Michael Vick. At one point in time his name would have meant “Pro Bowl quarterback whose play inspires excitement.†That was the past.
The Vick of today is defined by the series of implosions that have damaged his character beyond repair. A reputation takes a lifetime to build, but a second to lose. The Vick of today has created a persona of an unfriendly thug.
It began last season when Vick flipped his own fans the “double bird†following a losing effort by the Falcons. To make matters worse, his actions were caught on video and replayed on national broadcasts.
Scenes like that are rarely forgotten by fans unless players make them forget by winning games. That didn’t happen last season.
Instead, matters were made worse when Vick was stopped in Miami by airport security for carrying a water bottle with a secret compartment. Officers on the scene reported the bottle smelling like marijuana. And though charges were never pressed because of lack of evidence, Vick walked away with neither a fine nor jail time. His reputation, however, did not escape unscathed.
And most recently his persona was magnified even more when his house was raided and more than sixty dogs were found on the premises. A heavy investigation has ensued and Vick is facing serious charges if convicted of dogfighting.
Though he passed the blame to his relative who was living in the home, several witnesses have stepped forward to admit that Vick was not only involved, but he was a major player.
The first account was a radio host who said Ray Buchanan told him that Vick was not only involved, but he was “behind all of it… paying for all of it.†Buchanan, not wanting to be known as the snitch, denied that he had ever said anything like that.
But what the radio analyst alluded to was further given credibility when an anonymous witness had a sitdown with ESPN. That source told the reporting team on site that Vick is a “heavyweight.â€
“He’s a pit bull fighter,” the source said of Vick. “He’s one of the ones that they call ‘the big boys’: that’s who bets a large dollar. And they have the money to bet large money. And I’m talking about large money — $30,000 to $40,000 — even higher. He’s one of the heavyweights.”
To convict Vick right now would be foolish and unjust. Maybe he’s innocent, I don’t know. I personally can’t understand how Vick would have no idea of what has been going on. Evidence very clearly suggests that he has played a very real role in all of this.
Make no mistake; I want Vick to go through the legal process so that, hopefully, justice is served. If that means Vick is found not guilty, okay. No matter the verdict, a suspension from the NFL will not be crossing the line. The Pacman Jones suspension set precedent that the NFL can and will suspend players who frequently have run-ins with the police.
But if Vick is found to have been behind all of this and essentially funding it, there should be no “second chance†given by Roger Goodell. No matter Vick’s judicial punishment – be it a fine or five years in prison – Goodell should drop the hammer: Vick should never be seen wearing an NFL uniform again.
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