Michael Vick and the Perils of Excessive Negritude in America (Updated December 14, 2007)
Originally published in , December 12, 2007
Michael Vick and the Perils of Excessive Negritude in America
Former NFL superstar Michael Vick deserves to spend time in prison for the “uncommon law” crime of gross stupidity rather than federal dog fighting-related charges. I guess “Bad Newz Kennels” was far more prophetic a name than Vick could have imagined. On December 10, 2007, Vick was arguably unfairly sentenced to 23 months in federal prison for conspiracy in a dog fighting ring infamously known as “Bad Newz Kennels” and for helping to brutality kill pit bulls. While I believe that a 23 month sentence for crimes against dogs is a bit harsh, I would support a longer sentence for aggravated stupidity.
Vick has lost his freedom, an extremely successful NFL career, and squandered away the most lucrative football contract in history. The NFL turned its back on him and the Atlanta Falcons have been shockingly disloyal. His NFL jersey and posters have been removed from homes, shops and restaurants, and once adoring fans scorn him. He is no longer the envy of NFL enthusiasts but rather the prototype poster-child for animal cruelty and wickedness on the one hand, and a shining example of the notion that money cannot buy class, consciousness, or culture on the other. The lesson here is that African-American men must understand that rational choice is the fault line between fame and fortune and penal sanction and perversion.
The Vick scandal highlights four important issues about race relations in America and our criminal justice system. First, it is a misnomer that rich and famous African-American men have the same freedom as others. Irrespective of class status black will always come-up against the color line in America. Second, white people have always had closer relationships with their dogs than black people. This is why they have historically referred to dogs as man’s best friend and black people as, well, you know. This is not a racial jab but a hard reality in a country still struggling to deal the cultural legacy of segregation. Third, African-American men who engage in criminal behavior should expect to receive disparate treatment in the criminal justice system especially with respect to sentencing. If you can’t do double the time don’t do the crime. Last, fame and fortune are not synonymous with class and civility. You can take the NFL player out of the hood, but he is ultimately responsible for shedding hoodlum-like behavior. There is nothing gangster about being imprisoned with men for dog crimes or any other.
Vick’s case presents the multiple paradoxes of Negritude that too many African-American men fail to understand. For several months the various sports experts, media psychologists, public intellectuals and average Joe’s have pontificated about the causes and consequences of Vick’s dog fighting scandal. Whites, dog lovers and conservatives have been quick to condemn Vick for being immoral and uncivilized. In their eyes Vick represents yet another example of an arrogant young African-American professional athlete unable to handle fame and fortune. African-Americans, liberals and perhaps cat enthusiasts have sought to psycho analyze Vicks economic, social and cultural background and heritage to explain his dog fighting behavior drawing eerie links between urban black culture and dogisms. Some have even foolishly argued that dog fighting is an African-American pastime or that it is a by-product of hip hop culture. I will leave the psychological hugabaloo to others.
What I do know is that Vick treated pit bulls, the fiercest and most reviled canine, like white Americans treated blacks during slavery. He owned, bred and neglected them, forced them to fight for entertainment, brutally disciplined them when they did not perform well, and killed them when they became weak or rebellious. His niggardly treatment of pit bulls reveals a sick thirst for violence and a reckess disregard for life.
Whatever the case may be, any person who in the prime of their life pisses off a 10-year, $130 million deal to play professional football, and willingly imprisons himself for dog fighting is patently stupid, insecure and lacking basic social graces. What every young African-American male should take away from the Vick episode is that while the baller or gangster-like lifestyle seems attractive, the real American gangster is America’s criminal justice system.
Jeremy I. Levitt, Professor of Law, Florida International University College of Law and Distinguished Research Scholar, Northern Illinois University College of Law
