"I never lived in no ghetto.
Carving people up in the night --
That makes me think of Gepetto.
That oughtta prove that I'm white."
Posted on 01/07/2006 6:24:21 AM PST by Corin Stormhands
Beamer and others will discuss Marcus Vick's situation more today
Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick was kicked off the team yesterday after yet another legal problem for him surfaced.
Tech President Charles Steger said in a news release that Vick "has been permanently dismissed from the Hokie football program due to a cumulative effect of legal infractions and unsportsmanlike play."
(Excerpt) Read more at timesdispatch.com ...
Be sure to read all of the article. Some are making this a race issue.
Hokies absorb the news
By David Harrison
981-3349
The Roanoke Times
Nothing, it seems, gets sports fans more excited than a good controversy.
And Southwest Virginia gave the country much to chew on Friday night with the news that the troubled-yet-talented quarterback Marcus Vick would not don Virginia Tech's orange and maroon next season.
Here in Hokie Nation, however, the news cut more deeply. This wasn't just another sports scandal. ThiAdvertisement
s was the star player, brother of a legend, on whom many boosters had pinned their hopes to deliver a national championship.
But along with glory, Vick seems to have also brought Tech fans some heartburn. First, in 2004, when he was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor then later with reckless driving and possession of marijuana; then, during the Gator Bowl game Monday when he seemed to intentionally dig his spikes into the back of an opposing player's knee; now, with the most recent revelation that he had been charged by Hampton police Dec. 17 with speeding and driving on a suspended license.
That was the last straw for the university, which issued a statement late Friday afternoon saying that Vick had been "permanently dismissed" from the team. Many fans seemed to approve.
"That was actually a real good decision because it cannot be tolerated," said 26-year-old Calvin Valentine, who was eating dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings at Valley View Mall. "He's a very excellent player; he just had a whole lot of issues."
But Valentine isn't worried. Someone will "step up" for the Hokies, he said, a prediction that many fans shared.
"There's a lot of talent on the team," he said confidently as he glanced at the restaurant's big-screen televisions, which were promoting this weekend's NFL playoffs.
Over in Blacksburg, fans argued that no matter how good a player may be, the first priority is not to embarrass the team.
"We have a reputation to uphold," said Catherine Fletcher, a recent Tech graduate who spent Friday evening at the Hokie House.
Brandon Lockwood, a Tech senior, heard the news at Beamer's Restaurant in Christiansburg, which is partly owned by Tech coach Frank Beamer. "He's had that many chances and he still can't get his act straight?" he asked. "It's about like a slap in the face to the school."
Still, a few die-hards were in a forgiving mood.
"They gave Clinton another chance, didn't they?" asked Michael Charles, a Myrtle Beach, S.C., resident who was visiting friends at Schooners on Williamson Road in Roanoke. "Everybody can make mistakes."
"People in Virginia got to learn how to forgive and forget," said Darrell Shelton of Roanoke, who was nursing a drink at the bar of Buffalo Wild Wings.
Shelton, a Tech fan since the early 1980s, has a soft spot in his heart for Michael Vick, Marcus Vick's older brother who led the Hokies to the national championship game in 2000 and now quarterbacks the Atlanta Falcons. But before the Vicks there were Bruce Smith and Jim Druckenmiller and soon there will be other greats to cheer, Shelton said.
What bugs him, though, is how the 21-year-old Marcus Vick was treated.
"They ought to congratulate him for taking them to the Gator Bowl," he said. Vick should have apologized for the stomping incident but at the same time, he noted, "football's a contact sport." As for the off-the-field indiscretions: "The judges are going to handle that."
To Shelton, a 1968 graduate of Fieldale's George Washington Carver High School, then a segregated school, Vick's fall from grace leaves a bitter aftertaste.
"I think race is playing a big role in it," he said.
Shelton rode on a Valley Metro bus Friday afternoon that was buzzing with the news of Vick's dismissal. "Everybody feels on the bus that he's been mistreated," he said.
Staff writer Greg Esposito contributed to this report.
Not even close to true, Vick has poor ball control when he ventures out of the pocket - that's how Miami slammed them like a screen door. He is in for a rude awakening if he gets picked up by a Pro team. My thoughts are that he will try to get picked up just to get the check in the bank and then never take a snap.
LOL! That's EXACTLY what I said to my husband!!
He's a rich kid. He can't play that. He was responsible for the Hip Hop Club in the old MishMish location. I bet (and hope) it closes now.
I used to see him driving around town last Spring and this Fall. I guess he didn't know his license was suspended.
He'll play as a receiver in the NFL. He's a better receiver than a QB and he was the #1 QB in the ACC.
"I never lived in no ghetto.
Carving people up in the night --
That makes me think of Gepetto.
That oughtta prove that I'm white."
No, that kid has "third round draft choice" and "Ryan Leaf-like career" written all over him.
He was warned, but thought – because he’s such a great quarterback – that nothing would ever happen to him. Now that he’s booted off the Tech team he’s ready for the pro draft. I wonder what he will say if none of the pros want him?
Nope.
According to ESPN the USC quarterback, Leinhart, took one course last semester--ballroom dancing. So much for the University of Spoiled Children. I'm sure Vick's academic load was equally demanding.
Ouch.
The Clinton Legacy just keeps on paying dividends, doesn't it?
FSU dominates both of those teams (Tech and Syracuse).
"I think race is playing a big role in it," he said.
Whoop, there it is!
It was more like no quarterback in history would have had the stamina to hold up to the domination of that FSU defense in that game. They had too much depth and even Vick was getting shut down in the backfield where he usually would have wiggled out and made a play. he was done and he knew it. The frustration was oozing.
After reading that article this morning in the "library", my visit was extended. Whenever I see the word Clinton, I always get a sudden affiction of the "slick willies" and the "hillarys".
And the Clinton Legacy continues.
Just my thoughts on the matter.
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