Sunday, January 31, 2010, 4:57 PM
Sports, Celebrities, Atlanta, Stop the Presses
By Kevin Moreau

Michael Vick's road to redemption

I am sickened to read yet another Michael Vick apologist tome. This is “quality journalism” per your own mission statement? Let’s be clear of the facts: Michael Vick is a sociopath (ask a range of psychologists what they think of people who torture animals, and what their prognosis is) and a convicted felon. He deserves NOTHING from the public, and even less from the media. To what personal insecurity or celebrity envy does his case speak to you, Mr Moreau? Because there is no social value here, except perhaps as a “scared straight” tactic to use with at-risk youth: “Don’t Be Like Mike. Ever.”

Michael Vick deserves a second chance – to not be the complete and total criminal/looser he has been. But in what perverted universe does he deserve a second chance to be a multi-millionaire celebrity athlete? Why does our being a ‘just society’ automatically mean we have to give him or anyone another chance, not for redemption, but to be glorified? He had more of a chance than much better people ever get, and he blew it - big time. Do you actually think there is nobody anywhere in the NFL (or maybe a college senior) who deserves a chance more than Michael Vick? Are there no consequences beyond his two year “hiatus”?

Michael Vick should wake up every day and thank his god that (A) he is not still in Federal Prison; (B) that he did not have to go directly to State Prison; and (C) that a pack of pit bulls didn’t turn on him and tear his limbs off slowly and painfully. He need not waste his time asking me – or any member of the public – for forgiveness. He doesn’t deserve it and it is not our responsibility – or our place - to give it. He is welcome to ask his god for that – and whatever god looks out for dogs.

Loretha Jones is equally suspect in her assessment of Vick’s “deserving of a second chance.” What message do we send when we say that you can screw up beyond our wildest dreams, and if you are repentant (which I have no reason to believe Vick actually is), you can reclaim whatever glorious path you were previously on? Sorry – there are consequences and Vick’s second chance is the second chance to be a free man who can go get a regular job and work for a living like everyone else. I see no reasonable argument that it means he deserves a second chance at a life 99.999% of humans on earth will never even have a first chance at. Maybe it’s a racial thing – I don’t know. Maybe Ms. Jones is helping to perpetuate a stereotype of black people only being considered successful if they are professional athletes, rap stars, or gold diggers like the Real Housewives of Atlanta. Watching a sociopath get paid to play “redemption” on television is not a worthy message for her, or anyone’s community. What constitutes redemption for Vick? When will we know he is redeemed? When he gets a fat NFL contract? When his endorsement deals come back? When he has a dog as a pet? Pretty shallow I think. Or is it when he tells us he is redeemed? Pretty suspect I think.

And why is there “no denying that he has worked hard to rehabilitate his image”? Because he has been just contrite enough to con greedy NFL owners into hiring him, and greedy reality TV producers to pimp him? Call me when Michael Vick has spent two or maybe three times as many years being a decent human being as he spent being an animal-torturing sociopath (which I’m guessing was most of his life from adolescence until the day he got caught). I don’t care how hard he “works” – his image will never be rehabilitated in my mind (or many other peoples’). I do believe he deserves a chance to redeem himself in the eyes of god, and in the eyes of the Burger King owner down the street who might hire him to cook fries (I’m pretty sure he is not smart enough to run the cash register).

But I don’t believe for one second that he deserves a second chance at public fame and fortune. There are too many people who are far more deserving of a first chance for our society to waste it giving a sociopath a second chance. We don’t owe Vick the benefit of ANY doubt – Vick owes us, and I can think of two ways he can repay us – first, spend time – a lot of time – maybe the rest of his life – taking care of animals (feeding them, cleaning up their shit, getting them medical care, exercise, etc), and second, by staying out of the public eye. He deserves and will continue to receive scorn as long as he shows his face in public. Hopefully A LOT of scorn. That will teach others something. His “redemption” will not.

I also have to question your notion of civil society and of child-rearing if you think to use Michael Vick’s story of “redemption” (more like begging for a chance to be rich and famous again) is a good way to inspire even one child. Vick’s story is so abhorrent that there is no good he could do in the near term to overshadow the sick, abusive, sociopath he truly is. Anyone who believes he has changed should have their head examined. It will take years to see (and only in hindsight) whether he really changed or not, but you think he deserves to live those years on television (while getting paid for it) to inspire others. Honestly now – you can’t think of any lives that are more worthy of being inspirational than Michael Vicks? Honestly? And you’re in the news business? Personally, if this is what you are using your bully pulpit for, I think someone else deserves a chance to be Editor in Chief of the Sunday Paper.

Michael Vick pissed away fame and well over $100 million dollars because he is sick, stupid, and dangerous. It’s also worth noting that his best playing days were behind him even before he gotn arrested. Michael Vick may be the luckiest person in the world, but a “deserving” one? No thanks. I’ll take a dog any day of the week over Michael Vick.

D
Tuesday, February 02, 2010 at 1:14 PM

Hi, D. Thanks for taking the time to write. I'm certainly not suggesting that Vick deserves a second shot at fame and fortune. As a dog owner, I might prefer that his "second chance" involves spending the rest of his working life at a Humane Society shelter.

But if certain football teams are willing to take a chance on him and put him back in the spotlight, I have no control over that. All I can do is hope that he's sincere and that others can learn from his example.

You write, "Honestly now – you can’t think of any lives that are more worthy of being inspirational than Michael Vicks? And you're in the news business? Personally, if this is what you are using your bully pulpit for, I think someone else deserves a chance to be Editor in Chief of the Sunday Paper."

Well, sure they do. Most everyone deserves a chance to become whatever they want to be.

Do I believe there are others whose stories are more inspirational, more worthy of being shared? Of course I do. And I want to share those stories with others. That's why we're still accepting nominations for our second annual Unsung Hero Awards, which we'll announce in March. I'm sure you know someone "more deserving of being inspirational" than Vick--why not nominate them? It's easy. Just send me an e-mail.

But just because there are others whose stories might be more inspiring doesn't mean Vick's story doesn't have the chance to positively affect someone else's life. And I hope it does.

I get your anger, D. I really do. As a lifelong dog lover and as an Atlantan and a Falcons fan, I was revolted and angered by Vick's actions, by his disregard for the lives of the animals, and by his disregard for the many people who were affected by those actions. So when I first heard that he'd be the subject of a documentary series that would no doubt get a lot of media attention, I wasn't thrilled.

But now that he's served his time, we should give him the same benefit of the doubt we'd show to anyone else who's paid their debt to society, at least until he gives us a reason to do otherwise. That's just how society works. Is it perfect? Of course not. There are many, many convicted felons who never learn, who have no interest in rehabilitation. But that doesn't mean the concept of rehabilitation has no merit, or that we should turn our back on it. That's just giving up.

You're right. It will take years to determine if he's really sincere, if we're ever able to tell at all. But if we believe in redemption for anyone, we have to believe in it for everyone. That doesn't mean we have to forgive or forget what he's done. But it does mean we should give him the same chance to prove his sincerity that we'd give anyone else.

As I wrote in my column, that will take hard work. If you're not up to the task, then you're not. But I don't believe in completely writing people off until I've been given sufficient reason to do so.

Sincerely,

Kevin Moreau

Kevin
Tuesday, February 02, 2010 at 2:12 PM

Kevin

I appreciate your thoughtful response, but I must say - you do have the ability to influence the greedy NFL owners and the greedy TV producers by using your position to pound the table, shaming them into reconsidering hiring the sociopath. I think that would send a much stronger message to many more people then to the 'one child' who might possibly be helped by returning Vick to his place of fame and glory. It should be crystal clear that some offenses (many really) have significant consequences, and that in those cases, redemption means you get to be a free man, period, and you get the chance to not have to go back to jail. Beyond that, you deserve nothing that you can't go out and earn on your own, and you especially deserve nothing from the society you so crassly disrespected. You definitely don't deserve a mulligan. User your position to advocate for real people, not for narcissists (be them athletes, professional sports team owners, or television producers!).

D
Tuesday, February 02, 2010 at 2:34 PM