Michael Vick is back in the news. He’s been signed to a one-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a backup to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

The announcement was protested, ironically, on National Dog Day.

Michael Vick was nearly banned from professional football because of his treatment of dogs.

“Vick pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges in 2007 for his role in a dogfighting ring. He served nearly two years in prison and has played six NFL seasons since, including five with the Eagles and one with the Jets. The Steelers signed him Tuesday night.”

Vick went to jail for mistreating dogs. He didn’t kill tens of thousands of unborn babies and sell unborn baby body parts. While mistreating dogs is a bad thing, it does not begin to compare to killing human beings.

Here’s what Natalie Ahwesh, a Steelers season-ticket holder, said about Vick being part of the Pittsburgh team:

“This move is embarrassing. It’s upsetting. I’m angry. I’m not going to be able to go to the games and have fun and watch with my family. The season is ruined for me as long as he’s on the team.”

Can you imagine the hue and outcry if Vick and Co. had aborted puppies and sold their paws for good luck charms? “Oh, the humanity!” or is it, “Oh, the caninity”? Dog lovers around the world would have protested on the steps of every NFL owner’s home to rid the sport of the dog killer.

The Vick dogfighting scandal was front page news for weeks and still reverberates today. Every major and minor news outlet covered the story.

The same has not been true of the Planned Parenthood abortion videos.

The Animal League Defense Fund describes what takes place at these dogfighting events:

• The dogfighting activity was violent and bloody.
• Dogs were methodically tested and poor performers executed.

Sounds a lot like what was caught on tape from Planned Parenthood employees ad what the organization was doing with unborn babies – violent and bloody in having the “least of these” executed.

“I don’t know if [Vick] was fighting dogs or not,” former running back Clinton Portis said. “But it’s his property; it’s his dogs. If that’s what he wants to do, do it.”

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? “It’s her body. If she wants to kill her unborn baby, let her do it.”

Dogs get more legal protection than unborn babies!

Get this:

“A petition has been launched on Change.org to unite Steelers fans against the arrival of Vick, who signed with the club on Tuesday. The petition had more than 20,000 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon.”

Here’s what one of many outraged Steelers fans had to say about the team picking up Vick:

“I have been a loyal Steelers fan for over 50 years and I am sickened to think that the integrity that we, the Steeler Nation, have been so proud of is in jeopardy. Art Rooney Sr. is probably turning over in his grave at the thought of having this felon on the team. Michael Vic didn’t have the guts to attempt to brutalize someone that could defend themselves, but brutalized a species that could not stand up against him. Go to hell Michael Vic … that is where you belong, not Pittsburgh.”

I wonder how many of these Steelers fans voiced similar outrage over what Planned Parenthood is doing. Of course, it’s possible that they don’t know anything about it because the mainstream media have refused to cover the story.

There are some NFL players who have denounced Planned Parenthood. Benjamin Watson, who plays for the New Orleans Saints, is one of them:

One more thing, the National Football League team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, through its foundation, donated more than a quarter-million dollars to Planned Parenthood in past years.1

1. Jim Brown and Pete Chagnon, “NFL franchise accused of aiding abortion industry” (August 27, 2007). [↩]