Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, Michael Vick may have done his time for running an illegal dogfighting ring, but in the court of public opinion Vick's punishment was not harsh enough. The NFL player is still hated within the animal advocacy community and a recent autograph signing caused an uproar in the town of York, Pennsylvania. Through a third-party organizer, Vick was scheduled to appear at a Buffalo Wild Wings to sign autographs at $75 a picture on October 30. Once word got out among the animal advocacy community that Vick would be at Buffalo Wild Wings, angry messages began to pour in. Most hate comments were directed at the restaurant.
On Friday September 20, Buffalo Wild Wings folded under the pressure of the growing outrage over Michael Vick's appearance. The restaurant issued a statement to the Huffington Post saying they would not hold the unauthorized event in one of their restaurants. "The event was arranged through a third party and did not follow the proper process or go through appropriate approvals," David Hakensen, a Buffalo Wild Wings spokesperson, said in an email. When pressed about the public's outrage influencing the restaurant chain's decision Hakensen said, "I believe the statement speaks for itself."
Despite Buffalo Wild Wings' decision to cancel the event, its organizer, Joe Bartolo, said he would not bow down to faceless threats made over the Internet. Since the owner of JJ Cards-N-Toys announced he would hold the event featuring Michael Vick at the end of October, it has been reported that the Bartolo family received over 1,500 death threats. Despite the numerous death threats, Bartolo will still hold the signing even if it is not at Buffalo Wild Wings. The event already sold 70 tickets. "You don't threaten my family. That's B.S," Bartolo said at an event. "People act big behind a computer," he added.
While those who purchased tickets to receive an autograph from a convicted dog fighting felon will not be happy about the event's delay, the animal rights community is praising Buffalo Wild Wings for their decision. Melissa Smith, the executive director of the York County SPCA told YDR.com that she thinks the restaurant made the right call. "What [Michael Vick] represents to those of us who are compassionate toward animals, I don't think it's something [Buffalo Wild Wings] wants to portray at their establishment." Smith went on to say, "The animals suffered so horribly -- it's not something people are willing to let pass so easily."
One person who is not willing to forgive or forget what Michael Vick did is semi-retired MMA fighter Gordon Shell. After a 20-year career, Shell was forced to leave the ring after he was diagnosed with a heart condition. The 44-year-old now fights for a cause he feels passionately about, the protection of abused animals. Despite the danger to his health Shell will occasionally step back into the ring and fight to raise money for animal charities. Shell offered a challenge to Michael Vick saying if he truly wanted forgiveness he should step into the ring.
Shell challenged Vick to a pay-per-view fight in order to raise money for animal awareness charities. In his challenge to Vick (which has gone unanswered), Shell told the NFL star "If you truly want redemption, if you truly want to be free, people want to see you bleed. At the end of the fight, I'm going to grab the microphone, and just announce to all the animal advocates, OK, this man has actually stepped up. We're both bleeding. He's bleeding. He's felt like what it's like to be a dog. Except he's still alive, we haven't electrocuted him. But he's stepped up. Now we have to let him finally be free."
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