Gray Matters

Vick Faces Long Road Back To The NFL
By Mark F. Gray

It’s hard to feel bad for Michael Vick because he brought a 23 month federal prison sentence on himself.  Vick’s ghetto inner child, penchant dog fighting, and lack of consideration for major consequences because of his actions has led to the indefinite banishment from the NFL.  Even once he has paid his debt to society Vick faces a long road back to the field.

This is a sad commentary on how extremely talented young players who are given so much lose touch with reality.   Vick's style of play at the quarterback position was always on the edge.  What made him great was a sense on invincibility where he could put the team on his back and get his team and will them to victory.   However, his critics used to cite his lack of discipline in the pocket and that proved to be a look inside the personality that proved to be his downfall.

There are conflicting opinions on how this sentence will affect the Vick’s NFL career.  ESPN analyst and former Redskins offensive lineman Mark Schlereth says that his inability to train for football while in jail will affect his body and basically end his career.  Jamie Dukes, a former Falcons lineman and current host of “Put Up Your Dukes” on the NFL Network, says the time off will keep body fresh and he can comeback to be an effective quarterback.

“You got this new generation of roughneck ball players who want to be hard in the streets and on the field,” Dukes says.  “This is a very tragic situation but I’m not going to write him off just yet.  I think he’ll be around for awhile.  He’s a young guy in great shape.  I don’t think his career is over by any stretch of the imagination.”

Either way Vick will miss a minimum of three full seasons away from the field.  He will be around 30 years old if he is ever allowed to play again.  His two years in jail won’t keep the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals from assaulting his character and vehemently lobbying against the league allowing him to play.   That will put NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell in the unenviable position of having to decide where its in the best interest of the league to allow him to play again.

Most people who serve prison sentences try to find gainful employment as part of their social rehabilitation when they are released.  But can Vick resume his chosen profession with PETA and dog lovers in all 32 NFL cities?  If a team takes a chance because of the dearth of quarterback talent in the league these days how big of a distraction would that be for the franchise and its other players?  You can’t expect Vick to take a typical ex-con job in the seafood department of your neighborhood supermarket.

Vick was immature and dishonest to those who had his back.  He lied to owner Arthur Blank and the Commissioner as well about his role in the dog fighting operation.  The main reason his sentence was so severe is because he initially lied to federal probation officers about his role in killing dogs until they forced him to take a lie detector test.

In the end his blessings of enormous physical talent and wealth proved to be his downfall.  Now with 23 months in prison perhaps he has been humbled to the point where he changes his life and operates with intelligence rather than arrogance.  However, Vick is not O.J. Simpson and is just a first time offender who didn’t kill a human being.   He is not Leonard Little of the St. Louis Rams who committed vehicular homicide when he killed a mother while driving under the influence and was allowed to continue his career either after doing community service.

When I heard that he was involved in this dog fighting scheme my thoughts went back to my faithful dog Tippy.  He was the only friend I could count on when I was a child and I couldn’t imagine him being tortured and brutalized in any way.      

However, I can’t fathom Vick’s career ending because of an offense involving killing dogs either.  PETA has been disingenuous throughout this fiasco and will use Vick for more publicity when he tries to resume his career.    If this is a forgiving nation Vick will serve his time, resume his career, and become a spokesman for animal rights. 

But you have to wonder if that will satisfy that special interest group.