Michael Vick did much for his community. He created a program called Michael Vick’s People, seeking to uplift 25 middle-school boys through building of character traits. Vick was to host a charity golf tournament to go to Virginia Tech massacre victims. In a story by the Virginia Pilot, Vick is described “as loyal to a fault. He has difficulty saying no, whether it's for help on bills, rent, vehicles or bail money.” Vick brought his childhood friends along. As Terrance Mathis, Vick’s one time teammate, quoted Vick on the ESPN “Vick Divide” town hall meeting, “when one of us makes it, we all make it.”
Yet, what did Vick’s friends bring to the table? They brought the ghetto with them into Vick’s world. Vick, his multi-million dollar contract, his image that sold Nike and Gatorade, his reputation as a nice guy that was beloved by football fans of all races…all were damaged by his friends’ actions in endangering it all through a criminal enterprise to fight dogs. Know who you roll with, because when it all falls down, who does Number 7 turn to?
Vick couldn’t turn to his friends, who turned on him for plea agreements as soon as possible. It is funny that the Prisoner’s Dilemma, an old philosophical question, became relevant in this story. Vick couldn’t turn to his team…after all, the team and it’s owner had tried to cover up the story, hoping it would blow away, with vanilla statements of non-committal support, but what could they do? They were trying to get ready for a new season of football. They had done everything to coddle Vick, to nurture Vick, even hand picking a coach who would take Vick to the next level. The Falcons couldn’t do anything. What about family? Nope, Vick had his own father speaking ill of him. There was no one to turn to, no one who would support the fallen Quarterback…
Not so fast. There were those who wanted to continue cheering on Mike Vick. They were in attendance at the Vick Divide forum broadcast on ESPN yesterday, dancing and jeering, yelling obscenities at a Humane Society representative in support of their QB. They’re on the internet, posting “Free Mike Vick” all over the web. The comment on the instant reaction I had to the Vick Divide brings up the question of whether the NFL is damaged more by Vick or the Belichick/Patriots cheating scandal (this is an easy answer…a felony is worse than a misdemeanor). There is the groundswell of support of black ghetto culture, of supporting Vick as a target of the media, the white justice system, racism, hero-worship, bringing down a black man, etc. His fans, his black fans, are coming to Vick’s aid.
I agree with the comments of Neal Boortz during the telecast, who chastised the crowd for their lack of civility as well as the failed logic behind the crowd’s ire. Boortz claimed that the behavior of the crowd did not help to Vick’s winning of public support. There was an air of Jerry Springer in the behavior of the crowd. This is no way to help your fallen hero. As the public relations expert (sorry, but his name slipped my notes) said, Vick can repair his reputation by working to regain his honesty, his integrity. As the NAACP representative said, once Vick serves his time, he can begin anew, his debt repaid. By ranting and raving about a man who has pleaded guilty on his felony charges and issued a well written apology, you’re doing a disservice to a man who is trying to move forward.
I feel bad for Mike Vick. He got caught in a bad situation. At the very least, he can go to prison, do his time, come out, rehab his reputation, and maybe, just maybe, play a few years in the NFL to get back some of his money. I feel bad for the Falcons. Maybe they should have let the man be a man and not come to his aid on every single issue that arose during Vick’s time in the NFL. However, Vick was their man, their star, and when Vick failed, the Falcons failed. This is a team that will be sifting through the ashes of the Vick scandal for years to come. I feel bad for Vick’s fans, because anytime your hero lets you down, you feel bad. I remember the first time I got burned by a hero, when Patrick Ewing walked past me and group of three friends, who had waited in an emptied high school for four hours, without an acknowledgement…with utter disdain. That was the beginning of the end of childhood, and the beginning of the cynicism of adulthood.
Most of all, I feel bad for sports and being a fan of sports. Gone are the days where can love our slugger without fear of HGH, the days we can love our small forward without worry that he’s promoting stop snitching or that high intensity guy who just loses his mind and charges the paying audience. Gone are the days of following a player through his career with the hometown team, the days of hanging the poster of your favorite electrifying quarterback without fear of some crime, any crime, coming out in the news. Gone are the days that you can take your kids to a ball game for fear of hearing foul invectives from the crowd, for civility, Mr. Boortz, isn’t just dead in the audience at the Vick Divide, but it is at every baseball, football, basketball game, where the fans are some of the worst people.
For you racists, take a look at the audience of most sports venues…they’re mostly white.
I digress…the key to remember is that Vick will be remembered for what’s he’s done most recently. Let the man take his punishment. Let him come out of jail with a renewed purpose to do good. I hope Vick comes out, does some work with the community, maybe even make an attempt to work for the animal rights groups. I hope Vick comes back and wins back out trust. I hope he writes a book and leads children in the right things in life. I hope Vick succeeds in the third act of his life.
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Here are some interesting articles found in research for this hastily scribbled post.
- Virginia Pilot story on whether Vick is guilty of being too nice.
- Howard Bryant's article for ESPN on the race issue and the Vick story.
- Temple 3's take on the Vick Divide, a well written criticism.
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