The ugliness that is the Michael Vick affair is hard to escape right now.A federal indictment against him on charges of dogfighting is disturbing in its detail, with allegations of electrocuting and shooting dogs.

When a sports celebrity takes such a public fall, parents may have to decide how to talk to their kids about the debacle. Kids who idolize the NFL star might seek answers to tough questions.

And for some African-American parents, the issue of race is as essential to a conversation about Vick as moral questions of right and wrong. At issue is not simply the indictment or the catalog of missteps the Atlanta Falcons star quarterback has accrued in the last six years.

It is the belief among some that, as a black man with a staggering paycheck, notoriety, unique talent and personality, Vick has always been something of a target.

Full story…