The NFL’s most vilified player three years ago for his involvement in a dogfighting ring, quarterback Michael Vick has come back after 19 months in prison with a new maturity and has Philadelphia Eagles fans dreaming of their first championship in 50 years.
On the gridiron, Vick has impressed foes with his patience as he coolly scans passing options among his NFC East-leading teammates, where in earlier days he would take off, using his speed to race off at the first hint of trouble in the pocket.
The NFL’s top-rated passer still combines the ability to break out on an electrifying run with a rifle-strong arm to reach an assortment of big-play receivers. Off the field, the new Vick has turned his disgrace into something positive.
Last week, he spoke to inner-city school students in New Haven, Connecticut, on the evils of dogfighting as part of his ongoing relationship with the Humane Society of the United States, whose members had initially urged the NFL to ban him.
“He made three school presentations and spoke to nearly 2,000 kids,” Humane Society CEO Wayne Pacelle said in a telephone interview.
“On his day off, he got up at five in the morning, took a 6.30am train from Philadelphia for a three-hour ride to New Haven and spent the whole day talking to kids as part of our anti dog-fighting campaign,” Pacelle said.
The unusual partnership took form during a meeting Pacelle had with Vick at the US prison where he was serving the sentence imposed after his guilty plea in August 2007, to financing and participating in a dogfighting ring.
The details of brutality that emerged from the case shocked those who had rooted for and admired the former No. 1 draft choice and three-time All-Pro with the Atlanta Falcons who had become the highest-paid player in the NFL.
Court papers said Vick participated in the execution of -underperforming dogs who were hanged, electrocuted, drowned and sometimes slammed to death on the ground.
The Eagles gave Vick a second chance at the NFL. After serving a two-game suspension at the start of the 2009-2010 season, Vick became the team’s third-string quarterback and ran the club’s sporadically-used wildcat formation.
Vick rededicated himself to football this summer after nearly blowing his second chance by getting involved with old friends and leaving his 30th birthday bash only just before a shooting that wounded one of his dogfighting co-defendants.
According to a recent Sports Illustrated cover story, Vick was ordered by his probation officer to leave his Virginia hometown after the incident and establish himself in Philadelphia.
Vick, not known for his work ethic during his Falcon days, immersed himself in preparations for this season. He began the season as the back-up, but when his chance came to step in for the injured Kevin Kolb, he grabbed it.
“I had to go through what I went through to be where I am now,” Vick told Sports Illustrated.
Vick, whose signing with the Eagles brought howls of protest from fans and the city’s animal lovers, is now being hailed as the face of a team on the rise.
All his brilliance was on display in a 59-28 rout of the Washington Redskins in which he threw four touchdown passes and ran for two more, winning praise around the league.
With his contract expiring at the end of the season, Vick is doing double duty, dazzling on the gridiron for the Eagles and pitching for the Humane Society on his days off.
Pacelle said Vick had already contributed 24 speaking dates to the Humane Society’s program.
“Who better to reach these at-risk kids than someone who fell victim to the traps of dogfighting?” Pacelle said. ““He goes in with no notes, speaks off the cuff and speaks very personally and passionately with a soft voice. He really communicates well and connects with the kids.”
“He has turned a very horrible thing into something positive,” Pacelle said.
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