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Fri. Jun 12, 2009

The Release of Michael Vick

A couple of weeks back the federal prison system released Michael Vick into their halfway house program. However, the program is so full that Vick had to be released to his own 4500 square foot home with an ankle bracelet. And the question became, will he get a second chance? Not at freedom, that’s a given. I mean a second chance to earn millions as an NFL player.

When I wrote about ridiculous claims back in April, I included this one:

The Atlanta Falcons claim they are going to trade Michael Vick. The thing is, in the NFL, you are actually trading a contract with a player, not so much the player himself. And in 2004, Vick signed a 10-year, $130 million contract with the Falcons. Now, how many NFL teams do you think are willing to swallow about $13 million per year for the next five seasons, just to take a chance on a convicted felon fresh out of jail? Shortly after June 1, you’ll see the Falcons release Vick and take the salary cap hit (about $7 million for 2009 alone), because they will have no trade takers.

Well, here we are shortly after June 1, and the Atlanta Falcons have indeed released Michael Vick: “We spent a significant amount of time this off-season trying to trade him to another NFL club, and we had some conversations with a few teams, but nothing materialized.” What a surprise!

And so a sometimes ugly era comes to an end. Mark Bradley at the AJC writes about some of Vick’s “brief shining moments“ (“He was the biggest athlete this city has ever seen.”). But over at atlantafalcons.com, J.Mike writes:

Dimitroff and Head Coach Mike Smith were not around when the team drafted Vick or during the turbulent events of 2007 sparked by his federal indictment. Less than a dozen Falcons on the current roster played with the quarterback.

That can’t be said for others in the organization, some in their second or third decade with the team. We’ve all witnessed part of history and grown from the frustration, hurt and confusion.

But this isn’t a time of reflection.

This is a time of closure.

The Falcons are a playoff football team again with a new quarterback and a new blood as bright as the team’s red jerseys.

The Michael Vick book remained open through all the re-building and success, but got pushed to the far corner of the desk.

Now it’s closed.

It was really closed a long time ago, because, as Jeff Schultz points out, team owner Arthur Blank was never going to allow Vick back: “Blank writes his office e-mails in red. The man who writes in red e-mails was lied to — and he doesn’t like being lied to. Blank also knew that for every dollar he made if he brought Vick back by selling jerseys and season tickets to Vick fans, he would lose far more dollars because of the fans who would leave and the corporate sponsorships that would go away. And did I mention he was lied to?”

When I wrote my concluding piece about Vick nearly two years ago, it was titled Michael Vick is a Lying Dog Murdering Team Betraying Anti Role Model. I detailed each of those charges. I’m not sure how many of those things are or aren’t still true. I doubt we’ll see another arrest on that particular charge, he could prove loyal to a new team, and could again become a decent example for kids of how one can rise from your mistakes. One has to wonder, though, particularly about the lying.

But that’s an issue for others. There is no doubt that Michael Vick has served his time, paid his debt to society as determined by our judicial system, and deserves a second chance at freedom. Whether Michael Vick deserves a second chance at his chosen career, well, that seems a separate matter, and one that is up to the NFL Commissioner and 31 other NFL teams.

Here in Atlanta, he’s done. Right down to the final paperwork.