‘That’s Not Due Process’

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick doesn't seem to have many friends these days. But a few organizations have come to his defense, including the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP--both of which have cautioned against rushing to judgment in Vick's indictment on dogfighting charges.

But are Vick's legal troubles a civil-rights issue? NEWSWEEK's Joshua Alston spoke to R.L. White, president of the Atlanta NAACP, to find out. Excerpts:

NEWSWEEK: What motivated you to call a press conference this week, urging restraint in the media's coverage of Vick's case?
R.L. White: The biggest factor was that our office had taken so many calls from people who were urging us to take a stand.

Is Vick involved with the NAACP somehow?
No, not at all. Our involvement was only based on the response from our constituency. We didn't make this statement on the urging of him or anybody in his camp. When we looked at the case, we decided that it was important for us to make a statement. I wasn't aware that our position was going to be so controversial.

Can you elaborate on that position?
We believe that the influence of the media is so strong that whatever people see on television and hear on the radio, they believe. The coverage of Michael Vick's situation has been very negatively skewed, skewed to the point that we don't believe the whole story is getting out. What we're asking is that people not make judgments until he has had his day in court.

PETA and the Humane Society have been so vocal in their criticism of him because they think he might have harmed an animal. And this case is so high profile that it gave them an opportunity to get up on their soapbox and make news. So they've initiated writing campaigns to his sponsors and organized demonstrations outside the Atlanta Falcons training camp. They've done whatever they've done to bring negative attention to Michael Vick, and at that point it wasn't about Vick as much as it was about getting publicity for themselves. We feel that's wrong.