Yesterday it was announced that Michael Vick will not be charged or implicated in any way with the shooting outside his birthday party in Virginia Beach, Virginia back on 25 June. To many this is a finding that they will cast aside with a shrug of their shoulders and either turn the page or flip the channel, never to think about it again. However, in the past 6 months, which has been dominated by the discretions of such athletes as Tiger Woods, Ben Roethlisberger, Dez Bryant, and most recently, JaMarcus "Sizz-urp" Russell, Vick's mere presence in the periphery of the shooting just casts another light on the attitude and utter ignorance exemplified by today's athletes.
Back in April we presented you with a hard-hitting, two-part installment of the RSS Roundtable (I and II) which focused on athlete conduct and the ever diminishing prominence of athletes as role-models. This story has more to do with the role-model aspect but the fact that as visible as these people are - nightly topics on SportsCenter, the rise of social media, in the sports pages or all over the internet - one would think they would be little more conscious about what they are doing in their lives. The TMZ-nature of today's press would lead one to think more deliberately and clearly before they were to go out somewhere late at night or who you hang out with... or who walks in the door at your party. It seems that, even after a nearly 2 year sentence in federal prison, Michael Vick has not learned this lesson.
He alreay is on thin ice with Don Goodell in regards to conduct and for him to put himself in a position to be involved in anything that would come under scrutiny of the NFL offices is dumbfounding. Why was he hanging around people with guns? Why was a co-defendant in his own trial there? Why did Vick put himself in a position for something like this to happen? To me it is just amazing that Vick would even do this. Vick even gave conflicting reports about the timeline of that evening. It casts doubt on the sincerity with which he has spoke with to elementary students and others while on his reclamation project since being released from prison. The Eagles are paying him millions of dollars to play backup QB for them and were one of the few teams to offer him a chance back in the league when many wouldn't. For him to do this not only makes him look foolish but the Eagles organization as well.
Vick stated that if he didn't get caught, he would have kept up his dog fighting ways. One would think that would mean that you don't associate yourself with the same types of people who led you into this realm and possibly encouraged it. To find that the co-defendant was in attendance at his birthday party shows, to me at least, that Vick has not had the necessary "Eureka!" moment to truly turn things around. He may be clear legal wise, but I wouldn't be too sure if Goodell felt the same way and the Eagles may not either.
Step into the commissioner's shoes, or even Vick's probation officer. Vick's co-defendant (btw Vick can't associate with his co-defendants) was shot at a nightclub that hosted Vick's 30th birthday party and Vick gave conflicting reports about the timeline of the evening's events. Granted, Vick has been cleared of any involvement in the actual shooting and it appears that the two didn't "interact" during the party. But think, does that sound like an enviornment Vick should be surrounded by considering his past?
What do the next 6 months of 2010 have in store in regards to athletes in sports? I'm not sure, but don't get too comfortable. I have a feeling the precipitous fall of character in sports has begun and it only has one way to go - Down!
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