Vick outrage doesn’t fit his crime

It was a little over a month ago that news about former Virginia Tech and Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick and his role in a dog-fighting ring was all over television and in newspapers.

A column I wrote back then caused quite a stir locally with a couple of readers questioning my morals. I wrote that I was neither a dog lover nor hater.

I also wrote that I had problems equating what Vick and his partners were accused of doing to what frequently happens to humans.

Vick eventually pleaded guilty to operating the dog-fighting ring.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, other animal rights advocacy groups and pet lovers all over America marched and demonstrated against Vick and his partners.

Corporations that had promotional contracts with Vick canceled them. Nike even pulled Vick clothing from stores.

I pointed out at the time that Nike wasn't, to my way of thinking, in a position to condemn Vick when it's accused of using child and slave labor to manufacture apparel. Nike and other corporations that distanced themselves from Vick did so even before he admitted his guilt.

NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell initially banned Vick from training camp, then suspended him indefinitely after the quarterback filed his plea. Vick is scheduled to appear in court for sentencing in December. Presumably, Goodell will announce then whether Vick will ever be allowed to return to the NFL.

Vick was never accused of abusing people. Nor was he accused of drug abuse. Yet many have called for his permanent ban from the NFL.

Why- Because he operated a dog-fighting ring and is believed to have shot and hanged dogs.

I repeat, dogs aren't human and though I don't condone what Vick and his partners did, I still don't agree with the treatment he's received.

He deserves punishment and, to me, he's paid a partial debt. He has lost millions of dollars and is facing time in prison during the prime of his football life.

On Sept. 6, a mother in Corsicana, Texas, found her 6-year-old daughter hanging in the family's garage. An autopsy found she had been sexually assaulted.

A week later, authorities charged the mother's live-in boyfriend in the child's assault and death.

Closer to home: In Richmond recently, a school bus carrying 3- and 4-year-olds home from preschool got caught in a cross-fire gun battle between people in two cars.

Luckily, none of the bus' occupants was injured. After stopping, the bus driver discovered a bullet hole in a bus door. As of this writing, no suspects have been arrested.

So far, neither newspapers nor television news have reported on demonstrators in Texas or Richmond protesting or carrying signs over what happened to the girl or the toddlers.

So, where's the outrage-

Nelson Graves writes a weekly column for The News Virginian. He is Western Virginia director of the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council. E-mail him at .