I love professional football. You could say, “You love it obsessively,” and I am okay with that. I love having a conversation about it with men who don’t know me and suddenly I see it in his eyes: “Whoa this chick doesn’t just like football, she knows football!” It is a fun moment for me every time. I love this sport and I mean LOVE this sport. Sundays are my favorite day of the week because I get to ride a roller coaster of joy and frustration.
It is also a day of the week that I have my television tuned to something football related from 9 am until 10 pm. Seriously my best friend knows to call between 4:45 pm and 5:15 pm because there is probably no game. If you text me it better be football related.
So anyway I was watching the games on opening weekend and I started to think about all of the stories that the players represent. Each player has a life and that life includes highs and lows. Take one of my favorite players Shannon Sharpe, you see that you can take what life gives you and make it shine times three. And he did. He grew up very poor in a small town in Georgia and was raised by his Grandma. Through hard work and determination he was drafted to the NFL in 1990. He went on to play and win three Super Bowls and this year he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. But this is not about number 84.
This is about the other side. Some people have to face the consequences in order to change. They keep choosing that wrong path over and over until the fall off that cliff and are forced to make a change. Like our former President Bill Clinton. He kept straying until he was caught. Most of the country forgave him, he did not get impeached.
I have a favorite team, the Denver Broncos, but I love and respect all of the players. I do not expect them to be perfect. They are young, they have money and I expect them to make mistakes and bad decisions. It’s how we learn and grow as a person. We all make bad decisions when we are young right? Maybe there is a picture or a video or a witness that documents the bad decision. No one else will remember (except the guy with the video of course). We are lucky that way.
There is one thing though that completely perplexes me. We can forgive the brawlers, the kids that get the DUI’s, the ones caught with guns, the ones that beat up on or assault women and worse. We forgive them for cheating (Tom Brady) or abusing drugs or using performance enhancing drugs. We can even overlook the ego and temper tantrums. Many other fine players have been in trouble. Many paid fines, did time or completed suspensions.
I love to see comebacks and stories of redemption. So many players get it. Teams get it. So first we have the dark side of the coin. For Plaxico Burress the summer of 2008 was not a good year. Up until then he was a wide receiver for the New York Giants and in February of 2008 he won a Super Bowl. In August and September police responded to two different domestic disturbance calls at his home. In November he surrendered to police on charges of criminal possession of a fire arm. In September 2009 he was sentenced to two years in prison. He was released from jail June 6 and was signed by the New York Jets on July 31. His new team has welcomed him and in his first game back he scored a touchdown with a 26 yard reception. Good for him!
Donte Stallworth pled guilty to manslaughter. He was suspended for one season and served 24 days in prison. He accepted responsibility for his action and took a plea deal so that the victim’s family would not have to sit through a trial. Since being reinstated he is playing again, first for the Baltimore Ravens and now for the Washington Redskins. In 2010 he played in only 8 games. He had two receptions for 82 yards and seven rushes for 45 yards. Not great stats but he is still in the game. The 2010 Baltimore Ravens team voted awarded him the Ed Block Courage award for being a role model of inspiration, sportsmanship and courage. This was voted by his team but would the public have done this? I have not seen one hate comment anywhere. This confuses me.
So if we can forgive all of them (and Donte Stallworth) why is there still so much hate for Michael Vick? This has bothered me for years now. Dog fighting is a horrible and a distasteful thing. Torturing and killing a dog is a bad thing. Gambling is also a bad thing. I hate to break this to you but dog fighting goes on in certain parts of our country everyday and it rarely makes the news. It’s a part of the culture in some areas.
I think Vick came out on the wrong wide of the politically correct lottery.
It was because he first denied the charge that many doubted his apology was sincere. He went to prison for 21 months followed by 2 months of home confinement. He paid $1 million dollars for the care of the dogs that confiscated from his home. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution estimated financial losses of over $140 million.
Michael Vick missed 2 years of football, Donte Stallworth 1. This does not seem balanced to me. Vick was released from prison and people were still angry. I read articles where people were wishing he was dead literally and many thought he should be banned for life. I get the part that he tortured and killed dogs the amount of outrage, 2 years after the fact is shocking to me. The fans that said they would never watch football again really surprised me.
Has he redeemed himself? I think so. Outside of the game he has taken steps to make amends. As part of his probation he is working with the Humane Society. He tours schools and gives speeches about how dog fighting is wrong. He has lobbied in support of a bill that would (H.R.2492) which would establish federal penalties and convicted spectators of dog fights.
Professionally there are changes as well. In his last full season before prison in 2006 he ended up ranked #20 overall for quarterbacks with a quarterback or passer rating of 75.7. In 388 pass attempts he had 204 completions for 2,474 yards; 123 rushing attempts for 1,039 yards and also 2 rushing touchdowns. In 2010 he ended at #4 overall with a passer rating of 100.2. 372 pass attempts with 233 completions for a total of 3,018 yards. He made 100 rushing attempts for 676 yards and he had nine rushing touchdowns.
A good friend of mine even said he should be tortured the same way the dogs were tortured and he deserved to be “put down” just like he did to the dogs. When I pointed out that he served his time and pretty much lost everything she said he deserved it and more. To this day it’s a topic we avoid discussing which is very odd considering there are no other topics that we cannot talk about. I made the mistake of mentioning this piece to her and she asked with disgust “Why write about him?”
Is it the fact that his crime was against animals that stops the act of forgiveness?
Back on the lighter side of the coin we have the nice kind of redemption. As a team I think the best example is definitely the New Orleans Saints. Remember 2005? They ended 3-13 and that old nickname? After the 2009 season you could buy a t-shirt that said ‘Aints No More’ with a cartoon character that had a paper bag over its head. Nice!
Next is the redemption for a single player. Do you know who got it in 1997 and 1998? John Elway. He played for the Denver Broncos for his whole career, 1983-1999. It took 14 years and three tries to win his first Super Bowl. Everyone, except for the diehard Bronco fans (maybe even some of them doubted him). He went back to the Super Bowl the very next year there not as many doubters and he won again.
So my final thought is that it is much easier let go of hate than to hold on to it.
Let it go.
