There are so many great things in the sports world to write about that I try to stay away from the negative stories, but sometimes I just can't help it. Virginia Tech quarterback Marcus Vick, younger brother of Atlanta Falcon quarterback Mike Vick, has found his way into the news again, and things could be getting serious for the aspiring phenom.
The younger Vick followed his brother to Blackburg, Va., a few years ago, and most viewed it as just a stop on his way to the NFL. Marcus appeared to be at least as talented as Michael, so success seemed guaranteed. But then last May he became the latest athlete to fall victim to oldest bear-trap in the woods -- drinking alcohol with underage girls. This act is getting so old, it's become like the long-running Broadway play that just brings in new actors to pump up the box office. ("For two weeks only see Betty White, Christina Aguilera, and Kim Wayans in the Vagina Monologues!") We've seen the play so many times that we've memorized the dialogue, but when they change the faces on stage, we can't make ourselves look away.
And so it is with Marcus Vick. Last May he and a couple teammates invited some girls (and I say girls because they were fourteen and fifteen years old) up to their apartment for a few drinks. They were caught. Vick was sentenced to 30 days in prison with a $2,250 fine, as well as an undisclosed university punishment. Since it was undisclosed, we can assume that it was also unimpressive. Had Vick kept out of trouble, we probably never would have heard about any of it again. But he didn't keep out of trouble.
Early last Saturday morning Vick was pulled over while doing 86 in a 65, possibly 86'ing his sophomore season. During the traffic stop, Vick was found to be in possession of marijuana. Both infractions are only misdemeanors, and there were no young girls found at the scene, so Vick might still be okay in the long run.
His university, however, may be running out of patience. Since it isn't good for your team's marquee player to making headlines like this every two months, they've suspended Vick indefinitely while guaranteeing that he'll miss at least the first three games this season. Three games seems about right, because any more than that and they might jeopardize his Heisman campaign.
I read this story in the newspaper and just shook my head. here we have a guy that more than likely was 5 years or less away from having more money than he knew what to do with, had the world by the balls so to speak. and to go out and do something so stupid and so preventable. makes me think that when he was caught drinking with underage girls the punishment was not enough, because he quite obviously did not learn any lesson from it. I had heard really good things about him as a player lets hope he can step up and be the sort of human being he is on the field off the field.
Posted by: Rick | July 15, 2004 at 03:03 AM
Rick:
I agree completely. All of us made poor decisions when we were twenty years old, but athletes like Vick tend to find themselves in situations where their mistakes can be much bigger and much more public. It's my hope that he learns from this (though you're right -- it doesn't look he learned anything after the alcohol incident) and realizes what he could be losing. Maybe big brother can have a chat with him.
Posted by: Hank | July 15, 2004 at 03:11 PM