Vick's Return

One of the biggest stories of the past three years has been the Michael Vick saga. Vick was once one of the biggest stars in the NFL and arguably the most talented player in the league. Then he was caught torturing dogs by forcing them to fight. Vick was sentenced to around 2 years in prison and the Atlanta Falcons and the NFL moved on. Then about a year ago questions arose about what would happen to Vick once he was out of prison and eligible to return? Who would take a chance on the poster child for unethical behavior? Well a man named Jeff Lurie did.

Jeff Lurie, the Jewish owner of the Philadelphia Eagles, signed Michael Vick and took scrutiny from everyone. But Lurie’s decision was done for two reasons. One it made his team better. The knock on the Eagles for the past 7 years or so (including their four consecutive NFC Championship appearances) was that they did not have enough firepower around quarterback Donovan McNabb. But through the last two drafts they have added DeSean Jackson, LeSean McCoy, and Jeremy Maclin. They are all young speedy talents. This was to go along with Brian Westbrook, one of the best running backs in the game. Now add Vick’s athleticism and potential in the Wildcat offense, the Eagle’s offense looks dangerous.

Second, Lurie signed Vick for another reason, to give a man a second chance. He said, "The question became somewhat, for me, 'Could this man I don't know, Michael Vick, become an agent for change?' Could one be counterintuitive here on my part, take away the hatred for this kind of behavior, and say, 'Going forward, can this human being, Michael Vick, like some that deserve a second chance, could he become a positive force in our community, Philadelphia, nationally?' Could that be, or is this just a method to reinvigorate a career and not really have both the remorse and the commitment?" (quote from Rich Hofmann of www.philly.com).

Vick, hated by most everyone for his actions, served his time and hopefully learned his lesson. He started taking the right steps to becoming a better person. He hired a mentor in former Colts coach Tony Dungy. He has begun doing some charity work. And has spoken publicly about his actions and has apologized for them. And now he has his second chance from Lurie and the Eagles.

I think Lurie did the right thing. He helped his team and a human being. People who are apologetic and sincere deserve a second chance. We need to help those who need help. Sometimes this is against our better judgment but we should hope that those people stay clean and earn back the respect they once had. So I think Lurie did the right thing in signing Vick. But ultimately the NFL is a business and Lurie, Vick, and the Eagles’ success will be determined by wins and titles, as sad as that is.

And Let Us Say…Amen.
-Jeremy Fine