Dogfight fans aren't so easy to categorize

Experts say interest tends to cross lines of race, geography

By Kevin Van Valkenburg | Sun reporter

July 29, 2007

The details of the dogfighting indictment against Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick are as gruesome as they are shocking: starving pit bulls forced to tear one another apart for hours, and animals beaten to death, shot, hanged and electrocuted when they did not perform well.

But what's equally hard to comprehend is the motivation of anyone choosing to participate in an activity as lurid and as morally questionable as dogfighting. What is the attraction?

The answer, according to a number of experts interviewed by The Sun, is complicated. It touches myriad issues, ranging from cultural geography to society's attitude about the treatment of animals, and, for some, it even wades into hot-button topics such as race and rap music. Vick pleaded not guilty Thursday in Richmond, Va., to federal charges that he sponsored and participated in a dogfighting operation, but in the meantime the allegations have ignited a debate about animals fighting for sport, as well as a discussion of how prevalent it is.

John Goodwin, the Humane Society of the United States' top expert and investigator of animal fighting, said that Vick is hardly alone among professional athletes in his alleged affinity for the practice. Goodwin said he has traveled the country and spoken with a number of athletes about dogfighting, and frequently receives tips about athletes' alleged involvement. Some, Goodwin said, enjoy the gambling aspect of it, often wagering thousands of dollars on a single match. Others simply want to have the bragging rights of owning the "top dog" because they're competitive people.

"I think there is a pervasive subculture of dogfighting in the NFL and probably in the NBA as well," Goodwin said. "And it needs to be rooted out. [Vick's indictment] is just the tip of the iceberg."

Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber seems to agree, telling Sports Illustrated last week, "I would bet you that every player in the NFL knows someone who has been to a dogfight."

Vick not the first

Vick, one of the NFL's most recognizable and heavily marketed players, is the most prominent athlete to be charged in connection with dogfighting, but he's not the only one. Former NFL running back LeShon Johnson, who played for the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and New York Giants during a six-year career, was arrested twice for his involvement in a dogfighting ring and in 2005 received a deferred sentence of five years.

Former Portland Trail Blazers forward Qyntel Woods was suspended by the team in 2004 after he was investigated by Oregon law enforcement on suspicion that he was hosting fights at his suburban Portland home. Woods, who is no longer in the NBA, eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree animal abuse.

"I made a lot of mistakes," Woods told reporters in 2005 after he was traded to the Knicks. "You can't change the past. You've just got to move forward."

Goodwin places some of the blame on entertainers, and has been a vocal critic of hip-hop artists such as Jay-Z and DMX for their inclusion of images in their albums and music videos that depict, or at least strongly suggest, dogfights.

Near the end of Jay-Z's "99 Problems," which MTV named Rap Video of the Year in 2004, there are several shots of two pit bulls snarling and lunging at one another as a raucous audience looks on, surrounding the kind of walled-off pit used for dogfights.

DMX, a self-professed dog lover, is featured on a song by female rapper Eve titled "Dog Match," which includes the lyrics "Place your bets/You can imagine what the bloodline is like" and "All my pups is crazy, 'cause off the leash/They can eat, stand a match for three hours at least."

"I definitely think images of dogfighting are glamorized in pop culture, and it fuels the problem," Goodwin said. "I bought a copy of one of DMX's albums recently, Grand Champion, and inside it came with an advertisement for a dog food called Game Dog Professional. The bootleg DVDs out there that feature raw footage of dog fights, and I've seen most of them, are all set to hardcore gangster rap. There's no question, it's part of the problem."

Rap mogul Russell Simmons, one of the music industry's most powerful and revered figures, condemned dogfighting in a letter to the NFL shortly after Vick was indicted. The letter, which was also signed by the Rev. Al Sharpton and the People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals, urged people not to convict Vick before he had his day in court but also not to tolerate animal abuse.

"Today, we sound a clarion call to all people: Stand up for what is right, and speak out against what is wrong," the letter read. "Dogfighting is unacceptable. Hurting animals for human pleasure or gain is despicable. Cruelty is just plain wrong."

But blaming hip-hop culture - or athletes for embracing it - for its contribution to the ills of society is hardly a new or particularly insightful bit of social commentary, said Dr. Marc Lamont Hill, an assistant professor of urban education and American studies at Temple University. And drawing a connection between hip-hop culture and dogfighting, something numerous media outlets have been doing during the past week, fails to recognize the larger truth, he said.

"The word 'culture' is secret-agent talk for race in this country," Hill said. "It allows people to mythologize poor people, black people, brown people without being labeled a racist. There's not a culture of animal abuse in black America or Latino America. Mike Vick's actions certainly don't have anything to do with hip-hop culture. And in reality, hip-hop doesn't show images of dogfighting that much. Even when DMX does, I still don't think young people walk away after listening to his music and think about dogfighting. ... But the reality of race relations in America is, one black person's bad acts are paid for by the whole community, at least within the realm of the media."

ESPN radio host Doug Gottlieb made exactly that connection the day after the indictment was released, saying on his national show, The Pulse, that if he were an African-American, he would be disgusted by Vick's actions, implying that Vick had embarrassed not just himself but his entire race.

"When Allen Iverson scores 50 points in the NBA Finals or Mike Vick runs for a 75-yard touchdown, no one says it's a credit to black people," said Hill, who has written and lectured extensively about hip-hop music and culture. "It's only when something negative happens that it gets linked back to us or to hip-hop."

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Dogfight fans aren't so easy to categorize

Experts say interest tends to cross lines of race, geography

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Dogfight fans aren't so easy to categorize

Experts say interest tends to cross lines of race, geography

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