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College: Lecturer: Course: Date: Outline of contents Contents Page Abstract 3 Michaels background 3 Impact on the society 4 The fall of Michael 5 Rehabilitating Michaels image 7 Works cited 11 Abstract This paper examines the life of football player Michael Dwayne Vick, the mistakes he has made in the past, the retributions, and the way ahead. It seeks to show how Michael can rehabilitate his badly tarnished image despite the sordid past. It also draws lessons from the past that should feature prominently in Michaels future actions, if he is to be accepted back into mainstream society as the mega-star that he once was. Michaels background Michael Dwayne Vick is a professional football player with the National Football League. Up to August 2007, he used to be a quarterback with Atlanta's Falcons. He comes from a family of notable football players being the older brother of former Miami Dolphins Marcus Vick and a second cousin to New Orleans and Oakland Raiders quarterback Aaron Brooks.
Michael Vick was notable on the field, despite his relative short stature (at 6 feet), due to his amazingly high speeds, agility and arm strength. Although otherwise right handed, Michael Vick throws with the left, and the unusual angles have always given him an advantage in the field (Players, N. D. ). Michaels climb to fame started right in his high school years, where his stellar performance on the field led to his getting a scholarship with the Virginia Teck Hokies.
But two years down the line, he left the college after the Atlanta Falcons selected him as the first overall draft pick in 2001 the first time for an African American to be so selected. During that first year, Michael rarely played, but he became more active in the Pro Bowl in the subsequent four years. During those years, his electrifying moves and improvisational skills granted him a huge fan base, and he was soon a darling amongst American football fans (Info please, 2006). Michael Vicks stellar performance went along with his compensation. As his skills and talents got wider recognition, he got better and better deals from the sponsors, until by 2006, he was amongst the highest paid athletes in America. In 2004, he got signed up for a 10 year contract with Atlanta Falcons a deal worth 130 million dollars in salary and bonuses.
The following year, he further proved his prowess by leading the Falcons to the NFC championships a level just shy of the Super Bowl (Who 2, N. D. ). Impact on the society In direct relation to his climb in the professional status, Michael Vick started making huge impacts on the society. For example, he founded the Vick Foundation a charity organization supposed to help underprivileged youth with after-school support.
He also made considerable contributions to The United Way. These efforts and so many others show the kind of image that Michael Vick would like to portray to the society: one of a generous, humane person whose personal achievements have not alienated him from the rest of the society by making him aloof. The efforts also show that a part of Michael Vick remained attached to his poor background, and he sought to improve the various livelihoods that he could with his fortune. Due to his performance on the field and his charity work, Michael Vick gained popularity amongst the football fans and even the wider society. Many shops and clothing lines started stocking T-shirts bearing his name and his famous number on the field: 7.
Michael Vick was adored by all age groups from the youngest to the old, and he was a role model for many youngsters. His achievements inspired many other would-be athletes that anything was achievable, given determination and drive. Over and over again, as he successfully broke sportsman records in the field, he affirmed the fact that nothing is impossible. Like any other human, Michael Vick wouldnt like to be seen to be cruel to any animal. This is for his professional benefit as well as personal reasons. On the professional level, any tarnished image would hurt his public ratings, and subsequently his teams popularity.
This particular truism was made clear to him on many occasions by his team leaders (Gary, 2008). On the personal level Michael, together with all close relatives like his mother and brother, stand to lose from any such publicity. The fall of Michael Despite all the knowledge about the needs of his public image, Michael Vick still orchestrated a huge blow to his public image. In 2007, he got arrested on charges of sponsoring dog fights. Animal rights activists were all over decrying his distasteful acts on the animals. Apparently, through an organization called Bad Newz Kernels, Michael, together with several other close associates, were running a gambling outfit that saw dogs maul each other to the sadistic delight of other people.
To add insult to injury, any dogs that were found to be underperforming during these presentations was killed in cruel ways like electrocution and drowning (Steve, 2007). The reaction to all these news was sensational. The animal rights activists raised a hue and cry that spread everywhere. During the court proceedings, the activists from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals paraded outside the courts, carrying Animal rights placards. Once the news hit mainstream media, incredulous fans of Michael Vick were glued to their screens as they watched the case proceedings. The dailies and weekly magazines spewed out even more details of the animal cruelty that Michael had played a central part in.
Apparently, Michael was funding most of these gambling outfits, while the other associates did the actual running of the shows. Michaels dark side had finally caught up with him, and a side to him that, before then, was known by very few people, became public knowledge. The results from the discovery of Michaels side interests were almost immediate, and entirely catastrophic. Atlanta Falcons immediately suspended him from active play. In fact, according to Falcons owner, Arthur Blank, the chances of Michael rejoining the team border on nil (Gary, 2008). Understandable, given the fact that Michaels public image had just been flushed down the drain-way.
But even more catastrophic was the millions of fans who had to get used to a public image of Michael that they hadnt known, and that was completely alien. The fans suddenly had to contend with a villain instead of a role model. In fact, during court proceedings, Michael was told by the judge to apologize to all the millions of people that he had disappointed (Mihoces, 2007). A few other actions by Michael only further fuelled the publics consternation with him. For example, on his last day of freedom before being sent to jail, Michael went out and bought a Mercedes Benz a 100, 000 dollar investment. The consternation was not with the purchase per se, but with the fact that at the height of his images deterioration, Michael was doing the last thing that stood a chance of repairing it: displaying his wealth.
Yet even this displayed wealth was more of an illusion. During the previous weeks, as the court proceedings wore on, Michaels exorbitant spending had exhausted almost his entire wealth (Cooper, 2008). At a certain point, his lawyers had even filed a case of bankruptcy for him. The purchase of the Benz thus was not only puzzling, but completely outrageous. During the court proceedings, Michael Vick initially gave conflicting accounts of what had really occurred with the dogs. His initial stance was that he hadnt been directly responsible for the cruel treatment of the dogs.
Later on during the proceedings, this was found to be a lie. Michael Vick also failed on the polygraph tests and although this fact by itself could not stand in a court, it still was discussed and highlighted. It was becoming clear that Michael hadnt as yet acknowledged the full significant of his actions, and hence was still using evasive techniques. Therefore, to drive the seriousness of the offence home to him, the judge gave Michael the maximum prison term possible under the circumstances 23 months (Mihoces, 2007).
Michaels public image was well and truly soiled. To the animal rights activists, he was the devil incarnate. Some stories about his previous treatment of the dogs were simply hallowing. As a player whose victory depended on physical fitness, Michael surely should have understood when his dogs sometimes didnt win the fights.
He himself had lost on some football matches due to sheer exhaustion, and the same could have applied to his dogs. But rather than understand, Michael and his associates, during a particular month, had killed up to 8 underperforming dogs in the cruelest ways imaginable (Steve, 2007). This, combined with several infamous incidents like drug arrests on previous occasions, simply destroyed every pedestal that Michaels image had previously rested upon. Rehabilitating Michaels image The sentencing of Michael Vick marked a turning point in his lifestyle, however. From a multi-millionaire, Michael was brought down to a lifestyle where he washed pots and pans while wearing prison uniform. In his letters to his former boss, Arthur Blank, Michael would narrate how the humbling new position was affecting his personality.
He said that he was gradually learning to appreciate the simple things in life, while also understanding the grave nature of all his previous misadventures. In a sentence, he was changing. Arthur Blank remained as supportive as possible under the circumstances, but was non committal as to the possibility of Michael ever rejoining the Falcons again (Gary, 2008). Michael needs to rehabilitate his image. All the proclamations about how sorry he was during the court proceedings dont compensate for all the hurt that he has caused his fans and family. They also dont bring back to life all the dogs that his sadistic hobbies killed.
If he is to successfully nurse his image back to a semblance of what it used to be, he needs to exhibit earnest efforts at kicking both his old drug association with marijuana, and his acquired taste for gambling with dogs lives. Moreover, he needs to mollify all the animal rights activists that currently wish him dead on account of his misdeeds. There are many people in America who are emotionally attached to pets, and Michaels callous actions had hurt each and every last one of them deeply. To this end, Michael is already making significant strides.
While looking forward to his July 2009 release from prison at the end of his sentence, he has been sought after by several television stations that want to run a documentary on him. He is currently considering participating in reality shows, ostensibly to vocally repair his soiled image and also cast him back into Americas limelight. There is also the inevitable angle that the revenue generated from the shows will go a long way in bailing him from his various creditors. Michael currently owes millions of dollars to creditors. Other shows have also pitched in towards the rehabilitation of Michaels image. For example, the Dog Town Channel on National Geographic had an episode where the rehabilitation of Michaels 22 pit bulls was the subject (James, 2009).
In early 2008, Michael Vick entered into a drug rehabilitation program for his drug connections with Marijuana. Amongst other things, this rehabilitation program would cut short his prison term by close to a year, since the 23 imprisonment had been because of a combination of his drug abuse and the dog fiasco (Maven, 2008). The impact on his public image resulting from this rehabilitation can also not be discounted. At the least, it would render credibility to his declarations that he was willing to walk the straight and narrow path once again.
All the actions so far undertaken by Michael Vick, however, are but the tip of the iceberg, as far as the journey to image rehabilitation is concerned. Michael has his work cut out in trying to once again gain the confidence of all the disillusioned fans that he let down. Every word he utters, every action he initiates, every place he visits, will now be under careful scrutiny by millions of people. It will only take a single slip of tongue or the wrong step for his floundering image to be irreversibly destroyed.
Therefore, Michael should come out of the prison with a mindset completely focused on changing, not just superficially, but from inside out. It would be ideal for Michael to disassociate himself from any dog-related issues. But should he feel like continuing with dog-related sports, it would do him well to learn about the Protection Sports Association (PSAs) stand on dog sports. PSA promotes fair competition for canine sports, with rewards and prize schemes detailed out for all dogs that excel. It is, however, out-rightly against any sort of cruelty to dogs, and anybody caught handling dogs in a cruel way is answerable to it.
Through its structures, PSA encourages sportsmanship and excellence for all dogs involved in professional sports (PSA 9, N. D. ). As a final gesture of goodwill to all dogs and dog-compassionate humans, Michael Vick should donate a significant amount of money to a renowned dog association. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) would be a fine place in this respect. This kind of gesture, while explicitly impersonal coming from a person of Michaels stature, would still help to change the publics perception about him, and probably put him in good standing with animal rights activists and association. In coming up with the solution mapped out above, I have used the basic tenets of the Social Judgment Theory.
According to this theory, a persons acceptance of conditions depends on how ego-developed he or she is about it. A person can hence react to a situation along any of three possible latitudes: the latitude of acceptance, the latitude of rejection, and the latitude of non-commitment (Herbert et al, 2001). In Michael Vicks situation, only two latitudes were available for his callous treatment of the dogs rejection or non-commitment. In his comeback to society, however, he has to somehow elicit the latitude of acceptance through indirect deeds. As long as he is subtle about his deeds, Michael might finally get a second chance with the mainstream society. But he has to trend carefully.
Works cited Cooper, JJ (2008) Michael Vick Bought a Mercedes-Benz to Drive Himself to Prison April 25 th 2009 < web > Gary Myers (2008) Michael Vick playing prison football April 25 th 2009 < web > Herbert W. Simons, Joanne Morreale, Bruce E. Gronbeck (2001) Persuasion in society SAGE. < web er suasion+in+Society+Simons&printer = front cover&so use = bn&hl = en&ei = IzrxSbP 7 EY 64 tgPOkdD 8 Cg&sa = X&oi = bo ok result&ct = result&resume = 4 #PPA 193, M 1 > Info Please (N. D. ) Michael Vick Biography (Football Player) April 25 th 2009 < web > James Hibberd (2009) Michael Vick looking to do a reality show April 25 th 2009 < web > Maven (2008) Michael Vick enters drug rehab April 25 th 2009 < web > Mihoces, Gary (2007) Michael Vick sentenced to 23 months in jail April 25 th 2009 < web > Players (N. D. ) Michael Vick: Biography April 25 th 2009 < web > PSA 9, (N. D. ) The mission of PSA April 25 th 2009 < web > Steve Hummer (2007) The rise and fall of Michael Vick April 25 th 2009 < web > Who 2 (N.
D. ) Michael Vick Biography April 25 th 2009 < web >
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