It was fair for ESPN and its magazine to speculate about the scrutiny Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Mike Vick would have faced for the dog fighting scandal that landed him in prison had he been white.

But the publication may have crossed the line when it featured Vick in white face, courtesy of photoshop. The article written by Touré and called "What If Michael Vick Were White?" will be featured in the Sept. 5 issue of ESPN the Magazine, and has also appeared online.

The photo is of a white Vick. His features are softened, including lighter-colored eyes and sporting a crewcut, but still has his signature goatee.

The image was perceived as out-of-line and stunning to quite a few people. Even Touré took to his Twitter page to point out how shocked he was that ESPN would pull a publicity stunt like that.

"I asked them not to call it ‘What If Vick Were White’ but they did," he tweeted. "I had no idea they'd put a pic of Vick in whiteface. Makes no sense [with] an essay saying it's impossible to re-imagine him as white?"

Contact Terrance Harris at terrancefharris@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @Terranceharris

(Photo: ESPN)