"How does Commissioner Goddell feel about Michael Vick possibly becoming the MVP of the NFL??"
This question, voiced with horror, can be heard on nearly every two-bit and mainstream sports talk program across the nation. The horror! As if an NFL MVP was an elected official entrusted to enact public policy.
"How would you feel if your kid wanted to wear a Michael Vick jersey?? What message are we sending to our kids??"
I actually heard this discussed, at length on television today. Even more horror! Aghast exasperation! Indignant repulsion!
Phew... now that I've expressed that reaction, perhaps now I am ready for a couch on an ESPN talk-about-sports show. Here's how I'd explain the situation to my kids:
Son, if... and I repeat, if you grow to become a 6'3'', 220 pound man blessed with a nearly-superhuman ability to run a 40 yard dash in a sub 4.2 second time and throw a football eighty-plus yards on a rope, become the face of the NFL and play in multiple pro bowls, then inexplicably become the central figure in a multi-state illegal dog fighting ring, are investigated and incarcerated it's a long road back. After your lengthy prison term, two years later and more than $100 million dollars lighter, rejoin the NFL amidst swarms of controversy surrounding your role as the third string QB, wait patiently for a year, then turn that opportunity into one of the most electric six week stretches of quarterback play the world has ever seen... you might, and I repeat, might, be granted some measure of conflicting public reprieve and a semi-normal life, though one tainted with revulsion and scorn by a sizable percentage of the population.
Son, are we clear? Organizing a multi-state illegal dog fighting ring has consequences. OK, good talk.
And you thought the birds and the bees was tough? Fortunately you can get a nice segue by explaining boner meds to your nine year old boy who's seen the commercial roughly 42 times since kickoff.
Look, I get it. Michael Vick is Satan incarnate, he murdered lots of poor, innocent dogs. It's an act almost as bizarre as it is cruel, given his station in life at the time. Michael Vick needed more time in the film room? Hard to find the time while masterminding an interstate criminal syndicate.
This is coming from a dog lover. I have two whom my mother reluctantly acknowledges as her "grand puppies." My dog completes an entry in our family March Madness pool. Three years ago he even finished fourth. Our long-time readers will even have seen a few columns penned ostensibly by my eldest dog, Pacer, who we refer to as our "practice kid." The truth? He didn't even write the articles! I did! I love him that stinkin' much.
Before writing this column, I consulted him and he agrees. The reason people hate Michael Vick isn't because he's a criminal. It's because we really, really like dogs.
If that's your opinion, fine. Harbor it, and harbor it long because no amount of persuasion will ever dissuade you. At least own it. You value dogs on a plane equal to humans. And that's fine. Pacer appreciates it, but in the pantheon of athlete indiscretion and criminality, Michael Vick isn't even sniffing the Mount Rushmore.
Any Ravens fans out there? Donte' Stallworth murdered a human being with his vehicle while driving drunk and high. He served his 30 DAY prison sentence, took his one year NFL suspension and is back to work at a price tag of $900,000.
Several years back, guess who was invited to give the pre-game pep talk to the USC Football team? Yup. The Ohje, the Juice, or as he is more commonly called, "the Defendant" Orenthal James Simpson. Now that's a hard one to defend.
I challenge each of our readers, find one team in the NFL with a roster completely devoid of a player convicted of domestic violence, assault, or some other crime. I think you'll be doing some long research.
It's not just sports. Our elevation of the morally unworthy is everywhere. Prior to his scandal, Rod Blogovich was merely the Governor of Illinois. It wasn't until he was impeached on corruption charges that he became a "Celebrity" worthy of hearing "You're Fired!"
My point is this. Anyone writing a pro-Vick article is societally pressured, obligated to include some measure of personal condemnation to the piece. Feel free to introduce the element of race at your own conjecture, it is undoubtedly sewn somewhere into the sentimental fabric, but I would wager comfortably the true emotional conflict isn't so black and white, and it's not Michael Vick. It is his victims.
Root for Vick or curse him, I could honestly care less. But let's collectively park our moral outrage for another, worthier cause that will inevitably sprout up within the next few weeks. If you have difficulty "explaining to your kids" about Michael Vick, than I feel terrible for your children.
Fortunately, the true lesson and moral of the story is IN the story. The fact that it is still a topic of discussion teaches a lesson valuable to both the young and the old; some mistakes, while life may go on after them, never completely go away. The rest should be easy. Explaining right from wrong, extolling the virtue of honesty and compassion, embedding a sense of punishment for wrong action; that is the simple definition of the minimum expectations of a parent.
If you were expecting Michael Vick to do that for you, maybe children are not in your immediate best interests. Perhaps you should borrow a page from my wife's book; start first with a dog.
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