Vick in prison figured out life

April 27, 2019 at 4:00p.m.

YOUNGSTOWN

As a star quarterback in the National Football League, Michael Vick had money, fame and adulation from fans. What he didn’t have, though, was a purpose for his life.

He didn’t find that until all the other glittery things were stripped away from him and he ended up behind bars.

“This may sound crazy, but I had to go to prison to figure out a direction for my life,” Vick said Saturday morning at the Covelli Centre, where he was the kickoff speaker for the 10th annual Men’s Rally In the Valley. “I learned so much [in prison] and I grew so much mentally. I became a man. It’s sad that it had to happen that way.”

Vick, a former quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles, served two years in prison for his role in operating a dog fighting ring, to which he pleaded guilty in 2007. Since then, he’s been dogged by criticism from animal rights advocates, and his appearance at Saturday’s rally was no exception.

Several protesters continually shouted and heckled him during his remarks, with police eventually removing some of them from the building. Vick seemed unfazed, though. He walked onto the stage to a rousing, standing ovation from those in the audience who believe in his redemption.

Rather than giving a traditional speech, Vick sat on a stool and answered questions from Pastor Gary Frost, vice president of the Midwest Region North American Mission Board and one of the Rally organizers.

Frost didn’t waste time addressing Vick’s controversial background, asking Vick how he deals with being protested everywhere he goes.

“It’s surprising that it still happens 15 years later, but it’s understandable,” Vick said. “I made that bed and I still sleep in it. I put myself in a position for people to look at me that way.”