Michael Vick’s Camp Still Sensitive About the Whole Dog Torture Thing
Photo | Jeff Fusco
It has been six years since Michael Vick walked out of federal prison, where he was locked up for his involvement in a dogfighting conspiracy, and I — like most law-abiding people who don’t beat animals — haven’t forgotten about those charges. So when I received an email on Tuesday inviting me to a James Bond-themed “Michael Vick Weekend,” complete with a black-tie gala and golf outing, I took a moment to respond.
“But will there be dog fights?” I asked in jabbing jest. “I’m only coming if there are dog fights.”
That was the reply I sent to Archileen “Carmena” Ayo-Davies, the president and CEO of local public relations firm 3BG Marketing Solutions. 3BG claims among its clients the Comfort Inn in Mount Laurel, a couple of hair salons, and Pnk Elephant, the fashion boutique co-owned by Kijafa Vick, the wife of the former NFL star. According to the email, the invitation was sent by Ayo-Davies on behalf of Kijafa Vick.
Ayo-Davies quickly responded via email, accusing me of harassment and threatening to expose me to “media friends.” And she called me a “racist.” Then she picked up the phone and called me, screaming the r-word at me over and over again, and also accusing me of being a dog killer. I pointed out that my two-line email was obviously sarcasm, and she said, “I don’t know what that is.” [Click]
But Ayo-Davies wasn’t done yet.
She took to Twitter to launch a campaign against me, roping in her publicist friends, some guy from Pittsburgh (he directly threatened me), and Marcus Vick, the failed NFL player and brother of Michael Vick.
Like Ayo-Davies, Marcus Vick seemed to have his own troubles grasping the concept of sarcasm:
Proof that @phillymag supports dog fighting smh pic.twitter.com/4DaMbGrl5p
— Marcus Vick (@MVFive) June 16, 2015
He even tried to get PETA involved:
Hey @peta this guy who works for @phillymag name is @@VictorFiorillo he supports dog fighting really heavy pic.twitter.com/Wrx5iM80KS
— Marcus Vick (@MVFive) June 16, 2015
I guess a white guy can say whatever he wants about dog fighting & it’s ok smh. @peta @phillymag this guy @VictorFiorillo get a free pass?
— Marcus Vick (@MVFive) June 16, 2015
Marcus Vick also had a suggestion for what the threatening guy from Pittsburgh should do to me, encouraging him to “Black his eye bruh.”
Listen, Michael Vick served his time in prison, and he is entitled to move on with his life, earn money, be happy and try his best to make people forget about his past. But that doesn’t mean that we have to let him do that.
The fact is, Vick admitted that he personally killed at least six underperforming pit bulls, using methods that included hanging and drowning. He also admitted that he put up the money to fund the interstate dogfighting business. During a raid on Vick’s property, more than 50 pit bulls were rescued, and investigators found the remains of several dogs. They also found walls stained with dog blood. How nice.
So, friends of Michael Vick, I’m sorry if you were offended by my joke, but the only one who has exhibited truly offensive behavior in this relationship is the man you so staunchly defend. He killed and tortured dogs. Enough said.
Follow @VictorFiorillo on Twitter.
