I have not paid much attention to the Michael Vick story of late. But before you ask why am I blogging about something I haven’t been consuming 24-7, I’m not toally in the dark. I know he got out of prison after serving 20 months for dog fighting; that he is committed to working with the Humane Society to teach others how to care for animals; and that he wants to resume his career in the NFL as a quarterback.
One of the reasons for not consuming all the Michael Vick stories is because of all the negative stuff that’s been said about him. There’s no doubt, Brotha Man will have a boatload of detractors no matter what he does. He will be in the spotlight for a long time to come.
What’s most impressive though is Michael’s mentor, former NFL Coach Tony Dungy. Dungy is one of the most respected individuals in the NFL and in the country, for that matter. His reputation spreads beyond the football field to a man of discipline, principle and dedication to family values.
The match up with Tony Dungy as Michael Vick’s mentor is key element that makes me believe that Vick is serious about turning his life around and trying to do the right thing. It’s hard to imagine that Dungy would be attached to Vick if he weren’t certain that Michael really wanted to be a changed man.
All of the subsequent reports that Michael has joined the Philadelphia Eagles is another plus in this ongoing saga. Donovan McNabb, who has had his own troubles in Philly, lobbied to get Vick signed with the Eagles. Donovan’s relationship with Vick goes back several years when Vick played for Virginia Tech. Donovan told USA Today that he wants to show Michael what it’s like to be a professional football player — the work ethic it takes to be a professional, you know arriving at the practice field at 6:30 a.m. and not leaving until 6:30 p.m. after watching film. Vick admits when he was in Atlanta he used to be the last one to show up for practice and the first to leave.
So, I’m rooting for Michael Vick to make a strong comeback. Unfortunately, I don’t think the media will let his troubles be ignored especially if he gets fully reinstated to the NFL. You can bet everytime his name is called you’ll hear something like “embattled player” or some reference to his jail time. That’s all the more reason for Vick to hold his head high and work like hell to break out of the box people will use to define him.
We all make mistakes and we all deserve a second chance to make up for our mistakes.
What do you think? Do you think Vick will get a fair shake by the media? How about a fair shake from football fans?
Leave a comment and let’s discuss.
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I don’t think that the media will let him live it down. They think its good news. The man did his time, let him live his life. The football fans more then likely will open the arms to him.
I know a lot of people in the animal industory and they can only look at the crime. I quess that they don’t know anything about giving someone a second chances? People change when they want too, Who are we to judge. I’m not perfect and I’m the last that should be judging anyone.
So on that note you go Micheal. Show the whole world what a second chance is!
@Karen very well stated. And yep if the Eagles make it to the super bowl I doubt anyone will begrudge Mr Man. Eagles mgmt and coaching staff will be geniuses for signing him.
@Jessica
Maybe we’ll see football fans rooting for Michael Vick the football player and another set of fans rooting for Michael Vick the human being. I could live with that!
This story is very interesting to me because as you know I am not a huge football fan. However, I find it interesting that Vick is being persecuted in the media after serving his sentence. I do not understand PETA’s unwillingless to choose another, much larger, battle. Most of what I have read and seen on video is that people feel that he served his time. Given the way people love football in this country, I think the football fans are ready for him and will support him, especially if they get to annoyed with PETA.
@Cynthia
It’ll be interesting to see how this develops over the next several months. You may be right about football fans turning on PETA especially if they go to the extremes they’re noted for doing to make a point.
I’ll restate Larry King’s 2 truisms he tweeted about celebrity cases. “You are guilty until proven innocent & when you serve your time you haven’t paid your debt to society.” Unfortunately, this is true and Mike’s past will follow him throughout his career. Since Coach Dungy came forward as a mentor, I strongly believe that Mike will have a better chance at staying away from dog fighting. I find it a horrific thing to do, but he’s served his time and in my opinion paid his debt to society by being honest, apologizing and trying to give back. Maybe he didn’t understand the horror in what he was doing, I don’t know. His crimes were not like being a drug addict, a pedophile or a serial killer. I mean look how many priests who were accused of abusing CHILDREN were given a second chance (albeit, they blew that chance and kept doing it, but they were still given the chance). How about Robert Downey Jr.? He was strung out on drugs, given many chances, even went to jail but he FINALLY beat the addictions and is now back on the big screen in all of his splendor. Pedophilia and drug addictions are two things that all the smart people say that there are no cures, yet folks who committed these crimes were afforded a second chance. God help us all if we made one mistake and were not given a second chance. We’ve all made mistakes, some worst than others and some more costly than others… but we either paid restitution (speeding tickets, IRS penalties, late fees, etc.) or asked for forgiveness but we were given second chances. I’m not judging him and I hope they leave him be and just let the man play ball! I support him; he’s a good player and will add excitement ON THE FIELD. Go Eagles for making such a brave move to support Michael Vick’s comeback! And the fans… oh yes, for the love of the game; they’re going to give him a fair shake and hope he helps them win. What? Do you think if the Eagles were in this year’s Super bowl that no fans would show because of their ‘principles’? Ha! Surely you jest!
I think Michael Vick has a long way to go before his animal cruelty history starts to fade away because it was so horrific. As for the media, they’ll bring it up repeatedly until another sports star takes a nasty turn and then they’ll shift gears to the next guy. PETA on the other hand will never let this one go. Sadly we have not heard the last about this one and I think we’ll be hearing about it for a few more football seasons as well.
I think it is sad that people won’t let the man move on with his life. What he did was terrible- sure. It was stupid and unethical- exactly. He paid his debt- right. What kills me is that they want to crucify him. It is not like he went out and cheated on his wife, left behind his kids, took up with other women and made more babies only to leave them behind too. No… Let’s leave that to the rest of the NFL! As for PETA…if they are making a stink because President Obama killed a fly I am convinced that they have nothing else to do. They will continue to beat Mr. Vick senseless.
Our society has an odd preoccupation and equally sickening fascination with judging people beyond the Nth degree of ANY level or measure of mercy or opportunity for reconciliation. I observe with awe how we as a society seek to quickly crunch on the bones of those who’ve fallen from the same rickety-rack pedestal that MANY of us are guilty of hoisting them upon. Some of us even lay in wait with glee at the slightest mention of a so-called ‘role-model’s’ misfortune from ‘glory’….all so that we can feast upon their calamity en masse…!!
Vick paid for the crime by doing his time. Case over. Let him eat and feed his family. Why do we ‘so-called society’, or ‘media’ or ‘whatever’ we who are all clamoring about what Vick ‘should’ or ‘shouldn’t’ do…feel that WE need to see him contrite or hear him cower before the media, cringing for forgiveness from some faceless “fan-base” ?? We all need to check ourselves and remember how the Greatest Teacher of all time handled “public failings” : “…let he who is WITHOUT SIN, cast the first stone…”. I recall the story having folks drop their rocks and turn the opposite direction…then leave the scene (they were gonna stone a woman who was caught in adultery…though the Hebrew Law requires that BOTH the man and woman were to be stoned to death, Jesus saw that they weren’t REALLY concerned about the Law or it being transgressed…they all had the NEED to feel empowered to feign a ‘form of self-righteousness’…which none of them could rightfully claim with any real credibility of character). My point being, none of us are really (IMHO) position to cast judgement or require pennance from MV, as he has already paid for his crime to the state of Virginia (or where ever he committed those actions/crimes). I’d like to see ALL criminals who have PAID their debt to the institutions and statues/laws that they’ve violated, go back into society with an opportunity to become a POSITIVE PART of society prior to their incarceration. The BEST we can do as a society is ENCOURAGE former inmates to DO BETTER and move beyond the crimes that got them incarcerated in the first place. If ‘society’ showed a modicum of COMPASSION and MERCY (which I feel we’d ALL would desire for OURSELVES if we were in MV’s shoes) we’d have a whole lot LESS re-offenders out on the streets. I say let the Dude EAT. If the commissioner of the institution that employed MV is willing to allow the man to feed his family, who are we…or any among us, to playa-hate? Let’s move on, I say. Now if MV flips out and gets into trouble again, well then we’ll ALL know that he just didn’t learn from the FIRST incarceration. Everyone should be given an opportunity to make good on their ability to reform and transition back into society. Forgiveness isn’t an option, it’s a requirement…especially since we ALL have been forgiven for numerous trespassess against one another (seen and unseen) and against God Himself.
I aint hatin’ or nuthin’…I’m just sayin.