Michael Vick for the rest of his career will be in a Catch-22 situation.
Anything positive he does will be looked up with skepticism and anything perceived to be negative, his critics will be quick to say he hasn’t changed and he is the same old Michael Vick.
Granted, Vick only has himself to blame for this, but it is a predicament that he is going to have to get use to. The more success he has, the more people will try to bring him back to the dark side.
He missed a charity event and depending on who you believe he was either a no-show or a cancel. You make the call.
The chair was empty. More than 200 boys had come to the Franklin Institute on Monday for an event called What It Takes, the brainchild of Philadelphian Anthony Martin, who is trying to provide mentors for kids at risk of dropping out of high school.
Eagles quarterback Michael Vick was also on the panel, or at least he was supposed to be. Depending on whom you choose to believe, Vick either was a disappointing no-show or he canceled last week because of a personal conflict that required his attention in Virginia on Monday. Either way, it left some very unhappy people at the Franklin Institute.
Every time Vick commits to something, like What It Takes, and then cancels, for whatever reason, it adds doubt that he can handle his new station in life. It is like his play on the field. Did he tail off at the end of last season because he wore down or because he got too big-headed? Did all of the adulation and MVP talk get to him, or did he just make a bad decision and throw an interception in the waning seconds against Green Bay?
Vick’s press liaison Chris Shigas told me last night that Vick had to cancel his appearance with Winfrey because of “a timing issue for both personal and professional reasons” but that Vick might reschedule.
As for the What It Takes event, Shigas said “we did cancel” because Vick “had to go to Virginia for family reasons.”
“It’s certainly an event Mike supports and believes in,” Shigas added.
The title of the above article is “Michael Vick giving doubters reason to doubt.”
What the author is really saying:
“We already doubt Michael Vick and we are looking for reasons to validate that.”
Athletes cancel appearances all the time, we don’t know and it isn’t any of our business why. It wasn’t like Vick canceled the day of, he gave a week notice.
Some things take precedent over trying to impress the Philadelphia media. Once again I don’t feel any sympathy for Vick, but I would like the media to treat him fairly.
Is every off the field appearance of Ben Roethlisberger broken down as a well to see if he has changed?
Instead of looking for reasons to doubt Vick, how about giving him the benefit of the doubt.