More Bad Newz for Michael Vick: Terrell Owens Is Rallying to His Side

The saying goes, "You should never be afraid to speak your mind."

It's a good saying, words to live by even, as long as you don't take them literally.

Like all adages, it's only true in the general and/or rhetorical sense. If you are a semi-intelligent and thoughtful person, you should almost never shy from giving voice to said thoughts.

On the other hand, if you're a borderline moron who lacks even the most porous filter between your misfiring neurons and your mouth, then you should probably live in constant fear.

Oh, if it were only that simple...

Unfortunately, Terrell Owens—like many who answer to some semblance of the latter description— is no coward. On the field or behind the microphone.

There are some absolute gems in there, stuff only a gifted gabber like Terrible O could spew forth. Stuff like, "Vick is a guy that really hasn't had any character issues besides [the dog-fighting incident]," or "the commissioner needs to go sit in jail for 23 months."

But let's get the Michael Vick elephant in the room under control.

I actually agree with Owens' ultimate conclusion—I said so last October.

Vick is a human being and was guilty of no direct transgression against a fellow human being. Like it or not, our society puts a higher premium on humans versus that on animals—legally, ethically, morally, take your pick.

Until that changes with clear and articulate warning, you simply cannot argue Michael Vick still has a marker out with us. The former quarterback has paid his debt to society and deserves reinstatement.

Happily, this is where my road (and that of plain reason) deviates from TO's more, ahem, winding path.

Because Roger Goodell has every right to make the dethroned King of the Kennel jump through hoop after hoop.

Goodell gets what Bud Selig either won't or can't comprehend—the National Football League is his, and he's been given the League for its protection. Until that changes, he can and will do whatever he deems necessary to keep it safe.

From external and internal infection.

That is the power and obligation of every sport's commissioner. Bud Lite is an exemplar of abject failure in this regard, while the heavy-handed Goodell seems to be heading in the other direction.

In doing so, Roger Goodell is wielding the only power he has over his gaggle of millionaire charges: the power of privilege.

Employment in the NFL is a privilege.

Even under contract, the private entity is free to set certain minima for behavioral conduct that its employees must adhere to in order to continue receiving benefits of the League.

This is what Terrell Owens and other spoiled, arrogant, petulant divas like him don't understand:

"Vick has a right to make a living."

Yes—yes he does, Terrell.

American citizens have inalienable rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The latter has been taken to include the right to earn an adequate living (amongst others). It has never included the right to earn millions of dollars playing football.

NEVER.

That is a privilege, and an extravagant one.

Some will say Owens speaks of the right to enjoy whatever fruits the free market showers upon your labor.

Wrong.

Michael Vick has done no labor for the NFL since he was incarcerated. Indeed, he hasn't been under the employ of the NFL for that time. The right to fair compensation doesn't kick in until you have a right to compensation in the first place.

We're talking about a right to enter a specific private market, and that doesn't exist under these circumstances.

Such a right can be found where the only grounds for preclusion are race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. Not where such grounds are brutally killing dogs for sport or emotional gratification.

If you want to argue Roger Goodell doesn't have the authority to keep Michael Vick from playing, that's a different story.

But arguing Vick has the "right" to play in the NFL is as ridiculous as arguing I'm entitled to the same—if Goodell deems it, the former would fail the behavioral requirements while I fail the physical ones.

The commissioner has been making it clear since he took office—both are necessary if you want a ticket to ride.

Sadly, Terrell Owens can't accept this unsophisticated concept.

He represents the faction of pro athletes and pseudo-celebrities who believe themselves special because they've been treated as such by the swirling sycophants for so long.

Perhaps it's not their fault, or perhaps it is. No matter, because the problem is theirs.

It's clear from Owens' behavior and words that he sincerely thinks he is superior, as are those like him. Normal rules don't apply; normal consequences can be avoided. His life is becoming a testament to the idea that members of his universe enjoy rights that normal people don't.

Of course, Terrell Owens thusly butchers the hallowed principle behind rights—that they are fundamental aspects of the human condition, available to each and every one of us regardless of position or influence.

Which brings me to another wise collection of words:

"It is better to be silent and thought the fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt."

Terrell Owens eradicated even the microbes of suspicion many moons ago.

Now, he's merely working on magnitude.

**www.pva.org**