how well he throws a football. Anyone who would do what he did is a sick, perverted scumbag.
Admiral_Komack
If Vick & The Steelers win the Super Bowl, Cole will be cheering his ass off.
Omnes Omnibus
@Betty Cracker:
People can change. Vick appears to be working on it. Whether he got there or will get there is open to question. But he seems to be trying.
Betty Cracker
@Omnes Omnibus: For most transgressions, I’d agree — I’m usually a believer in second chances. But someone who deliberately tortured and killed sweet, loyal, innocent animals for five years? You have to be a heartless, depraved prick to do something like that. I don’t think heartless, depraved prickitude is curable. The evil that requires is bone-deep.
khead
– James Harrison last year. On his 2008 girlfriend beating arrest. Of course, we NEEDED a LB something awful last year and there was a playoff run going on.
If I stopped watching the NFL because of shitbags, I’d have to wait until Monday to see how all my bets came out. And that’s just too long.
Will_R
@Steve from Antioch: What’s the point of prison for those people if they can’t be rehabilitated into society?
Vick’s actually doing some good with his work with the Humane Society and serving as an educational case for those who grew up in a culture where dog-fighting is acceptable entertainment.
TriassicSands
To paraphrase Hunter Thompson — Having a favorite professional sports team is like having a favorite oil company. They’re all businesses now.
Rah, Rah, Exxon.
Aleta
Manipulative and violent child molester without a conscience who lives on my block did his 3 months in jail and has a right to live in his house, apply for jobs. Although not a job where he would have influence over children. I’m not disputing his right to work if I say I wouldn’t hire him or watch his (hypothetical) TV show.
Maybe a person whose brain doesn’t experience empathy (and feels good when inflicting severe pain on someone who can’t escape) can change that, or at least change enough to not repeat the behavior. Though I think that the things Vicks has done to rehab his public image in hopes of getting hired to play football again don’t prove anything one way or another.
I doubt that the Steelers’ motivation has anything to do with supporting Vicks’ right to work or his right to rejoin society and be productive. And hey no one has prevented that. If huge profits for a few are the driving force behind sports (fuck cruelty and fuck playing fields and swimming pools and rec centers in poor neighborhoods too), surely it’s more than OK for anyone to refuse to watch. I don’t feel great about the NFL encouraging kids to cheer for him; I guess because animal abuse is so acceptable all over the place as it is, and kids are the portal for brain change.
Suzanne
I’m not going to defend Michael Vick. I abstractly believe in second chances and doing time, but I also don’t believe that anyone is owed a job and that violent criminals shouldn’t be in the public eye. So I haven’t unpacked how I come down on this issue, and it isn’t important anyway.
But FFS, there has been a fucking rapist leading this team for years, and THAT was okay?! He wasn’t convicted, so it was acceptable?!
When they talk about rape culture, this is what they’re talking about.
Tinare
I will admit to giving the Steelers a pass on Roethelisberger. He was already on the team, no charges were filed, I’m not a fan of his, I went through a period of outrage, but continued to watch games though. So maybe this is just the straw for me. You don’t go looking for and signing players with this kind of character. I agree with Betty Cracker on this. He did his time, so I don’t dispute his right to freedom, but that doesn’t mean I have to support his employer. If he were a barista at Starbucks, I’d get my coffee elsewhere.
Go Pirates and Pens!
Mike E
@Betty Cracker: YMMV, who cares what I think. If it changes one more dog torturer, it was worth it. The end.
Betty Cracker
@Mike E: Okay, so you think his current “re-education” program can help change (i.e., eliminate) dog fighting culture. Now your original remark makes more sense. I hope it does too. I don’t believe for a moment Vick is sincere (I think he has to be a sociopath who is incapable of true sincerity to do what he did), but certainly anything that can stop that brutality is worth supporting.
Joel
@CONGRATULATIONS!:
Nannette
As an Eagles fan, I share your pain.
Sherparick
@Keith G: The seventies were when “Classic Rock” and the FM stations took over the dial. I think the Eagles, Elton John, Yes, and Springsteen. James Taylor’s big moment was the early seventies and was gone.
ron
pittsburgh is always a few years behind philadelphia and ny…
anyone that eats meat produced by an industry that brutalizes millions of animals year after year has some nerve whining about michael vick. do cows, pigs, sheep, chickens etc. have some special adaptation to not suffer pain and terror?
also, the easiest thing in the world is to condemn something in which you have no stake. its actually hard to look at yourself and make a change. but you can do it if you try.
Ahurazo
@John Cole: Oh for Christ’s sake, neither was Bill Cosby.
Paul in KY
We have Johnny Manziel! Come on over to Haslem-land.
mr_gravity
@Sherparick: Only if you don’t count these songs:
Shower The People
Handy Man
Your Smiling Face
Up On The Roof
Her Town Too
That’s Why I’m Here
Everyday
Only One
Copperline
gus
For a while it will feel like there’s a hole in your Sunday. Then you’ll realize that hole is actually three free hours to take a walk through fallen leaves or cook a wonderful time consuming warming fall comfort food, or just get the raking done. After a while you won’t miss it at all.