Michael Vick and Forgiveness

Even though football season is over, the Michael Vick controversies and discussions still remain. In the last two weeks I've heard:

1. One national sports reporter comment,"Only Michael Vick knows if he really is remorseful."

2. A Chicago baseball player, who is also an animal rights activist,said that he wished Vick would've gotten hurt during this past football season. And he readily admits that he has no regrets for saying this in public.

In case you need to be refreshed on the Michael Vick story:

Vick played 6 seasons with the Atlanta Falcons before getting arrested for his involvement in an illegal dog fighting operation that occurred on his property for 5 years. Many dogs were torchered and some died during this inhumane activity. Vick served 18 months in a federal prison, missing 2 seasons of football.

After serving his full term in prison he was reinstated into football in 2009. The owner of the Falcons dd not want this controversial player back on his team and so Vick was cut from the Falcons. And with his involvement in something so cruel and the national exposure it received, the majority of the owners did not want this player on their team fearing a public outcry from their team's fans.

The Philadelphia Eagles took a chance and signed Vick to a two year contract. I remember watching an Eagles game on television and seeing Vick come out onto the field to play for the first time since serving in prison. The Philadelphia fans were not so generous in forgiveness as they booed loudly throughout his time on the field.
Vick did not get much playing time that season and pretty much stayed out of the limelight. That is until this past season when the Eagles traded their starting Quarterback, the new starter got injured, and Michael Vick was now the team's starting QB. It is amazing how all is forgiven when a player does well and the team wins alot of games. Michael Vick led the Eagles to a 10-6 record as they won their division,and Vick set all kinds of new records as a player.

But all of the accomplishments in the world can not replace the tarnished image Michael Vick has created for himself.

Just a couple of days after the news broke that Vick was linked to dog fighting,the NFL Commissioner asked Vick if he was involved, Vick lied as he answered an emphatic "No". Then of course all the details came out and Michael Vick was sentenced to prison.

In a recent Sports Illustrated article, Vick comments on his time in prison:

"Night after night I'd be thinking how I was going to make things right with the commissioner. It cut deep. It bothered me, day after day, knowing I lied to his face. I dreamed of the moment I'd have to face him again."

When Vick got out of prison he met with the commissioner to apologize. The commissioner cut him off after that and said that they were there to talk about the future not the past. The commissioner then gave Vick a second chance and reinstated him into the league. His reasoning was:

"Michael Vick showed me through our conversations together that he was going to be accountable."

Michael Vick and the commissioner talk two or three times a week now and Vick does work with the humane society speaking to young kids at schools about his life.

One good thing that has come out of all of this is federal agencies have discovered and stopped several other dog fighting operations that they were not fully aware of until Vick's actions came up.

It is within our human nature to be angry at someone's actions such as Vick's. And we naturally reserve our forgiveness until we see what they do in the here and now to make something positive out of a negative.

But in Mark 11:25 we are reminded,

"When you stand to pray, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him.
Then your Father in heaven will forgive your sins also."

Hopefully Michael Vick can turn his life completely around through his mistakes.
And may we find some kind of forgiveness in our hearts as well.