The Atlanta Falcons Cut Prince Shembo, Rightfully So

According to Zach Klein of WSB, Atlanta Falcons linebacker Prince Shembo has been charged with felony animal cruelty.  Shembo allegedly kicked and killed his ex-girlfriend’s dog back in April.  If these allegations are true, then this is despicable and I’m glad that Prince Shembo is no longer a part of the Atlanta Falcons.

The Gwinnett County Police Incident Report states that Shembo kicked ex-girlfriend Denicia Williams’ 5 lb. Yorkie, Dior, multiple times when he was dog-sitting on April 19th.  Why is an NFL LB repeatedly kicking a lap dog?  What part of his brain said that was acceptable behavior?  I don’t care how important you think you are, you have absolutely NO right to abuse animals.  None!

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I’m beyond livid because I used to have a miniature Dachshund growing up.  I can’t emphasize how careful you have to be with a smaller dog.  Just because an animal is tiny doesn’t mean it can’t feel pain.  It doesn’t mean you can’t love it and treat it with respect. What if he did that your dog or small child?  In the police report, Shembo discusses fleeing the country over what they do to guys in prison for animal cruelty.  Such a cowardice thing to say.

Sure, you could point at Thomas Dimitroff and wag your finger at him because he drafted a bad seed.  But you can’t deduct that a man will intentionally kill a dog from a sexual assault incident while at Notre Dame.  It’s like saying that Robert Kraft should have spurned Aaron Hernandez because he made some mistakes while at Florida.  Who could have predicted that Hernandez was a man capable of murder?

The Atlanta Falcons organization has already undergone one PR nightmare with regards to animal cruelty.  The Michael Vick Dog Fighting Scandal completely ruined the Atlanta Falcons for nearly two years.  Some other organizations would somehow have let this kind of incident slide, but I’m proud of the Atlanta Falcons for doing the right thing and immediately cutting Prince Shembo from its roster.

I don’t like it when sports get dark like this.  Incidents like Shembo’s cut through all the positive things that come from sports.  Any player in the league could have done this and I would have demanded his immediate release from his team.  Animal cruelty is a very sensitive subject to me.  I have no use for people who willingly hurt animals.  And neither do the Atlanta Falcons.  Good Riddance, Prince Shembo.