Vick leaves prison for home confinement

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Suspended NFL star Michael Vick left a Kansas prison before dawn Wednesday to begin home confinement in Virginia, one of his attorneys said, the latest step on a journey that Vick hopes will lead to his reinstatement.

Vick, who turns 29 in June, slipped past waiting cameras and reporters undetected to leave a federal penitentiary in Leavenworth after serving 19 months for financing a dogfighting ring. He was headed to Virginia by car to begin two months of home confinement at his five-bedroom house in Hampton before a scheduled release from federal custody July 20.

He was accompanied by his fiancee, Kijafa Frink, and they were traveling back to Virginia with several members of a security team provided by Vick’s team of lawyers and advisers.

The traveling party also included a videographer recording the journey, although what Vick plans to do with the footage hasn’t been made clear.

The drive from Leavenworth to Hampton was expected to take about 19 hours.

“It’s a happy day for him to be starting this part of the process,” Larry Woodward, Vick’s Virginia-based attorney, said. “He looks forward to meeting the challenges he has to meet.”

Ultimately, Vick’s goal is to rehabilitate his image and return to the NFL, but Woodward said his first priority “is spending time with his children and his loved ones.”

Vick has considerable work to do to get back into playing condition after being out of the game two years. His agent, Joel Segal, said his career won’t be Vick’s immediate focus. “Football is on the back-burner for now,” he said.

Commissioner Roger Goodell, who suspended Vick indefinitely in August 2007, reiterated Wednesday he will review Vick’s status after his criminal case is concluded. He has said Vick will have to persuade him and the public that he is genuinely sorry for his crime, has been changed by his experience and that he’s committed to leading a different life.

Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank said Wednesday that Vick has paid his debt to society and merits a second chance, although that chance won’t come with the Falcons.

“We’ve made it clear Michael’s not going to play for us again,” Blank said. “Right now his salary is being tolled so it has no effect on our cap, beyond the allocation of signing bonus which happens under any circumstances. So we’ll deal with it at the time we think is correct.”

Vick, once the NFL’s highest-paid player, is scheduled to report to a probation officer Friday in Norfolk, Woodward said. He will be allowed to leave home to work a $10-an-hour job as a laborer for a construction company and for other limited purposes approved by his probation officer. He will serve three years’ probation after his home confinement ends.

Even if he is reinstated, Vick’s NFL future is uncertain. Is there a team willing to endure the wrath of some fans in exchange for a player who may no longer be one of the NFL’s most electrifying performers?

A public backlash isn’t the only risk. By all accounts, Vick has tried to stay in good physical shape, but there’s no telling how much his skills have eroded after two missed seasons.

Vick said in bankruptcy court last month he believes he can play another 10-to-12 years. The NFL career average is only 3.2 years — it’s much longer for quarterbacks, though — and Vick already has played six.