Michael Vick’s Future as a Reflection of a Broken Prison System

by Daniel Prager on April 30, 2009

Pro Football Talk

Today, Pro Football Talk reports that Tony Dungy, retired NFL coach, evangelical Christian, and all around morally righteous guy will meet with Michael Vick to discuss life after incarceration.

Michael Vick is set to get out of prison in May, and could be eligible to play football again in June. Michael Vick may be one of the most gifted athletes to ever play professional football, with absurd speed, agility, and arm strength. He never quite succeeded at the NFL level. There are a myriad of reasons for this– An institutionalized racism where African American quarterbacks are taught throughout their careers to play  in a way that does not translate to the NFL level, to his placement on a shitty team, to his obvious involvement in criminal activity.

While I am not defending Michael Vick in any way, it makes me a little sad to think that he will probably never play football again. It is especially disheartening that the social stigma surrounding his arrest and prison term will prevent him from playing football, even when he has the talent to do so. I am not defending Michael Vick’s actions, I am lamenting on the power of our prison system to ruin lives rather than “rehabilitate”, which is the systems’ expressed purpose.

Michael is no longer a football player, in the eyes of society he is a horrible person who squandered his athletic talent and a horrific animal hater. These claims may be true on some level, but I believe that he should get another shot. If prison is supposed to rehabilitate, once you are out of prison and “rerehabilitated”, one should be offered opportunities that would allow some semblance of normal functioning in society.

What options is Vick going to have out of prison? Yesterday an Arena league team offered him 200$ a game to play football, then retracted their offer, saying it was a PR stunt. The owner of the team retracted the offer, not because Michael is not good enough to play arena ball (we all know he is), the owner retracted it because “he is a dog lover” which does not allow him to support Michael in any way.

I hope when Tony Dungy goes to talk to Michael in prison, he offers him some kind of support. Vick needs options when he gets out of prison, or like many other prisoners who face similar circumstances, he will end up turning to criminal enterprises for survival.

I’m not saying that Vick is a great person who should be considered a role model. I just feel that he deserves another chance to succeed (or fail) on the football field, and society’s lack of empathy for him reflects a larger problem. If prisoners learn nothing in prison but  how to be better criminals, and then come out into “the real world” where they are shunned and not accepted by anyone, how are they supposed to better their lives and not turn to criminality, the only thing they really “know”?

I am a starting a campaign for the Vikings to go after Vick, who’s with me?

If you think I'm smart, tell your friends.
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Tagged as: NFL, Prison, Race, Tony Dungy, Vick

  • Malachi from Delaware
    Mr. dungy, you've said it all. A society that thinks it lock people up, have them serve their time, and continue deprive them of their
    rightful right to be a productive individual. I have a problem with employers who know this man should be able to work in the NFL, but they
    bow down to these people who have know forgiveness. Mr. Dungy, what can I do to help?
  • I have a hard time feeling bad for the guy...I also think you may be underestimating his ability to hire a great PR guy and find a way back into some profitable avenue ("turning to criminal enterprise to survive"...really??).

    Jerry, you say it is unconstitutional to "not allow Mr. Vick the opportunity to earn a living at what he does best." This seems to somehow imply that there is a constitutional right to hire him? Firstly, discriminating based on prior criminal behavior is, in my mind, hardly discrimination (in some cases it is unfortunate, in others justified). In this particular case, however, I think it remains more than justified. Sports teams represent the culture of a society and the individuals in those teams are role models to generations. We can't remove the financial factor of sports because when a person is being paid MILLIONS to entertain us (essentially what a professional athlete is paid for), I think a level of awareness as to the implications of an individual is important---especially with the rise of the media and its involvement in reporting every detail of a persons life. I always have a hard time feeling bad for athletes, actors, musicians, or anyone famous for the higher standards society may place on them. They are the most visible people in a society and get paid accordingly.

    That being said, re-entry into society for prisoners is the one of the worst institutional issues our society has to deal with. And, while I agree with Mr. Daniel Prager's observation that this may be indicative of a greater failure, I think Michael Vick hardly represents the true obstacles that the average ex-con will face. How long has been in prison anyways? Is there any physical issues in terms of getting back into the NFL?
  • Great article, so many people have been caught up in what he did.

    I agree with you that it is a despicable act killing innocent animals. However, in this country you are allowed to serve your time and then live your life. He has paid his due to society in the eyes of the justice system.

    I think it would be Unconstitutional to not allow Mr. Vick the opportunity to earn a living at what he does best. Playing football is a privilege correct, is it not at the same time a business. If you have a chance to add an unmatched entity to a business who would ever tell an owner not to because it's not PR enough.

    We as a society have placed way too much expectation on athletes to be perfect. Why? Aren't athletes the same as you and I, do they not put their pants on one leg at a time. My point is that once you remove the financial factor out of the equation. Why should we expect athletes to be able to walk on water?

    Again, I am not in any way saying what Vick did was right.
    I am saying though that once a person serves their time, he or she should not be stopped from living a fruitful life.
    People make mistakes and it's up to the individual to make the needed changes. To stop this man from pursuing reentry to the NFL would be unjust in every way.
blog comments powered by Disqus

Previous post:

Next post: