Time to let Vick live his life
Friday, November 19, 2010
Aside from having the right to express our opinion without fear of prosecution, the most beautiful thing about America is our penchant for awarding second chances to those who screw up big time.
Talk show empress Martha Stewart is back on the air chopping salads and spreading Feng Shui gospel after serving five months in federal prison for illegally dumping stocks. Texas Rangers’ slugger Josh Hamilton has become baseball’s modern-day Babe Ruth despite spending most of his minor-league career as a junkie dancing shirtless in strip clubs. Even Britney Spears – once considered the laughing stock of pop music for her horrendous “performance” at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards – is popular again.
You don’t need to be a pet enthusiast to be disgusted by what Vick did in 2007 when he got busted for running an illegal dog-fighting ring in his basement. Vick’s actions were gruesome and reprehensible, and he subsequently served his time, spending 18 months in federal prison while losing millions in endorsements and salary from his playing days in the NFL.
Now that’s he a productive member of society again, Vick deserves the right to make a living just like everyone else. The Philadelphia Eagles gave him a second chance last year and the move is beginning to pay serious dividends.
Following last week’s Monday Night Football massacre in Washington in which Vick threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more, the former social pariah now leads the NFL in passer rating and is a legitimate contender for the league’s Most Valuable Player award.
This is great for the NFL, regardless of what you think about Vick and his past discretions. Anytime someone makes the most of a second chance it speaks volumes about the strength and determination of the human spirit. Life is not all puppy dogs and rainbows, and the sooner we teach our children the reality of adversity and the importance of learning from our mistakes, the better off we’ll be as a society. Whether you want to admit it or not, people such as Vick are role models because they reinforce the ideology of what our country is based upon – the right to earn a living and the belief that everyone deserves a second chance.
Call me crazy, but I’d rather have my kids follow Vick’s progress than watch “Jersey Shore,” which teaches us that if you slap women across the face in nightclubs and verbally abuse everyone within earshot you can parlay your incredible lack of decorum into even more television appearances. Smack a guido, land a role on “Dancing With The Stars.” Lee Iacocca would vomit in his grave (if he were actually dead).
The outrage over Vick exercising his rights is asinine when you consider the jackasses we glorify on a daily basis – especially those with no talent other than lacking humility to the point where we’ve become fixated on their every move. I’d invite Vick to my house before I let “The Situation” in. Ditto for Jon Gosselin, Kanye West or that creepy ShamWow guy – a bunch of self-serving, attention-seeking narcissists who show no remorse for their actions, which, by far, is the worst crime of them all.
At least Vick has apologized. Whether or not you believe it’s genuine is irrelevant. The fact is he stood at a podium, shed a few tears and expressed what appeared to be legitimate remorse for his disgraceful actions. In today’s society, that’s more than enough. Ask Jason Giambi or Andy Pettitte. They used steroids, but are still considered “good guys” because they ultimately came clean. Home-run king Barry Bonds cheated and is considered a massive jerk because he’s yet to show a single ounce of remorse.
Unlike so many of today’s “stars,” Vick doesn’t care if he’s in the spotlight or not; he just wants to play football and enjoy his newfound freedom, which is something the aforementioned blockheads take for granted. Suffice to say, our priorities our way out of orbit if we’re this concerned over a convicted felon who’s paid his debt to society taking advantage of an opportunity to restore his tarnished image.
The real message we want to deliver to today’s youth is that you can still lead a productive life even if you screw up along the way. We’d love it if no one ever made a mistake, but that’s not realistic, so there’s no point misinterpreting the truth.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he’s “proud” of Vick, and we should be, too. If, in fact, Vick has truly reformed and is as sorry for his actions as he claims he is, then his performance this season could be one of the most inspiring stories ever told in the annals of professional sports.
The man made a mistake and paid the price. This is America – let him live. There are far worse people out there being put on a pedestal they don’t deserve to stand on.
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