I join you in a teeth-bearing growl, but I'd also like to bark a question to everyone who's reading this: How can we continue to educate the public about the horrors of dogfighting, and how can we begin to work together to stamp it out? There's a lot of very graphic coverage out there now in the press and media. People who never heard of dogfighting before are now aware of it. Can that awareness be turned into action?

There is a few things that makes me mad.

1. The measures the government and parts of society to ruin this man's career over something which is really nobody else's business. ( if he was involved.)

2. Animals do not ( or should I say should not) have rights. People like PETA (that will protect an earthworm but would not left one finger or give one cent for an human cause like ending homelessness) needs to be persecuted.

3. It is ok to cockfight. It is ok to run horses until they lose their legs. Raise chickens just to eat them. But cannot dogfight. Heck, why don't we start a war with China since Chinese people eat dogs. That's America's way. Isn't that wrong too.

My point is there is more imprortant things for this society and government to worry about. Look at the city we live in with all these murders. Look at the poverty. That is way important than your stoopid little mutt.

And anybody that say different is dispicable and disgusts me.

Human rights FIRST.
P.S. I wonder if Vick would this attention if he was Caucasian.

Don’t be too quick to judge
By Deion Sanders
Originally published on July 22, 2007

DELIVERING YOUR WORLD
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Seminole Casino

I would’ve never thought Mike Vick, one of the NFL’s most exciting players — the man who makes the network execs smile every time he plays — would ever be indicted for crimes against man’s best friend.

The potential impact could be devastating.

He could lose millions worth of endorsements. Nike has already suspended the release of his new shoe. He could lose millions he was supposed to get from the Atlanta Falcons, if the club decides to cut him. That’s unlikely, but it could happen if he’s convicted or makes a plea arrangement.

Or his reputation might wind up so stained that he’s never forgiven in the court of public opinion. That would be too bad for the 27-year-old superstar.

This is all the result of perspective.

What a dog means to Vick might be a lot different than what he means to you or I. Hold on, don’t start shaking your head just yet. Listen to me.

Some people kiss their dogs on the mouth. Some people let their dogs eat from their plate. Some people dress their dogs in suits more expensive than mine, if you can believe that.

And some people enjoy proving they have the biggest, toughest dog on the street. You’re probably not going to believe this, but I bet Vick loves the dogs that were the biggest and the baddest. Maybe, he identified with them in some way.

You can still choose to condemn him, but I’m trying to take you inside his mind so you can understand where he might be coming from.

I’m sure all of the animal activists and Humane Society folks have a dart board with Vick’s picture in the center of it. And if he plays this season, PETA is going to picket every stadium where he plays.

Still, I must ask the question: Where is all of this going?

By now you’ve read all of the accusations about the cruelty involving the dogs — and I’m not just talking about their duels to the death. All of that is enough to make me cringe because I have three highly-trained protection German shepherds, just in case someone wants to rob my family.

Believe me, you don’t want to deal with them. With one German command, our dog Yascho turns into Cujo. And for the record, I live around the corner from the police station, so it won’t take them long to show up and save you from the dogs.

Now back to Vick.

Why are we indicting him? Was he the ringleader? Is he the big fish? Or is there someone else? The fights allegedly occurred at a property that he purchased for a family member. They apparently found carcasses on the property, but I must ask you again, is he the ringleader?

This situation reminds me of a scene in the movie “New Jack City,” when drug dealer Nino Brown is on the witness stand and eloquently says, “This thing is bigger than me.”

Are we using Vick to get to the ringleader? Are we using him to bring an end to dogfighting in the United States?

The only thing I can gather from this situation is that we’re using Vick.

Was he wrong? Absolutely. Was he stupid? Can’t argue with that. Was he immature? No doubt. But is he the ringleader? I just can’t see it.

I believe Vick had a passion for dogfighting. I know many athletes who share his passion. The allure is the intensity and the challenge of a dog fighting to the death. It’s like ultimate fighting, but the dog doesn’t tap out when he knows he can’t win.

It reminds me of when I wore a lot of jewelry back in the day because I always wanted to have the biggest chain or the biggest, baddest car. It gives you status.

Can I pause for a moment to ask you a question?

Who shot Darrant Williams? Remember the Denver Bronco cornerback? I’m just more concerned about bringing to justice someone who killed a human. Or finding out who broke into Miami Heat forward Antoine Walker’s home, tied him up and robbed him at gunpoint.

We’re attacking this dogfighting ring the same way a teenager attacks his MySpace page after school (by the way parents, make sure you monitor your kids). We should have the same passion for man that we have for man’s best friend.

The reason this is turning into a three-ring circus is that baseball is boring, basketball is months away, football is around the corner and we in the media don’t have a thing interesting to write about.

How will this end up? I have no idea. All I know is Falcons fans better pray because Vick’s backup is Joey Harrington. Enough said.

God bless and God willing I’ll hollah at you next week.

— Deion Sanders, a North Fort Myers High School graduate, played in the NFL and Major League Baseball. He works as an analyst for the NFL Network and is part-owner of the Austin Wranglers of the Arena Football League.

I dare you or anybody else in the Sun to post or talk about these comments

I'll take your dare. Mr. Sanders has proven by writing this that he's about as stupid as Mr. Vick. Maybe being associated with the NFL causes peoples' IQ's to decrease.

Point 1: He has three "highly trained" German Shepherds who turn into Cujo at his word. Not impressive. The Baltimore City Police Department has highly trained German Shepherds who will turn into Cujo fast enough if ordered to. The significant difference is that they were intelligently trained by people who understand the Shepherd's natural intelligence and its guarding and herding instincts. When they're off duty, they live safely in the community with their handlers. You can turn a Maltese Terrier into Cujo if you abuse it enough. So much for Mr. Sanders and his schutzhunds.

2. Regarding Darrant Williams, whose case is familiar, and the Miami Heat player, whose case is not familiar: When has anybody said that justice should not be sought on their behalf? I don't believe either of these crimes occurred in Suffolk County, Virginia, and I don't believe the Federal government has jurisdiction over them either. Let the cops in Denver and Miami find the perpetrators and bring them to justice, and the sooner the better. All crime investigations nationwide don't have to come to a halt while that happens.

3. Some people like having the biggest, baddest dog on the street. Some people apparently also like to torture the biggest baddest dogs on the street, forcing them to die in agony for their amusement and profit. Some people like to murder their wives, daughters, and sisters in "honor killings." Some people like to watch videos of human infants being abused. Just because some people like these things doesn't mean the rest of us have to tolerate them.

There's an old saying that if you don't want to smell like a pig, you shouldn't lie down with the pigs. There's a definite stench arising from Mr. Vick at the moment. If the stench is strong enough to have alerted people to the fact that there's a problem, so much the better. The cops didn't go out to that residence looking for dogs. The fact is, they would have had to be blind and deaf not to find the evidence they found. At this point, Mr. Vick has the opportunity and the inalienable right to exonerate himself of the accusations made against him.

My favorite part of Dieon's argument is that he likens dog fighting to a status symbol, similiar to a chain he wanted to have back in the day. The problem with his logic (one of many, actually) is that dogs are NOT status symbols. They are living animals who actually feel pain. People like Dieon saying that dogs are disposable or that they are status symbols are actually perpetuating that dog fighting is ok. It's not. It's illegal and wrong and says alot about the humans who deem it ok. If they tortured dogs when they were alone, we would call them sociopaths. Torturing animals in a group does not make it any better. And if that means their wonderful career is over, too bad. They should have thought about what they were doing before they opened a kennel with a misspelled name.