Let’s go back, all the way back to August 2007. Vick had just pleaded guilty for being involved in an illegal dog fighting scandal. Vick admitted to the killing of roughly 6-8 dogs and for dealing with money gained in the dog fighting ring. He began his incarceration in November 2007 and officially began serving a 23 month sentence in December of 2007.Following his prison time, Vick was released in July 2009. Basically the first thing he did after his release was file for bankruptcy. His former team, the Atlanta Falcons, wanted nothing to do with him and after failed attempts to trade him, he was released. The critics and animal right activists called for his head. Even though he apologized and served time, people continued to spew hate towards the man again and again.
It almost seemed like the whole world was against him. People made jokes, criticized him, and ultimately judged and hated him. Life had to be pretty low for Vick.
But on August 13th 2009, the Eagles signed him to a one year deal worth about 1.6 million.
After a 2009 season in which he was the third string quarterback and basically sat on the bench and studied the playbook, Vick entered last season as the backup. And in week 1 of 2010, Kolb went down early with a concussion. Vick stepped into the game and the rest is history.
Vick orchestrated an Eagles offense that put up huge lopsided numbers week after week. He made plays with his arm as well as his legs, and captivated this city with a true comeback story. He ultimately took advantage of the second chance the Eagles gave him, and put together a very successful season.
In response to his success, yesterday the Eagles signed Vick to a 6 year 100 million dollar contract, with 40 million in guaranteed money. The point of me summarizing Vick’s career is not to sing his praises or summarize what you already know. The point is that Vick’s success and comeback story can teach us all something about second chances and forgiveness.
Put yourself in Vick’s shoes for a second. In short he made the mistake of being involved in dog fighting, apologized, and paid his debt to society. But although he did all of that, some people are still not willing to forgive him. Some people can’t comprehend how a person could do such a horrid thing and continue to hate utter nasty things against him.
It’s sad that people can sit there and say every last mean thing about Vick but in their own lives expect people to forgive them for their own mistakes and shortcomings. Whether you are apologizing for a small or big mistake you may have made, everyone expects forgiveness and it’s sad that to this day people still can’t find it in their hearts to forgive Vick.
If you want others to forgive you, you have to forgive others, it’s that simple.
I’ve heard every last excuse about why people won’t forgive Vick:
“He did it on repeated occasions…”
“He’s not really sorry…”
“Those poor dogs…”
No matter how many times he did it, he said he was sorry and realized that dog fighting was wrong. He sincerely apologized and continues to this day to give talks about the horrors of dog fighting. And although he killed and tortured dogs, he never hurt another human being.
In this country it is a travesty that we have animal rights commercials and organizations when there are PEOPLE dying of starvation everyday. There are PEOPLE living in poverty and horrid living conditions and yet it seems like we care more about dogs and dolphins.
I’m not justifying Vick’s actions in anyway, but Donte Stallworth killed a man and you probably didn’t even know about it until now.
According to an Associated Press article,
“Donte Stallworth surrendered in court on charges that he was driving drunk when he struck and killed a pedestrian while returning from a night of partying in Miami Beach on March 14. The 28-year-old Stallworth was released by Miami authorities after posting $200,000 bail.”
Whether it was an accident or not, Stallworth killed a HUMAN BEING and didn’t even serve any time. But Mike Vick kills a few dogs and you would have thought that he took a gun with him to a game one day and opened up fire.
I don’t know why so many people are so hard and unforgiving on Vick but it needs to stop. I could sit here and argue your own excuse for not forgiving Vick but at the end of the day, if you don’t forgive you won’t be forgiven, it’s that simple.
The second thing Mike Vick’s comeback can teach us is the quality of never giving up. Vick was released from prison and the hate mail, doubts, and critics told him to give up.
“You’ve been in jail for the past two years, you’re done. Just give up.”
Even when it seemed like the whole world doubted and even hated him, Vick dug deep and worked hard. He studied the playbook, practiced, worked out, and eventually worked his way back to one of the most elite quarterbacks in the NFL.
There are going to be times, in my life and in yours, when we are going to be thrown down in the dirt. There are going to be times when everything will look lost and as if there is no way out. But Vick’s story teaches us that you never ever give in. No matter how bad it may seem, you continue to work hard and plug away everyday of your life.
Vick could have easily thrown in the towel. He could have gone off to live with his cronies in Virginia, and lived a terrible worthless life outside of football. But he didn’t. He apologized, worked hard and completely turned his life around for the better.
He became a better player and also a better person by turning to God, volunteering in the community, and overall improving his public image.
All in all it has been a long road back for Vick but the journey is only just beginning. Vick now has 6 years in Philadelphia to try and win a Super Bowl. I think that if Vick fails to win a championship, he will view his comeback as falling just short. Vick is not going to settle for anything less than a Super Bowl title, and I can’t wait to sit back and see what he will be able to accomplish.
And I hope that after reading this article, you realize that the Mike Vick affect goes way beyond the game of football.
Bravo!!
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