NotebookRadio Host Harrasses Michael Vick With Pictures of His Old Dog
Richard HunterLast week, Michael Vick accepted a key to the city from Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway. Afterwards, while Vick tried to leave, Dallas radio host Richard Hunter of 1190 AM chased Michael Vick with a camera and a picture of one of his former pit bulls. Hunter adopted the dog after it was saved from Bad Newz Kennels.
He posted the below video of the incident. (WARNING: It contains brief but strong language. ALSO, this post includes sentences containing substantial aggravation. Read on at own risk.)
What Hunter has done is ludicrous. I hope this isn't how he usually does things. "Interviews" like this make people hate media members. Guys like Hunter make me wish I wasn't a journalist. They make it so hard to tell the good stories, because when people hear that you're a journalist working on a story about them, they get scared.
This video shows why.
"I thought he would relish an opportunity to find out how one of [his dogs] was doing," Hunter writes in the video. "I was wrong."
It's a fine idea. If Vick talks, it'll make a nice feature. But Hunter kept pushing after Vick said no. He had no appointment. Vick owed him no time. And yet Hunter pressed on.
As you'll see, Vick's crew tells Hunter, multiple times, to leave them alone. When Hunter—who goes by "Big Dick" on air—refuses, he gets cussed out. (Then he whines about being cussed out. Seriously? I'm a pretty calm, nice guy, and I probably would have have cussed you out at that point.) Then he takes one comment—"We don't care about the dog"—and twists that into something it's not.
"Was I talking to the old Michael Vick?" writes Hunter.
Oh. Come. On.
If I'm Hunter's boss, he's going on probation or getting fired for this. He irresponsibly and unfairly twisted the whole thing to make Vick look awful. I wouldn't be surprised if he got sued. This is what they call yellow journalism: Biased, sensationalized "reporting." This pseudo-reportage was twisted to attack, not inform. This is as yellow as yellow gets.
I'm not going to play psychologist or psychic and dissect what I think "We don't care about the dog" means. But here's a guess: It's not their dog, so they don't care about it. Here's another: The dog represents everything that ruined Vick's life. Beg his pardon if he doesn't want to revisit that.
What's Hunter's deal?
Is he that upset that Vick didn't want to talk to him?
Is he just looking for attention?
I don't know.
I also don't know how much Michael Vick has really changed. But I believe in the best. I grew up with dogs, have always loved them, and we have two now; one is half pit. I hate what Vick did, but I'm not holding it against him for life. For one, he doesn't deserve that, and two, all that does is wear me out; he doesn't care what I think.
And, you know what, has he been killing dogs lately? Or has he been dedicating his life and time to educating kids on the dangers of dog fighting and living wrong? Has he been bankrolling dogfighting rings again, or is he a little too busy trying to dig his way out of bankruptcy?
Yeah, Hunter, you were wrong, but not about what you thought.
We're all imperfect people. I'm not condemning Hunter for what he did. We all have our bad moments.
Hunter's was just a spectacular one at another man's expense.
My blog is growing, but it's too small for me to actually believe this post will have any weight, any significance, in this stupid situation. Nonetheless, I just wanted to be a voice of reason, for whoever might happen to hear it.
Reader Comments (3)
I think you said what anyone with a heart believes this was a set-up and this man had no good intetnions whatsoever. Michael Vick is apporaching this correctly he is speaking out against what he did to kids at risk. He is in the field while these people are actually bent on destroying him. What was talking to him going to do for the dogs? Those were bodyguards sent by the NFL he has a problem with it he needs to understand that Goodell approved Mike's agenda and this guy certainly was not on it.
Thanks for the comment, JMT. I have a hard time believing that people are actually bent on destroying Vick, but there are some people who just get caught up in their own fervor and emotion, and it leads to things like this.
I feel for Vick. As a journalist, I don't like taking up for athletes too much. It makes me feel and seem biased. But I've walked on both sides of the line. It's as hard, if not harder, for an athlete to deal with the exposure brought by modern day media than it is to stand in the pocket against a 300-pound defensive lineman. I really feel for these guys, and hate to see them eviscerated unfairly and unnecessarily by gossipy guys like Hunter.
DICK Hunter is exactly the kind of reporter that gives the media a bad name. We know what Michael Vick did, and we know he's on probation. The point is, he was there for something else, and this jacka_ _ reporter was there to cause problems. DICK is a self righeous, judgemental jerk, and there are far too many of those in this country. Michael is trying to move on, but people like DICK can't let it go. I am an animal lover too, and I didn't like what was going on with the dogs either. Michael was arressted and charged and sentenced, and I must say he has done far more than many of us, to come back and try to improve his life, maybe DICK could learn something from Michael. Ok DICK, you have a dog now, good for you, now go home and love it, pet it, feed it and be a good pet owner......and leave Michael alone!