Wasted Talent

(From 11-21-2007) 

I was watching Sports Center this evening when the story about Michael Vick came up.

Having seen enough Michael Vick to last a lifetime, I was going to change the channel.

Then they discussed a former quarterback who also fell from grace upon his own doing.

In the late seventies and early eighties, there were two quarterbacks that shaped the foundation of college football—Stanford's John Elway and Ohio State's Art Schleister. Both had a cannon for an arm. Both could do things with a football few had ever seen at the collegiate level.

Elway went on to a Hall of Fame career, captured a couple of Super Bowl rings, and put a dagger in Cleveland fans along the way. Schleister went to federal prison.

Gone is the signing bonus the Baltimore Colts gave Schleister. Forgotten are the accolades he achieved in college. Dignity, pride, and self-worth lost long before that prison door slammed shut that first night.

Schleister is a compulsive gambler. He has been in and out of federal prisons for the better part of twenty years. His wife has left him with their child. He was banned for life from the NFL. He had failed attempts in the arena football league. He was once beloved in Columbus, and is now nothing but a black eye on the program.

Fast forward to 2007. The summer of shame for Michael Vick. Once thought of as the future of the league for his unbelievable skills to run the ball, throw the ball, and put a team on his back, Vick entered a prison today, twenty-two days prior to his sentencing. How the mighty have fallen.

Vick signed a 137-million dollar contract just two years ago with the Atlanta Falcons. He was on top of the world. He became the face of the NFL. He had more endorsement dollars coming in than any other NFL player. To steal a phrase, everyone wanted to Be Like Mike.

Dog Fighting... Killing defenseless dogs... Gambling on this heinous act... How quick the bottom can fall out. At his own doing. Society can forgive a lot of things. Killing dogs is not one of them. Instead of shaping what could have been a Hall of Fame type career, Vick will be allowed two hours a day to either read, play basketball, or lift weights.

The Falcons are trying to recoup 20 million dollars worth of signing bonus. They will most likely get all of it. Vick also has several banks suing him to recoup their money as well. Vick is banned from the league until his full term is complete and even then he is not a sure thing to be reinstated.

He had the game of football in the palm of his hand. Tomorrow for two hours he will either have a book, a basketball, or a weight there instead. Canton does not open its doors to those who wasted their talents. Prisons, however, do.