Goodell to Vick
Michael Vick. Every time I think of him, I always think of the song "Threw it all away" by Bob Dylan. Instead of having a woman in his life that made him think he had the world just right, it's Vick having fans making his jersey the most purchased. It was having numerous endorsements. It was being the best player to have gone to Virginia Tech. It was being the Madden 2004 cover
athlete. It was being in his late twenties and having millions of dollars and being the face of the Falcons franchise. Now, it's all gone.
Now, Vick finds himself spending time in a federal prison on a 23 month prison term for dogfighting. He finds himself having to hire lawyers, who are not necessarily cheap, to go to bankruptcy court to fight for Vick, saying he will earn millions again. He finds himself looking to having to go to a home confinement program once he is out of prison. He finds himself, most likely separated from greatness, from fans, from being the new type of quarterback.
His life is starting to sound like "Les Miserable". As soon as he leaves prison, Roger Goodell, The Sheriff of the NFL, wants to talk to Vick and his lawyers, to see how he has adjusted since being in a federal prison. Goodell as he said at a panel discussion at Washington & Lee University said, "I will want to meet with other professionals to understand: does he understand the mistakes he made and is he genuine and have remorse for those actions and is he prepared to handle himself differently going forward. That will ultimately be my decision."
This is what troubles me. Michael Dwayne Vick will no longer say that he was a Pro Bowl quarterback, it will say he was a former quarterback with a criminal record for running a dog fighting business at his home. You go to wikipedia and there is more on his dog fighting charges than his playing career or any of his other achievements in life.
I don't want to come across as someone who condones dog fighting or believe that he needed punishment. Vick did deserve justice from the legal system and he got it. My main concern is Goodell wants to have a sit down like some P.C. preschool teacher after giving Mikey a time out and wants to ask him why he went to prison and to apologize and give back the stuffed dog to brother Marcus. Like Jean Valjean, Vick spent a large amount of time in prison (given for his profession). His earnings are going to be lower than prior to his incarceration. Why does Goodell need to have a talk with Vick? It's not like he is going to get involved in dog fighting again, because if he is caught he will be locked up for years.
Even when Vick comes back, who will want him? The Falcons have said that they have "closed the book" on Vick and that Matt Ryan is their quarterback. Will Vick even be a starter? Being away from the game for two years, many teams will question if he has lost anything. Granted I could see Vick being a better signal caller than the Bills quarterback system, but would the team even consider Vick at all?
Roger Goodell is not satisfied. He wants to be absolutely positive that Michael Vick has learned his lesson. Pac-Man Jones obviously learned his lesson and all he did was go to strip clubs whenever a loaded gun was present. Shawne Merriman learned his lesson and he did was used steroids. Though Michael Vick must go through hell again to please Goodell because losing not only respect, losing his money and losing his freedom for two years was not enough. While the image of the NFL should not be too worried about a closed case such as Vick's they should really worry about their on the field issues instead.
What Michael Vick did was wrong, but let's move on.
ROC SPORTS NET 2009
Michael Vick. Every time I think of him, I always think of the song "Threw it all away" by Bob Dylan. Instead of having a woman in his life that made him think he had the world just right, it's Vick having fans making his jersey the most purchased. It was having numerous endorsements. It was being the best player to have gone to Virginia Tech. It was being the Madden 2004 cover
athlete. It was being in his late twenties and having millions of dollars and being the face of the Falcons franchise. Now, it's all gone.Now, Vick finds himself spending time in a federal prison on a 23 month prison term for dogfighting. He finds himself having to hire lawyers, who are not necessarily cheap, to go to bankruptcy court to fight for Vick, saying he will earn millions again. He finds himself looking to having to go to a home confinement program once he is out of prison. He finds himself, most likely separated from greatness, from fans, from being the new type of quarterback.
His life is starting to sound like "Les Miserable". As soon as he leaves prison, Roger Goodell, The Sheriff of the NFL, wants to talk to Vick and his lawyers, to see how he has adjusted since being in a federal prison. Goodell as he said at a panel discussion at Washington & Lee University said, "I will want to meet with other professionals to understand: does he understand the mistakes he made and is he genuine and have remorse for those actions and is he prepared to handle himself differently going forward. That will ultimately be my decision."
This is what troubles me. Michael Dwayne Vick will no longer say that he was a Pro Bowl quarterback, it will say he was a former quarterback with a criminal record for running a dog fighting business at his home. You go to wikipedia and there is more on his dog fighting charges than his playing career or any of his other achievements in life.
I don't want to come across as someone who condones dog fighting or believe that he needed punishment. Vick did deserve justice from the legal system and he got it. My main concern is Goodell wants to have a sit down like some P.C. preschool teacher after giving Mikey a time out and wants to ask him why he went to prison and to apologize and give back the stuffed dog to brother Marcus. Like Jean Valjean, Vick spent a large amount of time in prison (given for his profession). His earnings are going to be lower than prior to his incarceration. Why does Goodell need to have a talk with Vick? It's not like he is going to get involved in dog fighting again, because if he is caught he will be locked up for years.
Even when Vick comes back, who will want him? The Falcons have said that they have "closed the book" on Vick and that Matt Ryan is their quarterback. Will Vick even be a starter? Being away from the game for two years, many teams will question if he has lost anything. Granted I could see Vick being a better signal caller than the Bills quarterback system, but would the team even consider Vick at all?
Roger Goodell is not satisfied. He wants to be absolutely positive that Michael Vick has learned his lesson. Pac-Man Jones obviously learned his lesson and all he did was go to strip clubs whenever a loaded gun was present. Shawne Merriman learned his lesson and he did was used steroids. Though Michael Vick must go through hell again to please Goodell because losing not only respect, losing his money and losing his freedom for two years was not enough. While the image of the NFL should not be too worried about a closed case such as Vick's they should really worry about their on the field issues instead.
What Michael Vick did was wrong, but let's move on.
ROC SPORTS NET 2009
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