Lessons Learned from the Michael Vick Affair

Pro Football star Michael Vick's recent legal problems have been well-publicized. Everyone, it seems, has an opinion on the issue. But something has been woefully missing from this discussion: what about the children who look up to and admire pro athletes like Vick? Vick himself apologized "to all the young kids out there," which was definitely the right thing to do, even if it was belated. But what of all those young kids? What lessons should they learn from this episode?

As a teacher and a football coach, I try to use what my students and athletes are thinking and hearing about to emphasize certain life lessons. If this tragic series of events has done anything positive, it has provided us with a very valuable tool to help young people avoid some of life's pitfalls.

Lesson One: Be careful who you associate with. Whatever the degree of Vick's involvement in the dogfighting ring was, one thing is clear: the people he was associating himself with did little if anything to dissuade him from getting involved. People who really care about you will not stand by and let you do something that could destroy all that you have worked for. If this "Crew" of Vick's were the kind of friends they should have been, they'd have done more to prevent their friend from getting involved in dogfighting in the first place. Taking the lesson further back, the initial raid on Vick's home that turned up evidence of dogfighting was part of a drug investigation. This only backs up the idea that people involved in one illegal activity are often involved in others as well, therefore it is best to avoid them altogether.

Lesson Two: One mistake can ruin your life. Whether or not you agree with the NFL's decision to suspend Vick indefinitely without pay, and whether or not you agree that Vick should go to jail, the lesson is clear that Michael Vick's one decision to involve himself in an illegal activity has caused all this. It is the same as a person's one decision to commit suicide or murder or drink and drive. We may not think it's fair that one decision can ruin your life, but as we all know, life isn't always fair.

Lesson Three: Ultimately, you are responsible for your actions. Michael Vick's upbringing has not been on trial, he has. The society he lives in has not been suspended by the NFL, he has. The culture he was immersed in will not be sentenced on December 10^th, he will be. We can point to numerous things about Vick or anyone that might cause them to do the things they do. But at the end of it all, your own actions and reactions are what will be judged. The devil might have encouraged you to do it, but you did it of your own accord and by your own free will. In a culture that seeks to hold no one responsible for anything by holding everyone responsible for everything, this is a powerful lesson for today's young people.

At his apology recently, Vick said that he'd found faith in Christianity. I sincerely hope that he has. And I sincerely hope that he works hard to make right the things he's done wrong. Because if so, then he can add another powerful lesson for young people to learn: that true redemption is always an option.