Rooneys = Vick??

[Flasteel]

Just saw this on PFT. Wow.

Rhoden sounds like one racist piece of crap with an agenda.

In the days since the news broke that the Rooney family could be giving up its majority ownership of the Pittsburgh Steelers, there has been almost universal praise for the Rooneys in the media.

But New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden had harsh words for the Rooneys today. On an appearance on ESPN’s The Sports Reporters, Rhoden ripped the Rooneys for their involvement in dog racing, and even compared the Rooneys to imprisoned Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.

“Throughout Michael Vick’s dog fighting ordeal,” Rhoden said, “the National Football League talked about how it opposed Vick’s behavior and cruelty to animals. Now we find out that the Rooneys, one of the pillars of the National Football League, own a dog track.”

Rhoden continued by saying that dog racing is cruel. “The sport should be banned and anyone who aids and abets the industry should be sanctioned, especially an NFL owner whose league just a year ago took such strident stands against animal cruelty,” Rhoden said. “You can’t allow the Rooneys to perpetuate a barbaric industry just because they do it from a luxury box.”

Rhoden was referring to the Palm Beach Kennel Club, which the Rooneys bought in 1970. The NFL has said that some of the business practices of the Kennel Club are inconsistent with NFL gambling policy, and as it appears more likely that the Steelers’ ownership will be restructured, part of that restructuring will likely include having the Steelers and the Kennel Club under separate ownership.

[stlrz d]

I saw this today and forgot all about it. Rhoden looked really pissed off and I totally got the impression that he was trying to turn it into a black and white thing.

[anger 82&95]

Dog racing is comparable to dog fighting??? Maybe if you live in Rod Serling’s dimension...

[Ozey74]

I have no thoughts on this point of view. Sounds like the Rhoden guy is just trying to stir the pot for a reaction.

[Shawn]

The guy does have a point. This is a point I was trying to make when all the Vick nonsense was going on. This boils down to the opinion of cruelty. Where do you draw the line? Many groups of people find dog racing barbaric. There are groups in Mass. trying to ban the practice. Check out the following link.
[url]http://www.protectdogs.org/racing/index.html[/url]

In other countries, and cultures animal fighting is considered a normal part of daily life. My father grew up fighting roosters. His neighbors grew up fighting dogs. They were both tucked away in the hills of Appalachia away from the glaring eye of the judgemental. This was considered a very normal part of life and the law certainly had more important things to worry about.

So where as a culture do we draw a line? Hunting? Fishing? Dog racing? Dog fighting?

Ok...I'm done playing devils advocate.

Other side of the arguement. We as a society have made that determination. The line has beendrawn in the proverbial sand. Legislation has spoken and dog fighting is illegal. What Mike Vick did was illegal. The Rooneys are breaking no laws.

As for the racial undertones. What this writer fails to realize is that animal fighting is as much a part of rural culture as it is inner city. Its as much about whites as it is blacks.

With all of that said...I have to say I do kind of agree with the writer. The Rooneys have their hands in an activity that many deem cruel to animals. They involve themselves all while pointing the finger at men like Vick. It does seem somewhat of a double standard.

[AngryAsian]

Living in Florida, Dog Racing is huge here... in fact when I was out of high school I worked for a dog owner for about 6 months who had a kennel of about 60 greyhounds. I don't know the normal practice of others in this sport, but even back in the mid 80s when animal laws weren't as stringent as they are now.... these dogs were cared for like prized race horses. This owner even had a set up with several pet stores and animal shelters that enabled people to adopt these beautiful animals. Comparing dog fighting and dog racing is like comparing track stars to MMA fighters. I can't intelligently speak about the current state of things with regards to the care of greyhound care and racing, but from my own personal experience, the animals were well cared for and well loved.

[Mr Smartmonies]

Rhoden is a Black man who has decided to pick on the one owner who is mainly responsible for establishing a interview criteria that enables minorities to have
a much better shot at getting a head coaching job. good one.

Here should be Rhoden's next column.

Jerry Jones should burn in hell.

Where is Rhoden at when jerry Jones decides to do everything he can to bring in a player (pacman jones) onto his team , when that player recently was involved in a shooting that left a man in a wheel chair for the rest of his life? Kyle Turley said on ESPN that the guy who owned the bar is a close friend of his and he told him that Jones was the one primariliy responsible for starting the trouble that night. I wonder what Rhoden would say if it wasa white man who was involved and a black man ended up wheel chari bound, and Rooney made a trade for the White player? Its perfectly fine for the Jerry Jones to court Pacman Jones back into the league.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Comparing dog fighting and dog racing is like comparing track stars to MMA fighters.

The first thing I thought of when I read the article was 100m dash vs. UFC. We must be on the same wavelength.

[Shawn]

Comparing dog fighting and dog racing is like comparing track stars to MMA fighters.

The first thing I thought of when I read the article was 100m dash vs. UFC. We must be on the same wavelength.

If the track stars were kept in tiny cages you might have a point.

[Steel Life]

Living in Florida, Dog Racing is huge here... in fact when I was out of high school I worked for a dog owner for about 6 months who had a kennel of about 60 greyhounds. I don't know the normal practice of others in this sport, but even back in the mid 80s when animal laws weren't as stringent as they are now.... these dogs were cared for like prized race horses. This owner even had a set up with several pet stores and animal shelters that enabled people to adopt these beautiful animals. Comparing dog fighting and dog racing is like comparing track stars to MMA fighters. I can't intelligently speak about the current state of things with regards to the care of greyhound care and racing, but from my own personal experience, the animals were well cared for and well loved.

Well put AS...I think for those who don't know much about dog racing, it's easy to point a finger & say that it's cruel. But living down here now I know that's a viewpoint of outsiders who don't know much about it & assign their own fears & concerns, whereas the locals here in Florida (& other areas) see it as just another venue for entertainment, gambling & yes - sport. The fact is that most of these dogs are treated well & the practice in general is monitored by various government & (pardon the pun) watchdog agencies to assure conditions.

I saw the same piece of Rhoden, & while I find him mostly even-tempered & reasonable, I've noticed he does seem to resort to the "black/white" position whenever it suits him. But when he used it in his closing remarks today, it was ill-suited & came off like sour-grapes. But most importantly, what he failed to distinguish for his listeners with his comments was that the two cases - Rooneys vs. Vick - were not remotely similar. The issue for the Rooneys is the recent & state allowed addition of slot machines & other gaming devices to their racing ventures, but that addition now violates NFL rules. Vick on the other hand, participated & financed an ILLEGAL dog-fighting operation & also took an active part in the killing of the dogs.

Rhoden said that Vick went to prison for his involvement & said that the league should force the Rooneys to drop the dog-racing from their involvement, without ever mentioning that the Rooneys may lose control of their franchise because of this newly adopted NFL rule. The two instances couldn't be more different, yet Rhoden carelessly lumped them together without taking care to distinguish what the real issue for the Rooneys was. But Rhoden had a point to make & he wasn't going to let a thing like details get in the way of making his case as to how poor players suffer in comparison to rich white owners.