Michael Vick Still Thinks The NFL Commissioner Is Doing A Great Job
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been under an enormous amount of scrutiny, but there’s still one man who stands behind him: Michael Vick. The former NFL star and dog fighting aficionado said that Goodell is “doing a great job” dealing with the Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice scandals.
And Michael Vick knows scandals.
The former star quarterback was the subject of a number of investigations, and was ultimately convicted of running an illegal dog fighting ring. Ironically, Goodell then suspended Vick from the NFL, but apparently Michael has no hard feelings. Vick has been back in the NFL since 2009, after the conviction and 2 year suspension nearly destroyed his career. The quarterback was recently signed by the New York Jets.
After a practice, Vick said, “I think he’s doing a great job, I think some situations are more complicated than others. You’re not going to get it right all the time the first time. These situations that (have arisen) are situations that we never dealt with before. I feel from a PR standpoint, just from a situational standpoint, it’s kind of new to everybody.”
After the dog fighting incident Michael Vick and the NFL commissioner reportedly formed a relationship based on respect — a respect the public has largely lost in the last couple of weeks. Goodell came under criticism when he only suspended Ray Rice for two days, until public outrage forced him to extend the penalty to an indefinite suspension. Since then police have alleged that Adrian Peterson abused his four year old son, yet the commissioner has stayed oddly silent on that front.
That silence might be the most dangerous thing for Goodell, as Peter King from Sports Illustrated said, “The league is in chaos, and America needs to hear from him, I believe he certainly should have spoken by now.”
Nevertheless, Michael Vick believes in a more tolerant attitude.
“Nobody’s perfect. Nobody can make the correct decisions right then and there on the spot when faced with all forms of adversity. So, you got to give the man a chance. You got to give him a chance. You got to give everybody a chance to get it right.”
Critics have also pointed out that individual teams are creating a system of inconsistent penalties for players. For example, the 49ers have allowed lineman Ray McDonald to continue playing even though he was also arrested for domestic abuse in August.
Commissioner Goodell may be having one of the most difficult times in his life, but at least he can rest assured that through it all Michael Vick has his back.
[Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons]
