Vick-Stallworth Contrition Tour Begins Tonight

For all that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has done to try and clean up the game of professional football, this offseason has been chock full o’ tumult for the league. From ↵Plaxico Burress’ indictment for shooting himself to ↵Ben Roethlisberger’s civil suit (which is looking more and more suspect by the day) to things like the ↵Cowboys practice facility collapsing and seriously injuring staffers, this offseason has kept the NFL in the headlines for the wrong reasons.
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↵↵Terrell Owens having a reality show on VH1 might be one of the best things to happen this offseason -- and that’s never good news for the league.↵

↵↵While the aforementioned circumstances are serious, terrible, and a black eye for both the league those involved, there were three storylines this offseason that stood out above all else – each involving death.↵

↵↵While ↵Steve McNair’s murder was awful and tragic and heart-wrenching, it’s also over. At least for the league, it’s over. McNair was a former player and his murder was a murder-suicide, which leaves no lingering parts to the story – no trial, no appeals process, no grieving widow on the witness stand. Sure the community of Nashville will struggle to move on, and the McNair family as well, but from a PR standpoint, the NFL can move past that story. ↵

↵↵But the two stories the league cannot move past involved, yes, Michael Vick and Donte Stallworth. While the cases are completely unrelated, the sheer timing of Vick’s release from nearly two years in prison juxtaposed with the brief sentence of Stallworth for hitting and killing a man with his car while intoxicated linked the stories for much of the offseason. ↵

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↵↵⇥Vick’s visit to a suburban Atlanta community center was largely off limits to the very neighborhood it was supposed to be helping. In an agreement between Vick’s handlers and the Humane Society of the United States, only 55 people and one media crew were allowed inside. An Associated Press reporter, videographer and photographer were among the media banished from the property by police.↵↵↵You can’t really blame Vick for that. That’s just bad PR by his handlers. It turns out, only one camera was allowed into the event because it was rolling for 60 Minutes, where Vick will take his contrition tour to the airwaves this Sunday. ↵

↵↵While people spent the offseason debating their crimes and subsequent prison sentences, Vick and Stallworth are now both facing the same charge -- convincing those in the NFL that they are sorry, and they have changed. Vick, already conditionally reinstated by the league, needs to convince a team to give him a second chance. Stallworth has a team, but needs the league to give him another chance.↵

↵↵While Vick will have his chance to talk on national TV Sunday evening, Stallworth’s opportunity is tonight on ESPN’s E:60 program: ↵

↵↵⇥Stallworth talks for the first time about the morning he killed 59-year-old Mario Reyes, lessons learned while in jail and how he hopes to make a positive impact in the future, on and off the football field.↵↵↵Commissioner Goodell will be watching Stallworth tonight. And every team will be watching Vick on Sunday. If they both say the right things – they are sorry, they’ve learned from their mistakes and they are different people now because of what happened – it will go a long way to rehabilitation. ↵

↵↵Their stories won’t go away this year, but two interviews this week could help the players, and the league, move past this tumultuous offseason. It’s time for football, isn’t it? ↵

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