Interesting Analysis on the Sincerity of the Michael Vick Public Apology
Podcast
"Michael Vick's involvement in a dogfighting ring was reprehensible. But in an era when half-assed, self-obsessed, slick, lame and passive justifications pass for public apology, his mea culpa was pure as a touchdown lob."[... and she goes on to say]:
"He seemed to be speaking from the heart, and he appeared sincerely contrite. It may or may not revive his career as a quarterback, but it goes a long way toward redeeming the man behind the mask."I listen to KNBR 680 quite a bit, and the Vick story has naturally dominated the discussions over the last few weeks. While there has been a huge delta between the range of attitudes about what the punishment should be for the crime (i.e., length of prison term, whether he should ever be allowed to play football again, etc.), callers have pretty consistently settled on words like "sick" and "evil" to describe Vick's character.
But one difference that I noticed about yesterday's call-ins (after the public apology) was a lot more sympathy towards Vick. There were quite a few callers who -- despite their continued horror at Vick's actions -- were simply very sad for him, for all that he squandered, and for his bleak future. It's truly amazing what an impact a *sincere* apology has.
Related links:
The Smoking Gun: "Michael Vick Cops Felony Plea"
Detroit Free Press: "Give Vick tough time, but not lifetime ban"
USA Today: "A 2nd chance that should - and will - be a long time coming"