Michael Vick should have been executed

What? On the scale of stupid things to say, what FOX News analyst Tucker Carlson said should rank pretty close to the top:

Michael Vick killed dogs, and he did [it] in a heartless and cruel way... I think personally he should have been executed for that.

Look, I'm not here to defend Vick for his cruel and moronic behavior, but it is asinine to suggest that his punishment should have been execution. (The video of Carlson's comments can be accessed here, then scroll to the bottom of this report.) And Carlson should be held accountable for his words; FOX News needs to acknowledge and respond to them.

In the minds of many, Mr. Vick can never recover from the stain of his crimes, but from a legal standpoint he has paid for them. He spent almost 19 months in jail.

Each person must determine whether and when Vick will be forgiven for what he has done; I suspect that his incredible season as quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles -- one that has included a starting berth in the Pro Bowl -- will serve to remind people of the tremendous talent he has and the equally tremendous way he almost threw it all away.

The controversy about Vick was renewed a few days ago when President Obama noted that the Eagles did the right thing by giving him a second chance at a professional career. As Sports Illustrated's Peter King reports:

Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was surprised to hear the president's voice on the phone. Barack Obama had two things to discuss with Lurie: the redemption of Michael Vick and the alternative-energy plans Lurie unveiled this fall for Lincoln Financial Field. I talked about the Vick story on NBC last night.

"The president wanted to talk about two things, but the first was Michael,'' Lurie told me. "He said, 'So many people who serve time never get a fair second chance. He was ... passionate about it. He said it's never a level playing field for prisoners when they get out of jail. And he was happy that we did something on such a national stage that showed our faith in giving someone a second chance after such a major downfall.''

Lurie said Obama and he talked football. "He's a real football fan,'' Lurie said. "He loves his Bears. He really follows it. He knew how Michael was doing. It was really interesting to hear.''

Carlson's words were not interesting to hear.

I'll end with this thought -- if an African-American commentator were to suggest that a Caucasian athlete should be executed for a crime he had committed, what kind of firestorm would there be? So why should it be different because a Caucasian said it about an African-American athlete.