Count Me in Favor of Michael Vick's Second Chance by Jim Thompson

 

Ask PCA: Coaching Players of Mixed Skill Levels

 

PCA Bookshelf: The Long Snapper by Jeffrey Marx

 

 

Count Me in Favor of Michael Vick's Second Chance by Jim Thompson

Let's get one thing clear right off the bat.  I love dogs.  I love my dog, Charlie, but then many people love their own dog.  I love dogs so much, I love ones I don't even like.  You know those little bitty dogs that yap without ceasing--I love them.  The ones whose faces are so ugly their own mother can't look at them--I love them.
 
I have always ascribed to the idea that the truest test of a society is how it treats the most vulnerable.  And even the strongest, most ferocious dog is highly vulnerable to human cruelty.  Michael Vick failed that test as a person.
 
Now, let me as a dog lover declare myself in favor of Michael Vick getting a second chance to play in the NFL.
 
John Madden once said, "Winning is the best deodorant."  If Vick can help the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl, the crowd will turn in his favor.  Remember then that I was for his second chance before there was a Michael Vick bandwagon.
 
I am glad Vick is getting his second chance because it's a great teachable moment.
 
Here we have a former abuser (and much worse) of dogs saying the right things about his remorse for his past behavior toward dogs.  And who has made a commitment to keep talking about abuse of man's best friend. 
 
My hope is that Vick's public contrition will help elevate the horror that is dog fighting so it can be rooted out along with cruelty to pets in general.
 
But, you may say, "He isn't really contrite.  He just got caught and this is what he has to do to get back into football."  Could be.
 
But I'm reminded of something my mentor John W. Gardner, author of Self-Renewal, once said to me: "When I was young it bothered me when someone did the right thing for the wrong reason.  As I've gotten older, I don't care so much why people do the right thing."

 
Michael Vick is doing the right thing.  He is working with the Humane Society and he's talking to kids about the nastiness of dogfighting. 
 
Wayne Pacelle, Humane Society President, is doing a smart thing.  He's trying to use Vick's celebrity to keep the issue of dogfighting in the public eye long after Vick was arrested and incarcerated.
 
William Bennett, author of The Book of Virtues, is fond of saying, "Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future."
 
Vick, largely because of his talent on the gridiron, has a future.  But even he seems to realize he needs to walk a straight line: "...you only get one shot at a second chance," he admits.  "I am conscious of that."
 
Here's hoping, in the spirit of PCA's commitment to using sports to develop character in youth, that Michael Vick's only shot at a second chance helps put an end to the vicious practice of dogfighting.  And that many youth who might be tempted to engage in the evil activity are dissuaded by his words and example.
-- Jim Thompson, PCA Founder and Executive Director

 

Share your thoughts on this article by commenting on

PCA's Youth Sports Spotlight blog.

 

Ask PCA: Coaching Players of Mixed Skill Levels

After back-to-back "Ask PCA" questions that delved deeply into sports psychology issues tied to teens, we turn this week to on-field coaching of younger players. Keep your great answers coming on our "Ask PCA" blog--you never know how many youth athletes are benefiting from your advice!

 

This week's question:

 

"We have an 8u team with some all-stars and some girls first experiencing pitching.
How do we best coach by bringing the young ones up to the level of the older girls?
We do not want to lower the level of play of the more experienced girls. We want to be fair, win and have a lot of fun doing it."

 

 

To read all responses to the previous "Ask PCA" question -- "Correcting an 'I' Attitude" -- including PCA's response, click here.  

 

Jeffrey Marx has done it again. The latest life lesson cleverly disguised as a football book from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Season of Life tells the story of Brian Kinchen.

 

Years removed from his last stint in the NFL, settled into a rewarding life as a middle-school Bible teacher, Kinchen receives a call from the New England Patriots. Late in the 2003 season, with the team marching toward the Super Bowl, the 38-year-old Kinchen has one last chance at athletic glory.

 

Along the way, he considers his dual callings, and dueling sets of values: the emphasis on winning football games inherent in NFL life vs. the greater meaning he had found in his years since leaving the league. That constant struggle, interspersed with insight into an NFL player's experience, makes The Long Snapper great reading for coaches, parents and players who value exploring the values inherent in sport. Available at www.jeffreymarx.org.