Vicktim To Society: Vick Can't Seem to Outrun His Bad Reputation

Six weeks into his “comeback season,” ex-Atlanta Falcons superstar Michael Vick trots onto the field in an unfamiliar forest green number seven jersey for only six to seven meaningless plays per game, and it’s become almost depressing to watch.

The anticipation and the expectations have not faded, which is made apparent by ESPN’s constant coverage on Vick, but his priority to an offense certainly has.

It’s amazing how a player who once played for the biggest contract in football is now being used as a utility player, when his only significant change over the past two years is his criminal history.

Was it not just earlier this decade that Vick sheepishly split through the Minnesota Vikings defensive line as if he were Moses crossing the Red Sea, then laid an electric juke move that sent two would be tacklers hurling into each other head first?

Is this not the same Vick that rushed for 1,000 yards in a season at the quarterback position?

Michael Vick is the personification of a defensive coordinator's worst nightmare and there is no bigger crime than the one being committed in Philadelphia; the containment of an endangered species.

Similar to government and religion, off field issues and on field issues really need to be separated and emphasized as two separate entities. What a man does Monday-Saturday should not affect his worth on Sunday.

If we found out Peyton Manning beats his wife, would he not still be the best quarterback in the NFL? So why is it that we point to Michael Vick’s criminal history as the reason why teams shouldn’t pick him up?

If I was the 0-5 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who entered the season with now exiled quarterback Byron Leftwich, or the Buffalo Bills who took a risk on a player with a career filled with ON FIELD drama, I definitely would have taken interest in Michael Vick’s return to the league.

When we play pickup basketball at the park we don’t say, "Hey, this dude's 6"5' but he’s an ex-con, let’s not pick him."

But on the contrary he becomes the most valuable player on the court (and we actually don’t even care to find out that kind of information because it has no effect on our ability to win games).

So why is it that because Michael Vick made some off the field mistakes suddenly he’s a scrub that should see only six snaps a game?

Certainly if we’re choosing a Man of The Year award recipient he would round out the bottom of the list, but when we talk about athletic ability how many guys in the league not playing tailback up in Minnesota measure up to number seven?

Let the government deal with Michael Vick’s troubles with the law. When Vick has a terrible season then let his value be depreciated.  Let’s remember Mike Vick is the first visiting quarterback to win a playoff game in Lambeau Field, and he did so at the tender age of 22.

Let the facts be the facts. Michael Vick has always been a winner. He led Virginia Tech to an 11-0 record and a National Championship bid in his sophomore year of college.

Through his stint in the NFL, he had a 61.9 winning percentage. Sure, he has a federal felony to his name, but that does not affect his ability to reproduce the type of greatness mentioned in the prior two examples.
               
It’s disgusting that Vick’s troubles with the law have been so highly publicized. Michael Vick’s dog fighting situation was once CNN’s most popular topic of discussion, in the worst recession in the past 50 years, while at war with Iraq and with the future of America in shambles with an incompetent president in office.

Twice a year I receive letters about sex offenders who have recently moved into the area, in which they are kept anonymous, but Mike Vick covered every publication you can think of that had anything to say about his lifestyle.

Since when are personal legal matters something that the world should get to detail and speculate about? To critics who say that Michael Vick is supposed to be a role model, what made a guy who left college early to play football a role model in the first place? Because he runs one of the fastest 40 times in NFL history, he’s a role model?

Mike Vick never asked for that position in anyone’s child’s mind, but because he’s good at what he does, society places higher expectations on his actions, which makes his bankrolling a dog fighting operation that much bigger of a deal.

Society had little to say about Donte Stallworth who ran over and killed a MAN while driving under intoxication, and served less than a fourth of the time Michael Vick served in jail.

Defending Michael Vick’s previous stance on dog fighting is a lost cause. We all know he was wrong for that. We all know Dog fighting is a dirty and ugly thing to do. We all know it’s against the law.

And we all have skeletons in our closet.

So before we write off Michael Vick let’s all ask ourselves if we feel that our personal lives should have an effect on our value to our employer. Oh what a pain it would be to list our personal activities within our Resumes.