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Michael Vick Apologizes… blah blah blah
By Jeff | August 28, 2007
Michael Vick holds a press conference apologizing for the dog fighting activity that he was involved in. I’ve got a few things to say about that.
First, let me emphasize that I firmly believe in redemption and reconciliation. I’m not one to say that Michael Vick deserves to go to hell or that the NFL should impose a lifetime ban on him. What I do hope is that Michael Vick pays for his criminal activities and that NFL teams would not even look his way when his sentence and possible league suspension is over.
This is more of a minor annoyance and I will go ahead and agree that it is somewhat debatable, but if Michael Vick spoke from the heart then why did it seem like he was choosing his words carefully. Statements like “previous discussions,” third person references when referring to himself, “made a mistake,” and “bad judgment” do not exactly scream out 100% humility. I also hate the plethora of “you know’s” that seems to infiltrate the vernacular of athletes, but I also realize that it’s more a symptom of poor communications skills and a lack of preparation for the questions asked in a live setting. It’s understandable, but still highly annoying.
Let me reiterate that I believe Michael Vick can experience redemption. I just have some questions before we go out and praise the fact that he has apologized and that he appeared contrite and heart-spoken when doing it. Forgiveness does not necessarily equal pardon. I forgive Michael Vick (conditionally, based upon his future actions) because I believe that he did sincerely ask for it. However, I do not pardon what he has done. Redemption and reconciliation do not happen overnight. It takes a series of events over time to prove that a change of heart has occurred or an experienced is truly learned from.
Don’t come to me with that weak stuff!
Put down your signs and your banners with writings of “only God can judge” and “he who is without sin, cast the first stone.” I wholeheartedly agree with both of those statements; I mean, it’s hard to argue with scripture from the Bible. Nonetheless, asking someone to pay for their crime doesn’t signify that the criminal is getting judged. God gave humans the ability to discern between good and evil, albeit through a direct order to avoid the forbidden fruit; still, we are able to view facts and make a decision based upon those facts. If you do the crime, you need to do the time.
The context of Bible verses are often misused to apply to whatever situation seems to fit the user the best. As far as I know, nobody is insinuating or asking that Michael Vick be put to death or that he is condemned to go to hell for his actions. There is obviously no doubt that only God can judge the heart and life of Michael Vick. However, don’t come to me with a weak argument that “nobody’s perfect” so he should be given a lesser sentence or set free in some sort of high-profile-he’s-my-favorite-football-player pardon. Are you kidding me? Nobody is perfect. That is a fact that no one can truthfully deny, but the vast majority of us imperfect people do not routinely involve ourselves in criminal activity, especially for several years. Please!
Keeping it Real!
Time will tell if the apparent sincerity that Michael Vick displayed actually manifests itself into changed behavior. There are a few things that bothered me about his speech; however, even though I believe he was sincere. For speaking from the heart, it seemed that he was still trying to be careful with his words. I imagine some coaching was involved. He mentioned having previous discussions with various people in which he was not “honest or forthright”. Now is not the time to play around Mr. Vick. Let’s call it like we see it from here on out. He should have just stated that he lied. He lied to his teammates. He lied to his boss. He lied to us.
Let’s stop with the talk of “mistakes” and “immature acts.” Participation in a criminal activity for SIX YEARS is not a mistake. It’s not an accident, a mishap, or an aberration, as his attorney stated. When do immature acts turn into becoming a ring leader for illegal dog fighting and gambling. I don’t recall going through that stage in my adolescence. Michael Vick, it’s time to keep it real… real honest. Only being 100% upfront will help restore what you’ve done to your own reputation.
Maintaining street cred.
Nobody doubts that you are feeling remorseful because you got caught and because your illustrious (that’s debatable) NFL career is in jeopardy. We all know your lawyers are required to represent you in the best way they can. Anything they say at this point is irrelevant and will not be trusted. We need you to show us how credible you now are. You lied at first. You tried to lie again. Then you come out and speak “from the heart” with a few carefully selected words and state that you found Jesus and gave your life to God. I hope that’s true. Don’t tell us that; show us. Prove to us that you have felt the healing power of our Lord Jesus Christ. Show us the fruits of His labor and not that you felt it was the right thing to do because you’re going to jail.
At this point in time, speaking about yourself in third person is no longer cute. Using personal pronouns will go along way in proving your humility. Saying “I” and “me” brings the situation home. It clearly defines that you are actually taking responsibility. You have to earn respect from this point forward. I will neither condemn a person for giving you respect again after they think you have earned it, nor will I find fault in one who refuses to give you respect ever again. It comes with the territory. For anyone that states he has earned it now after giving the above speech, I say don’t even attempt to bring that weak stuff in my house. I don’t have a problem if you say you are a fan of what Michael Vick could do on a football field. He was no doubt exciting and fun to watch. The only thing that would have helped him gain respect at this point would be if he admitted his guilt about two months ago instead of speaking through his lawyers with prepared statements. It takes a man to admit when he’s wrong - when he is wrong, not after all possible legal avenues of getting a not guilty plea have been explored. Michael Vick, you are not a man. You are a coward and a liar.
Redemption will come over time if you can verify that you found Jesus and have truly given your life over to God. May God help you!
Topics: Michael Vick, apology, dog fighting, press conference |
August 29th, 2007 at 6:53 am
Well, I think you hit the nail on the head. He’s not really sorry about what he did so much as he’s sorry that he got caught. You don’t do something for six years and then suddenly (coincidentally) become sorry when everyone finds out (Praise God I found JESUS! When? Why, just now when you found out I was training dogs to fight and maim each other of course!)
August 29th, 2007 at 10:50 am
I’ll wait to let his actions speak.
September 4th, 2007 at 7:54 pm
As an owner of a beautiful German Shephard and an equally spiritied Mini-Schnauzer, I was really upset initially with Mr. Vick’s decisions. Then I thought that in some countries dogs are domesticated, farmed and eaten as food. Wow! Talk about terrible! Then I thought, what about the animals we in the U.S.A. domesticate, farm and eat. Who is standing up for the plight of the helpless chickens and cows…what about the pigs and turkeys? Yeah, yeah, I know what you are going to say…it was just a thought anyway.
September 4th, 2007 at 9:35 pm
And the thought counts. I, personally, do not associate inhumane acts such as dog fighting (or any other animal bred to fight) and general mistreatment of animals with the slaughter of animals for food. Now, if we find out that a company is killing its animals in a cruel or improper way then that would be different. There is a difference between cruelty of animals for sport and farming animals for food in my opinion. Which is probably along the lines of what you thought I was going to say as you stated.