The entire world seems to be in shock that Michael Vick, quaterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, decided to cancel his Oprah appearance this week. According to the reports, Vick was suppose to sit down with the Queen of Talk to discuss his life, his return to football and of course, his dog fighting charges. The interview was set to air next week and was allegedly going to be taped this week.
We suspect the shock most people are expressing over Michael Vick’s decision to cancel has more to do with Oprah then Michael Vick. Most people can’t even imagine canceling on Oprah, one of the richest and most influential people in the entire planet. We doubt that anyone is confused about why Michael Vick would not want to sit down with Oprah, a very passionate dog lover who has promoted animal rights on the show.
There are some who are criticizing Vick’s decision to dodge Oprah. Some who believe he is trying to escape accountability when it comes to the dogfighting issue and not answer the tough questions. And to those people we say, he went to jail. He did an entire series called the Michael Vick Project where he openly discussed dog fighting and his remorse. He has gone around the country talking about dog fighting. He has constantly answered questions about dog fighting. Sure, he may have been afraid of Oprah, who wouldn’t be, but it’s very clear that Vick has accepted that dog fighting will always be a part of his legacy.
In addition, we have serious doubts that the decision to cancel had anything to do with Vick and had everything to do with the Philadelphia Eagles. There are numerous reports that the Eagles did not want Vick to do the Oprah interview. And from where we are sitting we cannot blame them. The Eagles want Vick to focus on football, not on personal redemption. They don’t want any press on Vick that focuses on dog-fighting and whether he was forthright and honest when it came to answering questions on that subject.
We agree with the Eagles and with Joe Flint of the Los Angeles times who recently wrote an article entitled, “Michael Vick smart to cancel Oprah.” This year, for the first time, there was serious discussions about Vick as MVP of the league. In addition, Vick was also rewarded for his performance on the field with a trip to the pro-bowl. There were some people who objected to Vick’s appearance at the pro-bowl and thought he did not deserve to be MVP. Those people’s objections really had nothing to do with Vick’s performance and everything to do with his dog-fighting history. But for the first time, in a long time, many people started to stand up for Vick and say, he deserves this recognition. People in the league and sports broadcasters came to Vick’s defense and reminded everyone that Vick has paid for his crimes and should be afforded a second chance.
Going on Oprah now would mean that Vick would be opening a old wound. Oprah is a great interviewer and one of her greatest talents is that she can humanize anyone who comes on her show but we have serious doubts that Oprah would be able to win over the people who despise Michael Vick. The people who hate Michael Vick would find some fault with his interview with Oprah.
Micheal Vick’s decision to cancel Oprah was a wise one, we truly believe that it is time for Michael Vick to stop focusing on personal redemption and start focusing on his professional redemption. No one is going to forget Michael Vick’s past but it is time for Vick to focus on his future. Vick needs to realize that the road to redemption begins on the turf, not on Oprah.
