Contact: Ermias Alemayehu, BOND, 323-782-1980, 213-804-1872

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 1 /Christian Newswire/ -- The NAACP and SCLC are claiming that NFL star Michael Vick is being treated too harshly in his federal dogfighting case and are accusing his detractors of rushing to judgment. Other groups have even overtly injected race into the equation. SCLC President Charles Steele, Jr. said, "We need to support him [Vick] no matter what the evidence reveals." Steele also announced that his group would honor Vick for his "community contributions" at their convention next month in Atlanta. On Monday, a co-defendant in the case pleaded guilty to dogfighting conspiracy charges and told prosecutors that Michael Vick "almost exclusively funded" the dogfighting venture. Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, Founder and President of BOND (Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny), is outraged by the double standard exhibited by these 'civil rights' groups and released the following statement:

"The NAACP and the SCLC are so corrupt and racist that they're oblivious to their own hypocrisy. The groups have no objectivity or proper sense of moral outrage against any black offenders. These same groups didn't have a problem rushing to judgment during the Duke rape scandal when three innocent white athletes were wrongfully accused of raping a black female. Their outrage only applies to white offenses, real or contrived.

"Michael Vick is not a victim of racism. He will have his day in court and he's wealthy enough to afford the best legal representation money can buy. But for the leader of a civil rights group once associated with Dr. King to state that blacks should support Vick 'no matter what the evidence reveals,' demonstrates just how morally bankrupt modern day civil rights groups have become and how little respect they have for the character of black Americans."

Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson is Founder and President of BOND (Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny) a national nonprofit organization dedicated to "Rebuilding the Family by Rebuilding the Man." In 2003, Rev. Peterson launched a nationwide boycott of the NAACP. He is also a radio/TV talk show host and media commentator on the issues of race, gender, and fatherhood/family matters. For more information, visit www.bondinfo.org