August 23
My comment isn't about politics...but I guess it may have something to do with political correctness. Today I was taken to task by a couple of e-mailers for a remark I made on the air last night. A New York Knicks basketball player, Stephon Marbury, defended Michael Vick by saying dog fighting is a sport and that "they're just dogs."
Our sports anchor, Rich Gould, called it a sign the world is ending, and I chimed in by calling Marbury a moron.
Of the two e-mailers, one was polite but said I shouldn't be venturing my opinion during a newscast. The other said the same thing, but also said I should be more concerned about pedophiles and that I and others in the media were making a big deal of the case because Vick is black.
Ah...where to begin? First, dog fighting is a felony. It is cruel and sadistic, not to mention often deadly. Sport? Getting pleasure out of the suffering of other living things is not sporting, it's barbaric. Years ago, I did a story that helped convict a dog fighter and get him thrown in jail. It also helped toughen Missouri laws in that area. I've seen what happens to dogs that don't win, or according to their owners, don't fight hard enough.
So, Stephon Marbury IS a moron. Was the newscast the place to say it? I'm sure my college journalism professors would say no, but it's hard not to react at times.
The remark about pedophiles was as moronic as Marbury's. Pedophilia and it's related crimes are, to my way of thinking, infinitely more heinous...but that doesn't make dog fighting (and executing them) any less odious.
Finally, the comment about race, which unfortunately, seems to often make it's way into conversations about superstar athletes in trouble. As the head of the NAACP so correctly noted today, Vick is not a victim in this case...and the color of his skin doesn't have anything to do with this being a big news story.