Vick's first public comments, but no answers 
Tuesday, August 28th, 2007

Michael Vick made his first comments to the public yesterday about his involvement in the illegal dogfighting ring, just minutes after entering his guilty plea for the killing of at least six dogs that weren't performing well in fights.  When he walked up to the podium, for just a moment, he seemed sincere.  Although he didn't bring any paper to read from, after his first few comments he went into what was obviously a canned, memorized series of statements, and throughout the four minutes that he spoke, he didn't answer the question so many of us had on our minds.

Prosecutors in the case have accepted his plea with only a 12- to 18- month minimum prison term, which seems slight for the outrage that this episode has ensued; he could be sentenced to up to five years, depending on the decision of Judge Henry Hudson on December 10th.

Here is the entire transcript of Vick's public apology:

"For most of my life, I've been a football player, not a public speaker, so, you know, I really don't know, you know, how to say what I really want to say.

"You know, I understand it's - it's important or not important, you know, as far as what you say but how you say things.  So, you know, I just take this opportunity just to speak from the heart.

"First, I want to apologize, you know, for all the things that - that I've done and that I have allowed to happen.  I want to personally apologize to commissioner Goodell, Arthur Blank, Coach Bobby Petrino, my Atlanta Falcons teammates, you know, for our - for our previous discussions that we had.  And I was not honest and forthright in our discussions, and, you know, I was ashamed and totally disappointed in myself to say the least.

"I want to apologize to all the young kids out there for my immature acts and, you know, what I did was, what I did was very immature so that means I need to grow up.

"I totally ask for forgiveness and understanding as I move forward to bettering Michael Vick the person, not the football player.

"I take full responsibility for my actions.  For one secondwill I sit right here - for not one second will I sit right here and point the finger and try to blame anybody else for my actions or what I've done.

"I'm totally responsible, and those things just didn't have to happen.  I feel like we all make mistakes.  It's just that I made a mistake in using bad judgement and making bad decisions.  And you know, those things, you know, just can't happen.  Dogfighting is a terrible thing, and I did reject it.

"I'm upset with myself, and, you know, through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God.  And I think that's the right thing to do as of right now.

"Like I said, for this - for this entire situation I have never pointed the finger at anybody else, I accepted responsibility for my actions of what I did and now I have to pay the consequences for it.  But in a sense, I think it will help, you know, me as a person.  I got a lot to think about in the next year or so.

"I offer my deepest apologies to everybody out in there in the world who was afected by this whole situation.  And if I'm more disappointed with myself than anything it's because of all theyoung people, young kids that I've let down, who look at Michael Vick as a role model.  And to have to go through this and put myself in this situation, you know, I hope that every young kid out there in the world watching this interview right now who's been following the case will use me as an example to using better judgment and making better decisions.

"Once again, I offer my deepest apologies to everyone.  And I will redeem myself.  I have to.

"So I got a lot of downtime, a lot of time to think about my actions and what I've done and how to make Michael Vick a better person.  Thank you."

Immature?  I have no idea how dogfighting is "immature" - that is not something that young kids typically get involved in out of a lack of maturity.  It is a monsterous thing that happened to those dogs, and I don't see how that's anything related to immaturity - more like evil.  Lack of conscience, lack of remorse, lack of humanity...not lack of maturity.

I think a lot of us would have felt better if he would have said he was sick.  If he'd said how he'd gotten involved in something like that in the first place, what was going through his head, how terrible he feels for the animals that were hurt.  Instead he apologizes to young kids, and when he chalks it up to immaturity, it shows the true lack of remorse.

Vick took no questions from the press.  As he walked away, one member of the press yelled out above all the others, "Michael...the question we have is why?  Why would you do this, after you'd been given so much?"

Michael kept walking, exited the press room, letting the door close behind him.