Michael Vick: A Defense for Why We Should Forgive Him

To say that Michael Vick’s 2010 season has been something special would be an understatement. He’s been called transcendent by some and one of the best witnessed by others. His stats speak for themselves: 17 passing touchdowns, seven rushing touchdowns, four interceptions, 2513 yards and a passer rating of 104.3—second only to Tom Brady; it’s no wonder players from other teams want the man’s autograph.

Vick has been great this season, of that there is no question. At 9-4, he’s helped put his team in the discussion of one of the best in the league. He’s a potential MVP candidate and the owner of a jersey that’s been sent to Canton, Ohio because of what it saw one fateful night at Fed Ex field.

What the man can do in the air and on the ground is simply incomparable. He’s athletically-gifted unlike any other and is on pace to do great things in the NFL. He’s a hard worker and a great leader. He possesses all of the qualities that we have learned to expect from our franchise quarterbacks.

And all of this would be fine and dandy if it weren’t for that 300-pound barking gorilla in the room. What most people know about Mike Vick and what most think of when they hear his name or see his face, is that he is responsible for the organization and funding of countless dogfights as well as torture and murder of those helpless animals who lost or were deemed unfit to fight.

As an Eagles fan, it is not without chagrin that I cheer for the man who has become our quarterback. It’s hard to reconcile the feelings of wanting to win with the understanding that what Vick did was wrong in every sense of the word. However, the feeling that stands most prevalent when I think about Mike Vick is a simple one—forgiveness.

Many criticize Vick and his fans as being “scum.” The sentiment is understandable. We love our animals; I know I love mine. But one must wonder: would those who so readily criticize Vick be so damning if he played for their team?

Would a random Bengals fan take such issue with the man if he replaced a struggling Carson Palmer? Or the fans in Carolina, who almost got him to begin with, would they be so up in arms if he led them to nine wins instead of the one they’ve logged this season? This may sound trite, and it is, but can anyone honestly say there are those whose arguments wouldn’t change if their team was led by Mike Vick?

But people will deny that, no doubt. Most who decry Vick claim to do so on the basis that his crimes were so heinous, so utterly deplorable, that he is undeserving of another chance. His crimes were heinous and deplorable and inexcusable no question. But here’s the thing: he served his time.

The purpose of the prison system in the America is to rehabilitate those who have broken the law; to rehabilitate them so that they might reenter society as productive members. Michael Vick served his time in federal prison. Federal Prison. That means he served time with rapists and murderers. For those who think Vick is unchanged, I ask you to serve time in federal prison and come out the same person.

The court determined his sentence and deemed it appropriate for the crime he committed. Moreover, he’s lost his endorsements and millions of dollars and owes millions to numerous debtors. Not only that, imagine the embarrassment he’s brought on his family, his children and mother, as a result of this. Imagine being those people having to bear the burden of someone else’s mistake.

Imagine yourself in Vick’s position.

Some people seem to think that Mike Vick should have done more time behind bars. Perhaps. But I say this, as humbly as I know how, let he without sin cast the first stone. If that little bit of advice is followed, I doubt I’ll see too many stones.

It is not our responsibility to judge, we have officials to do that. On a moral level, we certainly have the right be dislike him for what’s done, but as human beings we have a fundamental obligation to forgive our fellow man. Not the man who repeats his mistakes, mind you, but the man who learns from them; the man who learns from his punishment.

Mike Vick certainly is that man. Where before he didn’t care about his team, he is now a leader, who goes the extra distance to make sure he can do everything possible to better his team. He’s the first guy and last guy out. He watches inordinate amounts of game footage to make sure he knows the other team as well as possible. He even eats better now. 

People might ask what our forgiveness of Vick says to our children. Does it tell our children that it's alright to harm animals because you will be accepted with open arms and embraced as a hero? The answer is no. Vick's case illustrates more than anything the simple fact that every action has its consequences and our forgiveness of him shows that our human nature is meant to be greater than holding people infinitely accountable for their mistakes and transgressions. Is that not the lesson our children should be learning?

Where before he wasn’t concerned with his public image, flipping off his own fans and just not seeing himself as a role model, he now does and says all the right things so that people will realize that he is a changed man. A reformed man. A rehabilitated man. The perfect product, the perfect example, of the intentions of the American judicial system.

My question is this: what more do you want from him?

Is a man not allowed to make a living? Yes, it may be true that had he been employed as a C.E.O. or a doctor or something in the real world, there would not be a chance that he would get his life back. But the fact of the matter is he didn’t. He doesn’t. Mike Vick exists in the National Football League. He’s a celebrity, and there is no parity there.

The fact of the matter is Michael Vick is a changed man, and we should respect that. We should reserve our judgment, and without forgetting the horrible acts he’s committed, we should forgive him. We should cheer for him as an example of a man who’s changed his previously awful ways.

Hold him up, not as a role model, but as a paradigm of possibility for those who have been trapped in the routine of their ways; those who believe that acts such as dog fighting are some intrinsic part of culture. We should use him as an example of what a person can become when they shed the things that once held them down.