By Amber Harding

Copyright outkick

Kyler Murray has deleted his ill-advised Instagram post after apparently just learning of Michael Vick’s history with dogs. The Arizona Cardinals quarterback apologized on Wednesday for posting a photo of himself posed with his pit bull while wearing a throwback Virginia Tech Vick jersey. Vick, of course, famously spent 21 months in federal prison from 2007-2009 for financing and participating in a dogfighting ring — consisting mostly of pitbulls. So naturally, Murray’s post raised more than a few eyebrows. “In no way, shape or form do I condone animal cruelty or dogfighting or whatever it is,” Murray told reporters in response to the backlash. “For me personally, y’all saw me wear the Michael Vick jersey, a player I admired very much growing up.” On one hand, I’m inclined to give Murray a pass. After all, he was only 10-years-old when all of that went down. On the other hand, if Vick really was a player whom Murray “admired very much growing up,” he probably would have noticed when one of his favorite QBs suddenly went missing from the NFL for three years. Vick, after all, was in his prime when he went down for this crime. So I’m not convinced that he was simply unaware of the correlation here. Murray went on to assure us that his own two dogs, Trunks and Swoosh, “both get treated like kings.” “But yes, I saw how it affected people and decided to take it down,” Murray said. “I apologize to anybody and whoever I affected.” Vick pleaded guilty in 2007 to his role in the illegal dogfighting ring that was accused of killing animals by cruel means. In addition to financing the operation, Vick admitted that he had a hand in killing some of the dogs as well. Once the ring was busted, 47 surviving dogs were taken into rescues, where they were treated for injuries and rehabilitated. Most were eventually adopted into their forever homes. After serving his time, Vick did some advocacy work and became a vocal supporter of the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, which criminalized attending animal fights. But many dog lovers like myself can’t just forgive and forget that sort of barbarism. Kyler Murray, apparently, can.