A Vick Conspiracy?

It was recently reported that following the lab reports that Atlanta Falcons' quarterback didn't possess marijuana at Miami Airport, the investigation was thereby over, and the tape got erased. Conspiracy theorists, or to term it more accurately, Michael Vick-haters, are now convinced that Vick did indeed have marijuana and that either he or owner Arthur Blank paid the cops to let him go without any charges.

If this happened to Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees, or Brett Favre, first off, would the press have been so nasty at the outbreak of the news and secondly, would there be conspiracies swirling as frequently? The answer to both those questions is no. Even though African-Americans outnumber Anglo-Americans in the NFL, they're still treated with a level of disrespect by people outside the game. If an African-American player gets in trouble with the law, many people outside the game (who I know), treat it like it's no big surprise. If an Anglo-American player gets busted for something, then woah, that's big news right there! "We" never would've thought that he'd do such a thing!

I see this attitude more than I'd like. People will respect and enjoy watching African-Americans in sports, but not hold that same level of respect for them as people. If those outside the game were head coaches and had an opportunity to draft certain players, they'd be apt to picking a LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Carmello Anthony, Michael Vick, LaDanian Tomlinson, Reggie Bush, etc., because they'd want these guys on their teams. But, away from the court or the field, it's a different story.

I don't like to agree with the likes of Barry Bonds on things, because, well, he's not the most personable athlete in sports. Sometimes, I want to be naive and not believe that racism still goes on in this country, but that'd be pretty stupid of me to think that way. Let's look at a couple examples. When Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong was questioned about potentially taking muscle-enhancing drugs, the majority of American citizens were outraged. Some went on to say, "There you have the French again, trying to spoil our fun, and just being jealous of us winning their race again." I'd say that a small minority of people truly believed that Armstrong took the drugs. But, with Michael Vick and suspicion of marijuana possession? Oh, he's guilty on the spot! Even in baseball, during what is now known as the steroid era, critics and fans alike have seemingly been kinder to Mark McGwire than Barry Bonds. People pulled for McGwire to hit the then record-breaking 70 home runs. This temporarily brought popularity back to baseball. But, when Bonds hit 73? There just wasn't that same excitement and enthusiasm that filled the air or airwaves, for that matter. Whether critics, sportswriters, or fans want to admit it or not, they seemingly put African-American athletes on a shorter leash than Anglo-American athletes. After a solid second half of the season, all of a sudden, 37-year old Jeff Garcia is a better starting quarterback and fit for the Philadelphia Eagles than Donovan McNabb. Following a couple subpar performances, the winless Matt Schaub should take over the reigns for Michael Vick in Atlanta. Peyton Manning was less than stellar in his first two playoff games, but no one idiotically spoke out that they should consider starting the back-up. Tom Brady struggled early on for the Patriots and no one laid down a bonehead idea that the Pats should sit him for Matt Cassell. No. While I do believe that Rush Limbaugh's Donovan McNabb comments were blown a bit out of proportion, I think he was wrong. Look at the starting African-American quarterbacks in the NFL: McNabb of Philly, Vick of Atlanta, Aaron Brooks of Oakland, Byron Leftwich of Jacksonville, Vince Young of Tennessee, Steve McNair of Baltimore, and Jason Campbell of Washington. I already mentioned some comments made about McNabb and Vick, McNabb having taken Philly to the Super Bowl and Vick having taken Atlanta to the NFC Title Game, before losing to McNabb's Eagles. Aaron Brooks is bashed regularly. Some question if Byron Leftwich should be Jacksonville's starting quarterback, even after taking them to the playoffs last year, when he was healthy. People rave about Vince Young now, but just wait. They do this during the player's rookie season. They'll start to bash him in another year or two. Jason Campbell played during the mop up portion of the Redskins' season, so not much buzz one way or the other has been generated about him. Finally, Steve McNair is aging, so the critics and sportswriters are probably kindest toward him. He's also led his former team, the Tennessee Titans, to a Super Bowl appearance. I hear so many sportswriters wanting to see Peyton Manning win a Super Bowl, wanting to see Brett Favre win again, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Tom Brady. Rarely do I hear that about an African-American quarterback. So, sorry Rush, but you were wrong. Critics and sportswriters are obsessed with the notion of the "traditional" quarterback, so, while they were kind to Vick early in his career and have treated Vince Young with that same kind of liking, when they realized that Vick wasn't and Young won't be, a traditional pocket-passing quarterback, that's when their biases came forward.

I'm not going to bash these "conspiracy theorists" for the theory in and of itself. I'm just simply unhappy with the reasons why they believe or choose to believe this. It's somehow wrong to question a Lance Armstrong on if he's used muscle-enhancing drugs, but wrong not to believe that Michael Vick possessed marijuana. Even though it's subtle, I'm amazed by the prejudices, stereotypes, and racism I hear, read, and encounter in the year 2007.