Smack of Reality #1: Modern Sports Stars Are Above the Law

A few weeks ago I was approached by a fellow Associated Content Producer, John Gugie, about teaming up on weekly rants. Since I love to rant, and the prospect of a partner in crime seems interesting, I said, "Hell yeah!" Every other week, John and I will each write a rant on a specific topic, and publish them here on Associated Content. Our goal is to have each rant published every Friday, as long as I can follow a damn deadline. LOL. So, without further ado, I present the first-ever, Tweak/Gugie Rant Team-Up, Smack of Reality #1: Modern Sports Stars are Above the Law...

Michael Vick is a quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. He has led the Falcons to a playoff victory at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers. Fans love Michael Vick. The Atlanta Falcons have basically built their public relations image around the star quarterback.

Pacman Jones (real name Adam Bernard Jones) is a star NFL cornerback for the Tennessee Titans. After turning some fans off due to his rookie year performance in 2005, Mr. Jones wowed fans during his sophomore season. Pacman Jones is tied for an NFL high, three punt return touchdowns, in a single season.

Even if you don't follow football, the names Michael Vick and Pacman Jones, may sound familiar. Unfortunately, it's not for their prowess on the field, but their lack of brain power off the field. These two sports stars are just the most recent in a long line of professional sports stars that feel they can do whatever they want; like they're above the law.

Michael Vick's news stories mention his professional sports career as a side-note these days. Apparently, there's something else going on with Michael Vick that has attracted a little attention. Let's see, what is it? Umm... Oh yeah, it's his love for the death of innocent creatures! In April of 2007, Michael Vick's headlines switched gears when it was discovered that he had been running an illegal, interstate, dog-fighting ring. The dog-fighting ring, called Bad Newz Kennels, also brought in tens of thousands of dollars in illegal gambling activity. Pacman Jones most recent legal troubles involve an altercation outside an Atlanta strip club, which resulted in gunshots being fired. Three people were hit by the gunshots, and now Pacman Jones is facing lawsuits and felony charges, though he still claims he is innocent. These are the most recent legal troubles for these two. Both of them have had a string of legal problems (drugs, assault, dog-fighting, and more) for the past few years.

The thing that upsets me almost as much as Michael Vick loves dead pit-bulls, is the fact that society does not seem to really care. These sports stars just run around, doing whatever the hell they want, and receiving no more than a slap on the wrist. Sure, the NFL has suspended Pacman Jones before, and Michael Vick is on indefinite suspension, but once the suspensions are lifted, they'll be right back at work. Why? Why should they be allowed to return to the job that makes them millions and keeps them in the public spotlight? Because they're good role-models? HA!

It's us, the public, that allow sports stars to treat the law like it doesn't apply to them. How do we do this, you may be asking yourselves? Well, simply put, it's because we pay them. We buy the tickets. We buy the memorabilia. We put them up on a pedestal when they do something good for our enjoyment, but never really take them too far down from that pedestal when the screw up. Teams will still want them after the dust settles, because people will still pay to see them play a game. That is the truly sad fact in the wake of all this crap.

And this is not just isolated to sports stars, since society allows anybody famous to do whatever they wish. If people would spend the money and time they waste watching these stars, on something more worthwhile, maybe those in the public spotlight would think twice before doing something stupid. Just imagine, if every dollar that was spent on Michael Vick and Pacman Jones by fans over the years, was put into an account, there would actually be enough money to make professional sports teams actually listen.

But no, that's not what we wanna do. We want to keep shelling out millions of dollars to support these idiotic stars and their actions. People don't want to bring a change, when they could just blame the stars. Entertainment vs The Right Thing... Who wins? Entertainment. Go us!

Smack of Reality Note: This is part of an ongoing series of bi-monthly rants published by AC Content Producers, Tweak and John Gugie. We will tackle a different controversial topic with each rant - each of us giving our own opinions in our own unique styles. For easy reference, each of our rants is numbered the same. Here you will find John's Rants and Tweak's Rants.