Michael Vick's Debt

Back on September 20th, 2010, a friend of mine posted the following status update on Facebook.

"I am an Eagles fan but I'll never support their decision to bring aboard Vick...or the NFL to allow him back. If Timothy McVey was good at baseball, would the Phillies bring him up? Would the MLB allow it? My love and respect for animals will always trump my love for a game."


The following is what I wrote in response to her statement.  Since Michael Vick is being put on the newest issued of Sports Illustrated I thought it was right to share this as a blog.




I had a friend who worked with a project called Shakespeare Behind Bars. He would go with people from the Kentucky Shakespeare Festival (I think it was...) and work with inmates on developing prisoner performed Shakespeare productions. On...e night we were at a friend's house for a party and he was describing this work to me and someone overhearing our conversation made the off-hand comment, "Criminals behind bars don't deserve to have fun."
My friend who worked on the Shakespeare project sharply replied, "Are you saying you don't believe a person can be rehabilitated?!" It was one of the only times I EVER saw this friend of mine get remotely angry, or defensive...and this was for men who were, admittedly, murderers, rapists, robbers, etc. There was a tense exchange that followed, but no major argument, just a lot of awkwardness.

However, I'll never forget how passionately my friend defended his argument...and not the holistic idea that the arts can heal, or some selfish idea that his hand in the work cured them. He understood that the idea of "rehabilitation" was a difficult one for people to accept as even a remote possibility for what were the worst of the worst. And yet... he believed in it...not just for these men, but in the rare chance that it actually "worked," he believed in rehabilitation, a "second chance," as an example for those caught up in the same trapped lifestyles that brought those men to prison.

I don't know if he'd agree with me on this issue at all, but I've come to a similar conclusion about Michael Vick.

Yeah, I had a huge problem when the Eagles signed him (still kind of do), but I've come to a point where I think people caught up in "that world" need someone to look to as an example that getting out and starting a new life is not outside the realm of possibility. In the eyes of the criminal justice system he was handed a sentence, served it, and then got out. It was a felony so he's already lost the right to vote, and most likely the ability to get any other menial job.
To be honest, he's not so much getting a second chance, but instead he's taking the only chance he has left. Football is a ruthless game that can end a career in one snap of a ball. Yes, it can provide a man with the great ability to be a hero and a money maker beyond most individuals' imagination, but I don't think most coroporations will touch Vick for a spokesperson. His ability to make any money seems to stand firmly on the football field.
I think he, for better or worse, more than anything else serves a purpose as an...inspiration?...an example?...a symbol of sorts that his types of choices can destroy a life, yes, but there IS a way out. If there isn't... If we keep bringing the repetitive hammer down on people who have served prison time, then we're only encouraging those people to seek out the very choices that brought them to incarceration. We're telling them there is no way out.

I think his story also did a lot to inform people about just how pervasive dog fighting IS in our society. I know I knew next-to-nothing about it, or at least what EXACTLY it involved. I had heard of it...but blocked out the details until his story came out.

Anyway...

I still have my problems with the choice of the Eagles to sign him, but I have accepted he's there, he's talented, and he has some ability to make some sort of amends for the horrific things he did. To his credit, he seems to have been trying very hard to consistently keep his profile very humble and conciliatory since being released.

I also strangely think he needs to keep hearing the voices that say he doesn't deserve a second chance. It's part of the price he has to pay...but also a part of the process he has to go through to show others how to handle such criticism and how to truly rehabilitate.
Tough discussion to think about...