Are you ready for some football? After a 132-day NFL lockout, the owners and NFL Players Association decided to end the football famine and bring America’s nine billion dollar sport back to the field. As the great football depression comes to an end, it’s finally time for teams to get back to work. And the media is talking about it. The unlocking of football has sparked massive amounts of coverage, especially on star players. Michael Vick remains, arguably, the most talked about.
It’s hard to determine if working with Vick would have been a PR nightmare or a PR dream. If you represented Vick in 2007 when he was arrested for conspiracy to engage in competitive dog fighting, the term “nightmare” seems like an understatement if trying to describe the PR situation. With Vick’s sponsors such as Nike, Coca-Cola and EA Sports jumping ship, the media influence crashing down with wave after wave of 24-hour coverage and the other defendants in the case mutinying against Vick, I wonder what it was like trying to keep the football star’s head above water. After he signed his plea agreement in August of 2007, admitting to dog fighting and bankrolling the operation, Michael Vick had finally hit the iceberg. From my television it seemed that no amount of public relations was going to keep him afloat and going to prison was inevitable. Vick was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison in December of 2007, but was released earlier than expected in July of 2009.
Hopefully, this is where the PR dream would begin. Most people like a comeback story, right? The reason I say “most” instead of “everyone” is because there are a lot of people that think Vick doesn’t deserve a comeback. Don’t get me wrong, his participation in dog fighting is downright awful. I love dogs and I don’t see how anyone could justify treating animals in that way. But, the man went to prison for it, he lost everything; his career, his reputation, his money and most importantly, his freedom. What if you were in his shoes? Now I know there are countless arguments out there to contradict my reasoning for a second chance but no matter what you or I believe, the fact of the matter is that if Michael Vick could show that he genuinely felt remorse for what he did and was truly committed to making a positive change, there is going to be a team out there that would give him that shot at redemption. The Philadelphia Eagles were just that team. In my opinion, being a part of the PR team that got the chance to take Vick and his reputation from convict to quarterback would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. I’ve read the many articles and reports on how Vick is making positive changes and is a key supporter of the National Humane Society. But are Vick’s new “do-gooder” motives genuine? I believe public relations can guide a person, but it can’t ultimately change them. Just because someone plans out a path for you to take, doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll take it.
Michael Vick recently signed a 6-year $100 million contract with the Eagles. He is currently helping the Humane Society in its battle to condemn a dog fighting application in the Android Marketplace called “Dog Wars.” According to an article in USA TODAY, Vick said, “I’ve come to learn the hard way that dog fighting is a dead-end street. Now, I am on the right side of this issue, and I think it’s important to send the smart message to kids, and not glorify this form of animal cruelty, even in an Android app.” The sad part is, whether or not he truly means the above statement or if we believe him, it won’t only be PR that alters the minds of the masses. It will be how many touchdowns he scores and how many games he wins. Public relations can help repair celebrity images, but the celebrity has to be in it to win too.