Michael Vick knows about second chances, and he hopes Ray Rice gets one, too.
The Jets quarterback said during his weekly appearance on WFAN that he hoped Rice got a chance to play again someday, after his indefinite suspension and release from the Ravens because he punched his wife in the face.
Vick, of course, was indefinitely suspended and spent two years in prison on federal dogfighting charges.
But while he had common ground, he paused when asked what advice he’d give Rice.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t know what to tell Ray Rice right now,” Vick said, via Rich Cimini of ESPN.com. “That’s just being transparent with you right now. That situation is just so out of control. I just hope masses of people learn from this. As athletes, we understand the position that we’re in, and that we are superior athletes. Some things you’ve got to learn to bottle up. There are so many different ways to handle things that come about. We’ve just always got to be mindful and competent when we’re in those situations.”
Vick said he learned from his mistakes, and thinks Rice can too.
“I took away a lot from what I went through -- the importance of decision-making,” he said. “And like I tell so many people now: Ray Rice has had a great career. A lot of us had great careers and everything was in our favor, and you do the wrong thing in one hour of the day and everything turns around and is obviously not in your favor anymore.
“Somebody told me you can go 23 hours in a day and do the right thing, and in the last hour screw up, and that’s all people are going to remember. You’ve just got to be conscious of what you’re doing and what’s going on at all times. You just can’t let things get out of character. We control everything. We control our actions, we control our movement, we control the people around us. We’ve got to take that into consideration at all times.”
The job Vick has done since leaving prison has been admirable, and does offer a glimmer of hope for Rice, even when many believe his football career is over.