Michael Vick’s Redemption Playbook
The second part of ESPN’s <em>30 for 30</em> documentary on the football star delves into a second act that was as carefully stage-managed as it seemed sincere.
The thing about digging yourself out of disgrace as a public figure is that, in most cases, it’s not as hard as it might seem. There’s even a set plan, or, in Michael Vick’s case, a playbook. As Stanley Nelson details in the second part of his riveting documentary on the football star, when Vick was released from prison in 2009 after serving almost two years on charges related to his role in a dog-fighting ring, his route to public rehabilitation was already set. He took full responsibility for what he’d done. He apologized, and expressed sincere contrition. He declared his intention to make amends for funding and participating in dog fighting, which he described as a “terrible thing.” With cases like Vick’s, the
