Michael Vick Reviewed and Revisited

In a previous post I touched on my refusal to forgive or forget what Michael Vick was involved in when he was running his dog-fighting ring.  I thought I’d just take a moment here to revisit the subject and offer a couple of thoughts.  Okay, I know there are some people out there who are probably rolling their eyes and saying, “A bit late, aren’t you?”  Well, excuse me for breathing . . . I didn’t have a blog when all that was in the news!

Do I begrudge Vick the money that he makes as an NFL quarterback?  The answer to that would be no . . . no more than I resent any other spoiled professional athlete when compared to professions that are more socially valuable.   If you asked me if I think he should still be in jail the answer would be different, but he served his time as it was laid down by the courts.  The legal system, although improving, still shows the same lack of concern that Vick showed for the life and welfare of dogs.  Having said that, he has a certain set of skills and he should not be deprived from cashing in on that if he is able to.  What does piss me off, however, is that the ownership and the management of the Philadelphia Eagles placed their profit-line above what seemed to be the popular sentiment of the time.  Of course they touted the idea that Vick was rehabilitated, reformed, and remorseful but, to me, that was just a rationalization for their decision.

Which brings me to my main point . . . Do I think that he is rehabilitated, reformed, and remorseful?  Of course not!!!!!  I have been a psychiatric nurse since God was a boy, and I have studied and worked with all kinds of mental illness, including behavioral and personality disorders.  I have seen this type of situation before.  Vick’s involvement in a dog-fighting ring showed a disregard for life that is not situational.  It emerges from a core value, a central belief.  Those core values and beliefs are not easily changed.   What Michael Vick is remorseful about is getting caught, not about what he did.  I honestly believe that if he thought he would not get caught again, he would do the same thing.  Now, I am not saying he is a psychopath, but it may interest you to know that a diagnosis of psychopathy cannot be given to anyone over the age of 40.  Why?  Because the established theory is that as psychopaths age they develop ways of channeling their anti-social tendencies into things that are more socially acceptable but that continue to fulfill their belief that they are the center of the universe.  Does that sound somewhat like what is going on here?  The re-emergence as a singular figure in the NFL?  The work being done on behalf of animal welfare groups (which were initially court ordered)?  This transformation is true of many personality disorders, not just psychopathy or sociopathy.  I don’t know the guy well enough to say that he meets the criteria for these diagnoses, but many of the traits are there. 

In saying all of these things I truly hope that I am wrong because, as an animal advocate, he is in a position to do an amazing amount of good.  The problem is that if I am wrong that would destroy my own center-of –the-universe view in which I am never wrong. 

Just one final thought--and I am probably just being vindictive here—I don’t actually think that he is as good a quarterback as last season would seem to have indicated . . . and there are probably more than a few Eagle fans that are beginning to agree with me!