The storm that is Michael Vick has become a lightning rod for public outrage once again.
Vick was released from federal prison on Wednesday after serving 23 months on dog fighting charges. He’ll spend the next two months in home confinement in Hampton, Va., before he’ll be free and able to try and get his old job back.
And the job interview could be July 20, when NFL commissioner Roger Goodell decides whether Vick is truly sorry. Not for getting caught or losing millions of dollars of endorsement. Not for spending nearly two years of hard time.
No, Goodell wants to peer into Vick’s soul to see if the latter is truly repentant for killing dogs in a horrific manner. Sorry for lying about it. Sorry for the all the trouble he caused.
Frankly, that’s something for the man upstairs to determine. Goodell must settle for whether Vick will avoid further trouble if reinstated. NFL teams swear they’re not interested in the one-time gamebreaker, but let Vick hit the open market come training camp and a bidding war will follow.
Vick will say all the right things. He’ll do the right things. For some, that’s enough. For others, Vick can never erase his sins. Goodell must find common ground, a public platform that keeps the Humane Society from picketing every game and PETA from boycotting league sponsors. Do not underestimate these people. Presidential campaigns aren’t as effective as animal rights groups.
Vick is a polarizing figure. His detractors think he should never earn a dollar again. Live in a tent in the woods far from society. How do you heal such hatred? By saying Vick served his sentence and paid a far heftier price than an everyday person convicted of the same crime?
The public furor over the next two months will largely dictate whether Vick returns this year or next. If animal rights groups make it an everyday issue, Goodell may take a year off from the discussion to sooth opponents. Otherwise, Vick might return this year.
Oakland always forgives sinners. San Francisco may take him. New England could be interested. If the Patriots are willing to sign Vick, then surely everyone will run those game films once more looking for salvation.
Vick may think the worst is over, but the worst may still come. A lifetime of fans who never forgive. Decades of sad-looking faces wherever he goes.
Maybe it will be haunting. Maybe he deserves it.
Rick Snider has covered local
sports since 1978. Read more at
TheRickSniderReport.com or e-mail [email protected].
