By Guest Opinion,
Football star and former dog fighter Michael Vick has teamed up with Humane Society President, Wayne Pacelle, on a speaking tour to fight dog fighting. In the video interview Michale Vick states it clearly “I’m trying to help more animals than I hurt.” and states several times that he sees a larger reason why this ordeal came about in his life.
In previous statements, Vick has testified that his faith has helped him get through this personal crisis. His football career has rebounded and now this national tour with Humane Society seems like an impressive response to his past criminal sins. But there is a larger question.
The larger question is whether this is a short term effort or a long-term soulful effort. In the video interview you can detect that Michael Vick’s description of why he engaged in animal fighting and why it is so bad lacks definition and clarity in his explanation. It is almost as if he is still sorting everything out and yet has been thrust into the national spotlight. Michael Vick is using the opportunity to do the right thing, but is he ready.
In the interview, the Humane Society President did surprisingly add new issues to their anti-dog fighting message by talking about the evils of wearing fur and how animals are raised for consumption. At this point in the interview it seemed that the issue was getting beyond Vick. This brought up the memory of the homeless man, Ted Williams, from just a few months ago where the media is pushing and creating an image before the person has a chance to define themselves internally.
I applaud Michale Vick and Wayne Pacelle, but issue caution at turning a role model into a saint too quickly.
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