NFL Dogged By Pit Bull Problem

Pit bull owners typically fall into two categories:

Creeps.

Or imbeciles.

Michael Vick is both, of course. He’s also pathological, which is why he lost millions of dollars and nearly two years of his life in federal prison. It’s also why he’s still on the outside of the NFL looking in, getting ready to serve two months of home confinement and report to his $10-an-hour construction job while commissioner Roger Goodell weighs his future against the indignation of dog-lovers across the country.

The problem for Goodell is that there are a lot of creeps/imbeciles in his league when it comes to pit bull ownership. In locker rooms across the NFL, there are irresponsible men who own these dangerous animals, and they do so not to save them from the shelters -- some are used to fight, others just to menace. Nearly all are a threat to those around them unless handled properly, which in most cases they are not.

You’ve probably heard by now that the two-year-old son of Steelers linebacker James Harrison has spent nearly a week in a Pittsburgh children’s hospital with a severe leg wound after being attacked by Harrison’s “pet” pit bull in the family’s backyard last Thursday.

According to Pittsburgh TV station WTAE, the problem started when the toddler’s mother let the four-year-old animal, named “Patron” (yes, like the Tequila), out of his cage while the boy was playing in the backyard.

That’s usually about all it takes, doesn’t it?

“I thought he was kind of just like playing, jumping on him,” said a family friend, Lisa Ripi, who witnessed the attack. “But he started to grab at the baby, and then I saw the blood, and the mom fell on top of him and she was screaming for me to take her baby and the dog was biting her.

“I picked up the baby from her and ran about 40 yards and dropped him over a fence about two feet, and the dog then went to go for the baby through the fence, which then gave me a moment to get around him, and I picked up the baby and called 911,” added Ripi.

Good thing “Patron” grabbed a hold of the toddler’s leg and not his face. Or his throat. Good thing this “pet” wasn’t able to gnaw his way though the fence to reach his prey. Then we’d be talking about a whole different story.

Not that that would shake any sense into the pit bull crowd. The following quote is not made up:

“I feel bad for the dog,” Ripi told WTAE. “He was a great dog, and that’s not in his character.”

Imbecile.

If that comment doesn’t represent the classic response from pit bull owners, then I don’t know what does. They’re oblivious.

And persistent. PETA has mobilized against Vick, and whatever team has the misfortune of signing him will surely face a wave of protest. But I wonder: Who is going to protest on the behalf of Harrison’s son, or the hundreds of people who are attacked by these animals every year? Frankly, I’m far more concerned about those folks than the pit bulls who were caged behind Vick’s house.

But I’m clearly in the minority here in dog-lover nation, where we are far more outraged by Vick’s abuses (towards dogs, most of them pit bulls) than we are by Harrison’s negligence (towards his human son).

It isn’t like this elsewhere. In France, pit bulls are neutered and their ownership is restricted across the country. In Italy, they must be muzzled in public. In the UK, certain breeds are banned altogether.

But in the NFL, the fascination remains. The WTAE report, for example, said that Harrison was given the nickname “Pit Bull” by his teammates for his “ferocious and relentless style on the football field.”

How neat.

But back to the matter at hand. If the NFL, and society in general, has a place for Harrison, then shouldn’t it have a place for Vick by now?

We’ve heard that Goodell has to punish Vick for lying to him, which is hogwash. Everyone lies in the NFL. If you attached a polygraph machine to most coaches the thing would explode. Goodell can take it. This is about pressure from dog-lover nation and the loss of sponsorships. This about the outrage over what Vick did behind that house in Virginia.

And on that score, I think Vick has paid his debt to society -- and then some.

So, in my opinion, one of two things has to happen: Either Harrison should be forced to join Vick on the construction site, or Vick should be reinstated into the league immediately.

Where he can rejoin all the other creeps and imbeciles.

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Felger can be seen every Sunday night at 10 p.m. on “Sports Sunday” on Comcast Sportsnet. He can be reached at mfelger@weei.com.