Earlier this week Michael Vick signed a six year, $100 million contract with the Eagles and so far the reaction from the media has been predictably mixed. Some applaud the man for turning his life around after serving a prison sentence for being convicted of dog fighting. Some feel his crimes were so heinous that he doesn’t a deserve the accolades now being laid upon him.
Still others are just puzzled as to why Philadelphia would commit so much money to a quarterback with a history of inconsistency and injuries. But regardless of your opinion one thing is clear. It’s Vick’s success on the the field that has rejuvenated his career and for fans of the purple and gold in Los Angeles it’s a story that has a familiar ring to it.
Lakers faithful need only think back and remember two words, the pairing of which probably still makes them cringe slightly as they recoil back in their seats: Kobe and Colorado. Seven years ago Kobe Bryant appeared to be on the precipice of the one of greatest tragic falls in the history of sports. He’d been accused of sexual assault and had he been tried and convicted it may ultimately have created a cultural event on par with the white Bronco and bloody gloves of a decade earlier.
Yet despite the fact that charges against Bryant were ultimately dropped, the stigma of adultery and the insinuation that he still might be guilty of worse made for fodder by critics and comedians alike.
For them the court of public opinion had already cast judgment on Kobe, and because of that many marketing analysts argued on television that Kobe’s brand would be irreparably tarnished. That he’d never have the public appeal that he once held and that the incident would stay with him the rest of his career like a yoke hanging around neck. So much for that thought.
Today Kobe is the pitchman for shoes, watches, smart cars and even for an airline based out of Turkey. According to Forbes he is now the highest paid basketball player in the world (edging out even LeBron James). By any monetary metric Kobe’s comeback from the brink of society exile is complete. And to what does he owe this turnaround? In a word, success.
Next: Back from the Brink
I suppose it makes sense. Our country prides itself on being able to impact all aspects of our daily lives. From parenting to health care to love to betrayal, there isn’t a single aspect of our lives that isn’t influenced by a market of what sells and what doesn’t. So why not redemption? Someone once said that the bigger they are the harder they fall, but there’s a addendum to that little bit of wisdom. Because the harder they fall, the more money they can make on their way back up.
In America there is a plain-as-day blueprint for redemption and it is based on two fundamental principles. When you make mistakes as a public figure or sports star the formula for a comeback starts with admitting your fault. Own up to your transgressions (or at least give the perception you’re owning up to them) and be prepared to take some heat.
The second part of the equation is all about performance. Does your movie sell out? Does your T.V. show get huge ratings? Do you win back-to-back NBA championships? The truth is everyone loves a winner, and as long as you are passably contrite, fans almost always tend to flock back. You might even pick a few new ones who see the redemption angle to your personal biography as inspirational.
Yet just because winning and success are practical cure-alls doesn’t make it right or just. Personally, the idea of dog fighting sickens my heart and I have a hard time fathoming how someone could treat an animal like that. I wish that there was someway that I could look into Michael Vick’s heart to know how truly remorseful he is or isn’t. I wish I could know what happened in that hotel room in Eagle, Colorado. I wish be inside the mind of Tiger Woods to know if he was actually sorry for any of the actions that destroyed his family or if he was just sorry he got caught.
But I can’t and I never will. So all I do as a fan of sports is accept that athletes are human beings, that they make mistakes, that they try to redeem themselves for their shortcomings and that when they give an answer to a tough question they are actually being honest. Maybe that’s naive, but I’d rather be an eternal optimist than a corrosive cynic.
Michael Vick was found guilty of a terrible crime to be sure. But he also served his due to society and because of it he’s be given a second chance. So far, just as Kobe did, he’s certainly made he most of it.