Micheal Vick is famous, very famous.
He was born Michael Dwayne Vick on June 26, 1980, in Newport News, Virginia to struggling teenage parents. Brenda Vick was just 16 when she became pregnant with him. His father, Michael Boddie, was only a year older. The very young parents already had a girl, Christina.
Michael's father served three years in the army and bounced around from job to job before he settled in as a sandblaster in the Newport News shipyards. His mother, Brenda, became the mainstay in his life and that of his three siblings. Obviously, the children were very close to Brenda as they all took her last name.
Very early on, Michael showed great promise as a football player. He eventually chose to attend Virginia Tech University and arrived at the campus in Blacksburg in the summer of 1998. Michael did not disappoint the Virginia Tech fans, leading his team to the national collegiate championship game in 2000. Although Virginia Tech lost to Florida State, Vick made a great impression. The very next year, Vick lead his team to a Gator Bowl victory over Clemson, 41-20.
In 2001, and only in his sophomore year, Michael Vick turned pro after being drafted by the Atlanta Falcons. Soon thereafter he signed the largest rookie contract in NFL history, $62 million over six years. This was followed up by the signing in 2005 of a 10-year $130 million contract extension. The new contract made Michael Vick the highest paid player ever in pro football.
However, all of the above is not the reason Michael Vick is so very famous. Unfortunately for Vick, he became famous outside football circles after a U.S. federal investigation linked him to a vicious dog fighting ring called the Bad Newz Kennels. Vick pleaded guilty to funding the operation and killing some of the dogs after the fights. Bad Newz indeed.
This past week, the 29-year-old quarterback finished his 23-month federal sentence (18 months spent in a minimum security facility in Leavenworth, Kansas), when an electronic monitor was removed from his ankle early on July 20th, at his home in Hampton, Virginia.
While in jail, Vick went bankrupt; it has been claimed he owed anywhere from $10 million to $50 million. Wow.
I don't usually do sports stories, and this is not a sports story. It is about a successful person, who has run afoul of the law, pleaded guilty, and spent time in jail; he paid the price for his mistakes. I am writing this story because so many voices are calling for Michael Vick not to be reinstated in professional football. In plain English, many don't want this man to work at his job.
I think Michael Vick deserves a second chance. Below is his just released statement.
"I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to commissioner Goodell for allowing me to be readmitted to the National Football League," Vick said in a statement released by his agent, Joel Segal. "I fully understand that playing football in the NFL is a privilege, not a right, and I am truly thankful for the opportunity I have been given.
"As you can imagine, the last two years have given me time to reevaluate my life, mature as an individual and fully understand the terrible mistakes I have made in the past and what type of life I must lead moving forward."
I sincerely hope Michael Vick can become famous again, and this time for all the right reasons.
