Philadelphia Eagles: Barack Obama Calls Owner, Praises Second Chance For Vick

When an NFL owner's phone rings, I'm assuming the last person he expects on the other line is the President.

Why do I assume that? Well, I know the President is the last person I would ever expect to call me.

But according to Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie, that is exactly what happened.

I'm guessing contributing to his political campaign in 2008 didn't hurt his chances, even if he did originally support Hilary Clinton.

"The president wanted to talk about two things, but the first was Michael. He said, 'So many people who serve time never get a fair second chance.' He was ... passionate about it. He said it's never a level playing field for prisoners when they get out of jail. And he was happy that we did something on such a national stage that showed our faith in giving someone a second chance after such a major downfall," Lurie told Peter King of Sports Illustrated.

Part of me knows this was already a bad public relations move for Obama. 

PETA will have a fit.

But let's look at what is really being said here. A convict was given a second chance. That's progress in America where most offenders end up being in and out of the system for life.

However, would Michael Vick, the dog murderer, have ever been given a second chance if not for his athletic ability?

Doubtful at best. Like most other convicts, he probably would have struggled to find a minimum wage job.

So we can't really chalk that up to progress, can we? 

Which leads me to wonder why Obama would bring it up in the first place. Bad public relations all around, because not only did he just piss off every dog owner in America, but he also has opened up a new channel for him to be possibly criticized in. 

People are going to start asking questions about the second chances convicts are given in America, and what the White House is doing to help low-risk offenders get jobs.

What happens when Obama doesn't have the perfect response?

Bad public relations. 

Now, he may not have planned on Lurie leaking the details of their conversation, but that is the risk one takes when they call a civilian.

Another point of the call was to compliment the Eagles organization on their decision to go green.

The Eagles have just decided to install 80 wind turbines and 2,500 solar panels which will supply the stadium with 30 percent of its necessary energy.

Obama likely has hopes more NFL teams will follow the Eagles lead.

Now if only he had stayed on the topic of environmental preservation and not brought up Vick...this probably wouldn't be a story.