I’m big on redemption, and after signing with the Philadelphia Eagles, Mike Vick may end up bouncing back like nobody we’ve seen since Marion “Nine Lives” Barry.
Everybody isn’t as big on redemption as I am though. I conducted some in-depth interviews (Twitter trending topics), and the feedback on Mike Vick was pretty disturbing…
“I don’t care if he was gods gift to football, michael vick deserves to be flippin pancakes at ihop, not raking in nfl-sized paychecks.”
“Philadelphia Eagles are despicable for signing Michael VIck to a two year contract.”
“Michael Vick is mentally ill. He hasn’t shown remorse or a genuine desire to make a difference in the communities that need it.”
“Michael Vick… ur still a JOKE!”
“FUCK. YOU. EAGLES. Michael Vick, though?!?! You make me ashamed to be from Philly.”
“Sorry to hear Michael Vick found a team. Hope he breaks a leg and someone puts him down like he did his dogs that couldn’t play.”
“Michael Vick – lots of football players break their necks! I for one would not be at all saddened if that happened to the a$$hole.”
“Michael Vick is a complete disgrace and utter moron.”
“ok will need to do a work out soon to get this anger out about the michael Vick thing…wake up america!”
“Screw Michael Vick and the Eagles…murderers…you should be so proud of your city Philly…just wait for the protests…I’ll be there!”
“Those ass holes who sided with Michael Vick need to be in jail ASAP.”
“Really? Hope he gets tortured like he did those dogs! DOUCHE! RT @MCHammer good luck Michael Vick and thank you to the Eagles…2nd chance:)”
“BOYCOTT the PHILADELPHIA EAGLES!!! They just signed MICHAEL VICK – who TORTURED and MURDERED DOGS!!!”
“Michael Vick is coming to the Eagles?!? Wow. That’s a damned shame. Now, I’ll have to watch even less of the local sports team.”
“Well, sorry Eagles, my family won’t be watching if Michael Vick is playing. That guy is a real freaking scumbag. Idiotic move coach Reid!”
“Michael Vick is an Asshole.”
Yeah, the extremists were out in full force last night. Some knowledgeable, some not so much.
“Michael Vick deserves prison time.”
I dunno buddy… did you miss the prison time he just did? He’s supposed to go BACK to prison again or something?
Everybody may not agree with giving Mike Vick a second chance. Those people can go kick rocks. True, Mike Vick made some pretty horrible mistakes. He helped take the lives of quite a few dogs, but he also paid a price for his actions in the criminal justice system. Rather than look at what Mike Vick DID, I’d rather look at what he has the ability to do in the future. Not to help satisfy the extremists who think he should be paralyzed, sent to prison for life, or put down (killed)…but rather what he has the potential to do for the people who actually liked and looked up to him from the beginning… young black boys & men.
The people who don’t want to see Mike Vick given a second chance…they probably never wanted to actually see him do well in the first place. He shouldn’t concern himself with them. You can’t satisfy everyone, and anyone who wishes to see any human being break their neck (which could easily lead to paralysis), probably is just plain mean-spirited anyway. They never saw Mike Vick the person. They saw Mike Vick the spoiled, overpaid, black athlete. Those come a dime a dozen in their eyes. There were many people who saw in Mike Vick more than just an athlete though. They saw a cultural icon.
Mike Vick came into the league in 2001, unlike anyone who had ever come before him. Able to run faster than everyone else, throw further than everyone else, and jump higher than the rest, Mike Vick was Lebron before Lebron. A sports prodigy who was bound to change the sport. Young black boys wanted to be “all-time quarterback” in the backyard. Madden enthusiasts played with Vick’s first team, the Atlanta Falcons, even though the Falcons weren’t really that good. Young black boys across the nation idolized him because he was a great player…and cool at that. Braids, goatee, throwback jerseys, Nike deal. Total package. He was billed as the Michael Jordan of football at one point. Be Like Mike pt. deux.
Only in the end, we saw that maybe we SHOULDN’T have wanted to “Be Like Mike” Vick. His public image was one thing, but reality was another. He fell into the traps that many of the young black and gifted do. He had family members he had to support. He had an entourage that hung around him and, instead of having his back, took advantage of him. He smoked weed. He blew his money. He obviously took part in illegal activities. He didn’t have stability. So even though he had the world, and a $100 million dollar contract, the end result wasn’t “success”. Just as quickly as he was billed the best athlete in the country, he was sent to federal prison, bankrupt and alone.
Mike Vick has a chance to bounce back though, and give young black boys & men a reason to really want to “Be Like Mike.” He served his time in prison, and he now has a blueprint for success.
- He has financial planners on his side to make sure he doesn’t blow his money on bad business investments, his entourage, and other ill advised moves.
- He has a mentor in Tony Dungy. It is important for young black men to have older mentors in our lives, no matter our age. There is no better experience than life experience, and Dungy will pass on the knowledge he’s gained though the years to Vick. Vick won’t be blowing his money on bad decisions like Bad Newz Kennelz or his failed winery venture. And odds are he won’t surround himself with low integrity type cats again either.
- He has a fiancee. As long as she’s the right woman for him, she should help provide him with stability and focus. Instead of an entourage of hangers-on around him trying to get him to do who knows what (strip clubs, weed, and house parties are some possibilities), he’ll have the focus to know WHY he’s doing what he’s doing.
He has a team behind him that wants to see him succeed, and that is extremely important for people to see.
We won’t see the immature Mike Vick that we saw before, blowing through tens of millions of dollars, giving his own
fans the middle finger, and killing dogs. What we will see is a dedicated family man, who turned his life around…and is STILL a top flight NFL QB. He will be doing tons of community service, and odds are he will mean it. He claims to have gained a better relationship with God, which is always great news. All in all, Mike Vick has the chance to become exactly what young boys & men should have been wanting to be in the beginning… a strong black man. Free of the material excesses and demons that haunt the young black & gifted, Mike Vick will have a story like no other.
“Congrats to Michael Vick, when one door closes God will open up another:-)”
“welcome back Michael Vick!!! Truth be told, we all need “another” chance at some point!”
Article by Sean Walton
Sean Walton Jr. is the 24 year old Founder and Editor-In-Chief of theFreshXpress.com. Hailing from Ohio, he is currently in his final year of law school. His social commentary and knowledge base centers around the role and perception of African Americans in popular culture, law, and politics. His commentary has been featured by Tavis Smiley and spotlighted by Dr. Cornel West. A proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and heavily involved in community organizations, Sean seeks to provide a fresh perspective on Young Black America. Catch more from him at http://seanwaltonjr.com/.
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The over the top negativity towards Vick is pretty disgusting, but very American. If he can do his time (and not only lose but have millions taken back from him), yet people insist that he should continue to suffer – there’s no point in having a justice system. Imagine those ex-convicts that aren’t famous like Vick…what would be the point of trying to rehabilitate? People don’t like his NFL earning potential (however diminished)…but forget that most NFL players have having been doing little else since middle school. Most people in a career haven’t studied it for that long. People want to be sure that he’s “sorry” and won’t do it again (like dog fighting rings are equal to substance abuse) when that’s just plain silly. How will you ever know? He’ll never have a chance to live the right life if people won’t let him live.
It makes me sad to call this a “redemption” story but in some capacity it is. The fact of the matter is is that he did his time now let him come back and do his job. If some folks got a problem with that, bring it the Eagles organization…but lets realize that this is business. The Eagles aren’t gonna lose money because of this, if anything they’ll sell more jerseys and get more people tuned in to their team. I want Vick to do well, and I’m like a mad scientist when i start dreaming up all the possibilities of their team now. Truly awesome.
-Ed.
Wow, is there another word more extreme than extremists, some of the statements were a little disturbing. My friends husband, who btw is a police officer, said it best, “people look down on him more than they do of some murderers”. What he did was wrong, and upsetting, especially to a dog lover like myself, but I would never wish any harm to him.
On another note just as there are hundreds of people saying that they will never watch another Philly game, there thousands lined up behind them waiting to see him on the field again, I know, because I’m one of them, so I don’t think the Philly org, is worried one bit.
I’m curious to see what Vick does with his second chance. I don’t think that NOW is the best time to judge his rehabilitation. Of course being fresh out of jail after almost destroying his career, he’ll be well behaved. The true test will be how he acts when he’s achieved a certain level of comfort. When he doesn’t have so much to prove. Will he stay squeaky clean or will his old vices return? Only time will tell.
@Robin Monique, The optimist in me says he won’t mess up again. True, he messed up in other areas of his life, but his real downfall came from fighting dogs. It will take a real effort to actually go out and do something like that again. I think what this will end up being, is a $100 million dollar eye opener, where he focuses on the right things. Of course only time will tell, and we can’t judge him jsut yet, but I think long term he’s on the right track. I think if he succeeds in a stable lifestyle that includes God, family, and stability, that will speak volumes when you contrast it with his failures when he had tons of money and material excess.
@Robin Monique, My thoughts exactly. But I really hope he does succeed (unlike the crazy ppl on Twitter). Great article, Sean.
For The Great Sean Walton to lend his services and write a story, I know this was big news…hahahahahaha. For real though, he’s not gonna mess up again. I think this whole experience scared him straight, I honestly do. Some folks have to hit the bottom to wake up. Like others have said, there are some people who just don’t wanna see him (or other folks like him) succeed, so he can’t worry about them. As long as he trusts in God, and keeps the right circle of people in his corner, he’ll be straight.
@kmasenda, LMAO. You’re right Ken Dogg. I was inspired to write this. So yea, it was pretty big news to me. It was interesting to me that in order to get his life back together, he had to get his finances in order, gain mentors and use the knowledge of those that came before him, and gain a stronger sense of family. As I said in the article, I think he may end up becoming a better role model in the end than he ever really was to begin with. As long as some dog enthusiast doesn’t assassinate him first. After those tweets, I’m not so sure that’s far fetched.
But yea Ken, I’m not a writer, I leave that to you all. I tried though, lol.
The sad thing is, to me, this story exhibits that we as human beings are more compassionate for a dog than we are for our own. That we would rather feed a hungry dog, than to feed a homeless and hungry man on the street. We lavish money in clothes, and outfits for dogs, but we wont give a homeless man spare change on a street corner. We wont donate canned food to starving children in places like Haiti and Africa where people survive on dirtcakes and a filthy water system. We can stand to see De La Hoya’s eye swole after getting his ass whuped by Pacquio, but we cant stand to see “Buster’ get his head chewed off by “Fido?” Is that not inhumane? Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this picture?
So my point is, just as man kills man, dogs kill each other too. And because Vick orchestrated the dog fighting, he serves jail time, but Don King orchestrated 12 round bouts in Vegas with the top fighters all over the world and reap millions. To me, its the same difference.
In closing, Id like to see this Christian nation think their own thoughts and demonstrate more compassion towards each other. Lastly, as an fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, Im proud to have Vick and knowing the possiblity of his future in Philadelphia.
I too am a firm believer in redemption, but I would not call this a story of a champion. I see nothing wrong with Mike Vick being presented another chance to make a living but it still remains to be seen what he will do since he has been freed. He sounds very contrite and remorseful, but with most that have been convicted you must take it with a grain of salt.(c) Marion Berry. But I do hope he is able to turn it around and grow as a person as well as raise his children and lead them down the right path.
@ChuckkRich, I probably didnt make it clear, my bad. His story has the POTENTIAL to be that of a champion.
Please get real. If a guy gets paid multi millions of dollars and is treated as a fantastic celebrity, why does that guy need to train dogs to kill other dogs so people can watch this for entertainment? Are you seriously kidding that this is civilised behaviour?
The evil of this is totally lost on the author of this article. It was more than evil, it was FRIKKIN STUPID! Why should anyone outside some inbred hillbilly backwoods banjo pluckin three toed hide away want to see dogs fight to the death???? Please feel free to join the human race in the twenty first century sometime soon…. Not medievil Europe circa 1300…. Vicks is a long way from accepting responsibility. Millions of dollars dont buy respectability, humble virtue gives it free.
@David Johnston, I think you may have missed the point of the article. Not sure what you’re arguing here. I agree… fighting dogs is wrong. And he was rich, and it was stupid. I dont think I said anything to the contrary.