I read that karma is the law of cause and effect in the world of ethics and morals.  “Buddhism links karma directly to the motives behind an action.  Motivation usually makes the difference between “good” and “bad” actions, but included in the motivation is also the aspect of ignorance such that a well-intended action from an ignorant mind can subsequently be interpreted as a “bad” action in the sense that it creates unpleasant results for the “actor”.”

I admit that I explicitly root against certain bad people who thrive in the public landscape.  These are people who have done something so duplicitous and unseemly, that hearing their very name makes me cringe.  They include:

• Michael Vick: Yes, I am a dog-lover (but I am also a hunter).  Yes, I believe Vick has paid a penalty for the crimes he committed.  Yes, I believe that Vick has the right to earn a wage.  That said, from 2001 to 2007 Michael Vick and his cohorts fought and killed pit bull terriers.  Independent from any other action, fighting dogs is a deplorable “sport” initiated by scumbags who offer little to society.  When you add that Vick hung, drowned, electrocuted, shot and beat his nonperforming dogs to death, it adds a sadistic component that is incomprehensible to civilized humans (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/michael-vick-indicted?page=16).  How perverse must your mind be to torture a living creature to death?  Infamous serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer started his reign of terror tormenting neighborhood pets.  ESPN and every other media source tells me Michael Vick is now “rehabilitated”, and has moved away from his criminal past.  Like he was describing an athlete coming back from a horrific injury, Tony Kornheiser of ESPN tells us that he openly cheers for Vick to succeed.  Not me. 

• Ben Roethlisberger: This past summer, Ben Roethlisberger was accused raping a girl in a bathroom of a Georgia nightclub (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/sports/roethlisberger-evidence-photos).  While there was not enough evidence to charge Roethlisberger in the rape of the 20 year old, he did admit to the sexual encounter.  This was not the first time Big Ben has been accused of inappropriate sexual behavior.  Months before the alleged rape, Ben allegedly forced himself on a 22 year old in his house on Lake Oconee.  The woman told her father of the encounter, but he decided not to pursue the matter because he feared the repercussions.  Ben was suspended by the NFL for 4 games – it would have been longer if Roethlisberger had been arrested.  Too bad – another sexual predator moves forward in his life unpunished and without regret. 

• Kobe Bryant: In the summer of 2003, Kobe Bryant was accused of raping Katelyn Faber.  Eventually the case was dropped when Ms. Faber refused to testify in court because Bryant provided her a fat check.  Bryant’s lawyers challenged Faber’s moral character and reputation, accusing her of multiple sexual encounters on the day of interaction with Bryant (http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/kobe-police-file-released).  No one can be certain of what actually transpired in a hotel room in Eagle, Colorado, but Kobe made the decision to pay big money to keep the woman silent.  If Kobe was innocent why did he succumb to a payoff?  I am mortified when Stuart Scott of ESPN genuflects to Bryant’s basketball genius; never mentioning his questionable past.  He (and his other SportCenter lackeys) opines about Kobe’s deft skills and his physical talents.  The network continuously flashes pictures of his wife and daughters, portraying him as a wonderful husband and father.  At best Kobe’s a philandering fraud, at worst he is a sexual deviant who got away with a horrific crime. 

• Rick Pitino and John Calipari:  These guys are just plain smarmy.  Calipari leaves schools (UMASS and Memphis), right before the NCAA penalizes the institution for multiple violations during his tenure.  Pitino (a married man) writes self-help books, preaches about virtue and discipline, then has sex with a woman in the bathroom of a restaurant.  Calipari and Pitino have not committed crimes, but they are hippocrates with no moral compass.   I am amazed that heads of fine academic institutions hire these guys, pay them big money, and then allow them to mentor young men.

If karma works, perhaps the unseemly actions taken by the men mentioned above will result in them enduring some degree of unpleasantness in their lives.