Michael Vick offers Ray Rice advice on redemption

Eric Edholm, Yahoo Sports:

Michael Vick might be known forever as a man who ran a dogfighting ring, but he has helped repair his image after a long jail sentence and years of advocacy for the cause.

Vick now believes that Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, who was arrested and indicted on aggravated assault against his now-wife, can help amend and heal through a similar path to what Vick took.

“I think the most important thing that you can do is to try to make amends for what you’ve done," the New York Jets quarterback told NJ.com. “I think you have to show people that you’re trying to help yourself and bring awareness to that situation to help others, to prevent it. You’ve got to become an advocate.”

If there is anybody that can relate to the Ray Rice situation, it would be Michael Vick. The intense scrutiny that surrounded Michael’s return to the NFL in 2009 with the Philadelphia Eagles was far greater than what Ray must deal with. The protestors that followed Vick’s every move in 2009 have lessened, considerably.

Michael Vick started his road to repairing his image when he stopped the lying. He lied to his family, to his teammates, to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, and to Atlanta Falcons owner, Arthur Blank. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in a dogfighting venture and served his debt to society with 23 months behind bars.

It would behoove Ray Rice to listen to Michael. If he chooses not to take advice from Michael Vick, he could follow the history of Dr. James Cameron. His is an example of redemption that was 76 years in the making.

This is not the same James Cameron, film director of: Avatar, Titanic and the Terminator. This is a 16 year black youth from Marion, IN in 1930 who was an accessory before the fact of murder. He was sentenced to four years in federal prison. Following his release, he worked to right the wrongs of his youth.

Dr. James Cameron was an American Civil Rights activist who founded three chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). According to Cameron's Wikipedia page, he received his doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a key to the City of Marion, IN, and was also pardoned by the State of Indiana in 1991. Ray Rice would be best served by reading Dr. Cameron’s book titled, A Time of Terror: A Survivor’s Story.

When I see Michael Vick on television these days, I am watching a fast QB that plays for the New York Jets. I don’t think about the dogfighting every time Michael gets the snap from center. As for Ray Rice, all I see is his girlfriend/wife, Janay Palmer knocked out on the floor outside the elevator. Someday, I hope to see Ray Rice, solid citizen, fine running back of the Baltimore Ravens. It just won’t be today.

Paul Murphy is a freelance writer from New Hampshire.

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