By: Daryl K. Washington

Let me start out by saying what Michael Vick did was wrong. But did he deserve to forfeit $130 million dollars, serve time in prison and upon his release be suspended for another four games? ABSOLUTELY NOT. What Martha Stewart, Rick Pitino, Michael Phelps, Marv Albert and others did was equally wrong. What's the difference? They were allowed to return to their prospective profession with plenty of support from their peers, fans and the Media without the forfeiture of millions of dollars. Michael Phelps recently received the ESPY's Male Athlete of the Year despite being caught with drugs on TAPE.

I'm somewhat confused why we only heard from individuals like Terrell Owens and a few of Vick's former Atlanta teammates during Vick's attempted return to the NFL. It often amazes me how so many athletes who have had to struggle to get to the point they are sit so idle as many of our Black Athletes are unfairly convicted and punished by the media, fans, team owners, criminal justice system and now the new NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell.

Is it because they are afraid that if they took a stance against the many injustices that occur each and every day they would sacrifice the millions they make each year? Or, have the owners prohibited them from taking a political stance? Whatever the reason, the time is now for them to be a supporter of something besides self. I'm so happy that Martin Luther King, Thurgood Marshall, Rosa Parks, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown and others were willing to sacrifice it all for the betterment of our society. Every Black Athlete should follow the lead of Tony Dungy as he stands side by side with Michael Vick upon his return to work.

Each day, I receive letters from individuals who have been victimized by the criminal justice system. So many of these individuals are innocent African Americans males who don't have the platform and resources to get their stories out. They would give the coats of their backs to cheer for one of the successful athletes but would our Black athletes do the same for them? Each and every day the cameras are placed into the face of so many influential and successful African American athletes yet I can count the times they've seized that moment to sacrifice the attention that is placed on them to take a stance against racial injustices. So many of our African American kids idolize these athletes yet I've not seen a public service announcement from our athletes to stop the violence in cities like Chicago and New Orleans.

I'm the first to say that we have many athletes who give back to the communities on a daily basis. However, money, although great, is not the solution to every problem. We need our African American athletes to demand that our athletes are not unfairly punished for simply making a mistake. We need our athletes to take a stance against the racial injustices occurring each day. There is no one in this world who can make me believe Donte' Stallworth was intentionally trying to kill 59-year-old crane operator Mario Reyes the morning of March 14 in Miami. In fact, the criminal justice system did not think so as reflected in his sentence. However, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell decided Donte’ Stallworth’s football punishment should last much longer than his 24 days in jail and cost him much more than the financial settlement he reached with the family. Stallworth was suspended without pay Thursday for the entire season. He is barred from team activities until he is reinstated after the Super Bowl. Despite that, Stallworth had the class to make the following statement: “Regardless of the length of my suspension, I will carry the burden of Mr. Reyes’ death for the rest of my life,” Stallworth said. “I urge NFL fans not to judge NFL players or me based on my tragic lapse in judgment. I am a good person who did a bad thing. I will use the period of my suspension to reflect, fulfill my obligations, and use this experience to make a positive impact on the lives of those who look up to NFL players.”

What happened to Donte' Stallworth and Michael Vick could happen to anyone. When Kobe Bryant was falsely accused of raping a lady in Colorado we had to listen to this on talk radio and on the news each and every day until the matter was settled. We heard about it so much until most people started to believe it. Some even stated that he should be banned from basketball. He was booed in every city he played in and treated poorly by the media, female advocacy groups and did not receive much support in the media from his peers. However, just recently a woman filed a similar lawsuit accusing Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger of rape. Despite the seriousness of the charges, this is what was said about the incident: The Steelers and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said they were looking into the allegations against Roethlisberger. Goodell went on to say that "I don't know enough of the details, but it's a civil lawsuit. It's something that we obviously will look into."

Not one mention of suspension pending the investigations of the serious allegations. I have not seen one female advocacy group come forward protesting the commissioner's decision to allow Roethlisberger to play despite these serious allegations. This is what we've come to, the rights of ladies, when they are allegedly violated by non African American athletes, are not as important as the rights of dogs. I'm a huge supporter of Roethlisberger and believe he should not be prosecuted in the media for something he may have not done; however, the same support that is given to white athletes should be given to black athletes who are largely responsible for the billions of dollars generated in our economy each year.

The fans and media call athletes and entertainers like Terrell Owens and Snoop Dogg selfish and strange. I say thanks to the two of them for having the courage to support others during their struggles. Never judge someone because you can one day be in a similar position that Vick was in. I will say to our Black athletes who fail to take a stance against the racial injustices to remember the great lyrics written by the late Michael Jackson in his song entitled "Man in the Mirror." Michael stated in the song that "I'm gonna make a change, for once in my life. It's gonna feel real good, gonna make a difference Gonna make it right... "As I, turn up the collar on my favorite winter coat, This wind is blowin' my mind. I see the kids in the street, with not enough to eat. Who am I, to be blind? Pretending not to see their needs. A summer's disregard, a broken bottle top And a one man's soul. They follow each other on the wind ya' know 'Cause they got nowhere to go. That's why I want you to know "I'm starting with the man in the mirror, I'm asking him to change his ways."

Daryl K. Washington is an attorney specializing in complex Commercial Litigation, Business Transactions and Sports and Entertainment Law. Daryl utilizes his experience as a former certified contract advisor with the National Football League to serve as a consultant to athletes in their selection of an agent to represent them in contract negotiations. If you have any questions, you can email Daryl at dwashington@dwashlawfirm.com or call him at 214-880-4883.