Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sports, "Hunt's Grunts"

Consequences and redemption

Beans, beans, good for the heart, the more you eat...

Beans, beans, good for the heart, the more you eat … well, you remember the rhyme. Understandably, there haven’t been many breaking stories on breaking wind. Until now, that is, as Atlanta’s own Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic recently graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, which passed along this nugget:

“He [Howard] fools around at practice, during press conferences and during shoot around, where Magic coach Stan Van Gundy has had to institute a no-flatulence rule because, as Rashard Lewis says, 'Dwight really likes to cut the cheese.'”

Now, this space will not focus on the backdoor breeze and its place in sports lore, but when you learn that it will be on Michael Vick, you might wish it were. Vick’s dramatic fall from grace has been covered exhaustively, and now that his 23-month sentence for dogfighting is drawing to a close (beginning May 21, Vick will serve the final month in home confinement at his 3,500-square-foot brick home in Hampton, Va.), the Vick news machine will be cranked up on a near-daily basis.

This is the culture we live in. Vick has had discussions with television producers for a proposed docu-series that would begin the day, June 20, that he is released from federal custody, and show him trying to make amends for the past. It has been reported that such a deal would pay Vick $600,000, but make no mistake, he’s asking for considerably more. (And no, it won’t be on Animal Planet.)

But while it has the makings of an episode of “My Name is Earl” (Vick did recently agree to pay back $6.5 million to the Falcons), the series would seem to be more along the lines of an MTV reality show that featured another Atlanta celebrity in trouble with the law. “T.I.’s Road to Redemption” featured the rapper-entertainer, who last month was sentenced to one year and one day on felony weapons charges, attempting to scare teens straight in order to help them avoid problems like the ones he and Vick are facing.

Regardless of whether it was a publicity stunt to net less prison time, the show offered detailed discussions about weapons, drive-by shootings and other criminal activities that often result in negative consequences. If Vick does open the curtain to his world upon his release, he will need to express something the court of public opinion (as well as the judge in his bankruptcy hearing, which resumes next week) doesn’t think he has demonstrated yet—a sense that he is truly sorry for what he has done and that he is a changed man ready to finally be the mentor and role model that his legion of fans expect him to be.

That’s got to be job No. 1. Vick can concern himself with touchdowns and such later. His story is a reminder to us all that past mistakes can have a long-term impact. It reminds us that the sharp man sees the evil and takes cover. The simple go straight on and get into trouble. Or at least that’s one translation of a Biblical verse found in Proverbs.

As human beings, the fact of the matter is that we all pass judgment on others every day. That girl is a bad driver. That guy should whiten his teeth. That sports editor’s references to bathroom humor are sophomoric. Obviously, there are much more serious issues, including the ones Vick has faced, over which men and women will continue to judge their fellow human beings. People will continue to commit acts of stupidity that will pose a massive risk to everything they love and treasure. That’s just the world we live in. Drinking and driving, taking illegal substances, living an unsafe, promiscuous lifestyle, lying, cheating—none are worth the risk.

The key here is to see the trouble before it arrives. Recognize the red flags. There were many of these so-called warning banners blowing directly in Vick’s face leading up to his ultimate arrest. But he kept going straight ahead, and he got into trouble. Recognize the pending trouble, and have the wisdom to know what to do to avoid it. That takes courage and action and sacrifice. Often it will cause embarrassment, but if changes aren’t made, then the consequences can be heavy. It’s a lesson that Vick is learning the hard way. It’s a lesson I sometimes feel I’m not listening to myself. And yet today is a new day.

Happy times … and last week, a footballer for Chorlton Villa, a low-level club team in England, tooted loudly during a penalty kick and was issued a yellow card for his emission. Oh, poo. SP