Vick Surrenders

Michael Vick surrendered to U.S. marshals today and will remain in jail until his sentencing on dog-fighting charges on December 10, 2007. Legal pundits say Vicks action have little legal significance; however, it does show that he’s accepted responsibly for his hideous actions and it could persuade the judge to sentence him to a lighter punishment. Vick could serve up to five years in prison for dog-fighting conspiracy charges.

I’ve been a fan of Michael Vick since the Falcons drafted him and I’m extremely disappointed in him and his actions. No matter the criticism, I always believed that he’d live up to his potential and be the future of the NFL and lead the Falcons to multiple Super Bowl championships. Even when he had a string of minor off-the-field problems – the watch incident with his entourage, the Ron Mexico fiasco, and the water bottle with the hidden compartment – I believed that he’d learned from his mistakes; no, I believed that he’d grown from his mistakes and would conduct himself as an adult with an exceptional opportunity.

Michael Vick’s future isn’t written in stone and I pray that he bounces back to the NFL and finds success for a second time in a Falcons jersey, but I still can’t really believe that he willingly chanced and ultimately threw away $30+ million in player contracts and endorsements for something as barbaric as dog-fighting. What the heck was he thinking and why in the heck did he think his actions are good? It doesn’t take the smartest or the richest man to realize that when you’re as high profile as Michael Vick, you have to realize that people are watching you, not to take you down, but to make sure you’re on the up-and-up.

Although the Falcons organization can’t use Vick’s ill judgment for all their inept and un-watchable play this season; the team as a fair right to blame a big part of their ill fortunes on Vick as he was their team leader and playmaker. Vick knew as well as everyone else in America that he was our team and when he doesn’t play, we don’t win.