Portis Supports Vick, Isolates Fans

So, I’ve been wanting to write about this subject all day, but haven’t had the words to express my distaste for the entire situation. Such a comment is rare for a writer, because we always have words for everything. Oh, there’s the occasional writer’s block, but this is different. With writer’s block, you don’t know what to say. I know what I want to say here, I just have no idea how to put it on paper. Well, I didn’t. Now I do. 

 I want to make something clear: I am not an animal rights activist. I think many of those people can get a little crazy with what they do and go too far with their beliefs. But, the use of any animal for the specific use of fighting – to inflict damage on another animal or human – is wrong. Unequivocally wrong. If you’ve seen these dogs up close – or even pictures or video – you understand why I say this. The animals aren’t property, as Portis claims, but are living things that should be treated appropriately. It’s one thing to demolish a building, dig up a yard or junk a car. It’s another to ruin the life of an animal.  

 Think of it this way: Would you condone your neighbor taking an ax and chopping off his dog’s leg? Would you care if he maybe took a knife and slashed the skin of his pet? What if he took a brick and slammed it against his dog’s jaw, breaking it? What if he slashed his dog’s throat?  

 We have to realize that these are injuries are common in dogfights. We wouldn’t allow our neighbor to do those things, even if he “owns” the dog. So why would we say it’s okay to fight dogs? In essence our neighbor would be doing the same thing. 

 And this is why Portis saying what he has is so shocking to me. The blatant stupidity and ignorance of this man is mind-boggling. Why would someone even think that doing these things to animals is acceptable? And why would an NFL player say it publicly? 

 Portis was already on a thin line with me, and he just crossed it. I really want nothing to do with a person like that. But losing me as a fan surely won’t bother him. It’s the fact that he may have crossed the line with his team that will. After all, if Vick being mentioned in the investigation has brought negative publicity to the League and Falcons, what does Portis saying it’s okay do? Believe me, the Redskins and Goodell won’t let this just blow over. Expect a lot more to be said about this, and expect an apology from Portis. If not, he could be finding his way out of
Washington.