Michael Young
Michael Vick, President Obama, MVP, and Dogs: The Saga Just Never Ends
The stunning resurrection of Michael Vick after a major humiliating downfall has created a number of different headlines over the past year. After being released from prison, there has been controversy regarding whether or not he should play in the NFL, whether or not he should start, whether or not he should be considered for the MVP award because of this remarkable play, whether or not he should be allowed to own a dog, and most recently the infamous phone call from President Barack Obama to Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffery Lurie commending the second chance he gave to Vick.
During his Christmas vacation in Hawaii, President Obama made a phone call to Jeffrey Lurie who quoted the President as saying, "so many people who serve time never get a fair second chance. He was… passionate about it. He said it's never a level playing field for prisoners when they get out of jail. And he was happy that we did something on such a national stage that showed our faith in giving someone a second chance after such a major downfall."
Not only did it serve absolutely no purpose for President Obama to get involved in professional sports, the NFL, the Eagles organization, or his personal analysis on the turnaround of Michael Vick, it has once again fueled a firestorm surrounding the heinous acts of animal cruelty that Michael Vick was convicted of and supposedly served his time for.
The world now knows the Michael Vick was heavily involved in dogfighting. Vick personally witnessed and took part in the activities of electrocuting, drowning, and manually strangling dogs that were no longer fit to fight. As a result Vick lost his career, lost his money, and served 23 months in a federal prison camp in Leavenworth, KS.
Now Vick has returned. Jeffrey Lurie and the Philadelphia Eagles gave Michael Vick a second chance by signing him to a one-year contract. Since that time Vick has earned the starting role and proven himself to be an even better and more mature quarterback after a three season absence, something thought impossible. He has elevated his reputation both on and off the field by playing like the league MVP, and talking like a class act. Yet, the arguments continue to go on-and-on by pundits from all sides debating what kind of life Michael Vick should be allowed to live now that he has served his time.
To make it clear, President Obama calling the owner of a sports team to give a knuckle-bump for hooking up one of the brothers is just idiotic to the core, and scored the President absolutely no political points after two weeks of half-way decent governing, following two years of pathetic leadership and failed policies.
But when it comes to this ongoing debate about whether Michael Vick should be able to move on with his life a rehabilitated man, or suffer life-long denigration for a series of mistakes made at a time in his life when he was young, immature, too wealthy for his maturity level, and ego driven by instant fame, has got to come to an end. Seriously, enough already!
As a conservative analyst and animal lover with two dogs of my own, I looked upon Michael Vick in 2007 as a man beneath contempt. I felt his punishment should be very severe, and he should never again be allowed to play in the NFL. But since coming out of prison, a true change has been visible in Mr. Vick, and maybe it is time he is given the opportunity to prove that rehabilitation does work, and only convicted again if he actually does something worthy of condemnation.
Vick was a broken man when he went to prison, and as often happens, people from poor backgrounds in dangerous neighborhoods often times revert back to their instinctive ways once they have suffered their downfall and end up in prison. This was not the case with Michael Vick.
Vick emerged from prison humble and broken with his head held low, but with a new attitude. He snatched the opportunity with the Philadelphia Eagles with a low paying, one year deal as a backup quarterback. He has since kept his mouth closed, his nose clean, and has earned his way back to being arguably the best player in any position currently in the NFL. That is what rehabilitation is supposed to be about, and stifling those that it works for serves no good purpose for anyone, and ultimately leads to the recidivism that has our prisons overcrowded to a level of bursting at the seams.
Then there is the paranoia over Vick wanting to get another dog. Seriously, do those opposed actually think that after everything that Vick has gone through the dog is going to end up electrocuted or hanging from a tree in Vick's yard? With the scrutiny he would be under combined with inner guilt that he needs to make up for the cruelty he inflicted on those animals, any dog he owned would end up being the most well-cared for and pampered dog to be found.
The point is, there are enough other problems going on in this country right now that we should not be worrying about Michael Vick unless he happens to be on your fantasy Football Team. The man was caught, convicted, and served his time. Instead of coming out of prison a thug, he just may have come out truly acting the part of the role model he was once supposed to be. With what he shown thus far, it is only fair that he gets another chance. So far he has earned it.
- J Michael Nelson
About the Author
J Michael is a blogger, conservative columnist, and commentator returning to journalism from the business sector to lend another conservative voice of reason to a debate that has the nation spinning out of control.
Michael Youn - Bratisla Boys - Stach Stach Video
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