Although Michael Vick now wears the uniform of public enemy No. 1, the disgraced quarterback can again be a hero, even if he never throws another touchdown pass in the NFL.
“I will redeem myself. I have to,” Vick promised the country on Monday, while apologizing with all his heart for being a participant in the stomach-turning sport of dogfighting.
In seeking redemption, the quarterback can start by turning jock culture on its ear.
When we’re all ready to stop screaming about animal rights or the racial divide in America, the best lesson Vick can preach is that telling the truth should never be condemned as an act of betrayal.
Wash away the blood from the hands on the central players involved in Bad Newz Kennels, and something ugly was revealed about sports in the 21st century that needs to be changed.
When did doing right by your team trump doing what’s right and honest and honorable?
“I need to grow up,” said Vick, his every word punctuated by the shutter clicks of cameras recording his apology at a news conference in Virginia.
Vick let himself be brought down by jock culture, in which being a good teammate can be regarded as more holy than being a good citizen. A millionaire athlete thought he was keeping it real by being loyal to guys whose idea of fun was torturing dogs. It really was Bad Newz.
Any athlete, regardless of gender or race, who has ever ridden a team bus knows the basic rules of jock culture, which hold these truths to be self-evident.
The team is a family built on unwavering loyalty. What happens inside the locker room stays in the locker room. Never betray a fellow player.
All are beautiful ideals. But twist the team creed during tough times, and all the good can be wrung from its original intent.
Whether the troubled team can be found inside a baseball clubhouse where steroids were taken, a corporate office where the books have been cooked or a speeding car where thugs fire bullets during a deadly drive-by shooting, the same message is preached.
Don’t be a snitch.
The culture is so ingrained in our psyche that Vick lied to the Atlanta Falcons about his dogfighting business, and when his partners in the gruesome sport actually told the truth to investigators, the quarterback was portrayed as being sacked by disloyal accomplices who rolled over on him.
As sickening as involvement in drowning dogs might be, it’s not nearly as depressing as the senseless murder of Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams in January, and my haunting memory of a young mourner wearing a sweat shirt adorned with the words “Stop Snitchin”‘ to his funeral.
Sometimes, the real hero is the man brave enough to confront the truth.
“Not for one second will I sit here and point the finger and try to blame anybody else for my actions or for what I’ve done,” Vick said.
He discovered the hard way that Americans will forgive almost any sin except cruelty to dumb animals.
But after he pays for his crime, Vick should be allowed to earn a living playing football again, not only because a carpenter convicted of a felony should be given the chance to drive nails upon release from jail, but also because Vick could use his return to the NFL to shout his cautionary tale from every stadium in the league.
“If I’m more disappointed with myself than anything it’s because of all the young people, young kids I’ve let down, who look at Michael Vick as a role model,” he said after his court appearance. “I hope every young kid out there … who’s been watching this case will use me as an example to using better judgment and making better decisions.”
The truth stalked Vick until the greatest scrambling quarterback in football history had nowhere to run.
The truth will send Vick to prison for at least a year, if a judge heeds the recommendation of prosecutors.
Stop snitchin’ is a code pledged by cowards when the truth is ugly or dangerous or inconvenient.
“I got a lot of down time, a lot of time to think about my actions and what I’ve done and how to make a Michael Vick a better person,” the quarterback said.
Vick has put down his football and is headed to jail. Only by owning the truth can he be set free.
Vick could walk like a hero again by walking a hard line. His story is so powerful it could chip away at the most destructive aspects of jock culture.
Nobody understands better than Vick: Never should blind loyalty to any bad-
news team cause a man to sacrifice his own personal integrity. Nothing keeps it real like doing the right thing.
Staff writer Mark Kiszla can be reached at 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com.
