AP

There are certain things that certain segments of a fanbase are unwilling to forgive.

But the entire fanbase better know that football concerns will practically always win.

The backlash after the Steelers signed Michael Vick was predictable, as a number of fans aren’t willing to let go of a little thing like drowning dogs with your bare hands if they weren’t proficient enough at fighting another animal to its death.

People are funny that way, but hey, the Steelers needed a backup quarterback.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin indicated he wasn’t terribly concerned about Vick’s past (and he certainly isn’t concerned about negative feedback).

“You are sensitive to those potential things, but we are going to do our due diligence,” Tomlin said, via Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Rest assured that we have done that. Also, rest assured that he has done a lot since some of the things that he has gone through. His track record to this point speaks for itself.”

Yeah, those “things that he has gone through” are tough. Picking a dog up over your head and slamming it to the ground repeatedly until it takes its last breath can really take a lot out of a man.

And there are a number of Steelers fans who share his pain, or at least the pain of the dogs he hanged to death if they were unwilling to sink their teeth homicidally into another dog for the enjoyment of gamblers.

A Facebook group called “Pittsburghers Against Michael Vick” generated more than 5,500 likes within hours, and the Twitter responses to the Steelers news were likewise largely negative.

The Western Pennsylvania Humane Society must have season tickets, because their response was rather muted.

“We will continue to advocate on behalf of animals and work closely with community partners, like the Steelers, to make our region better for all animals and people,” they said in a statement.

But their partner thinks they’ve made their depth chart better, so that’s the important thing here.