Eagles quarterback Mike Vick recently canceled his book tour due to death threats that were deemed credible. Vick has now resumed his public effort to sell more copies of his autobiography, Finally Free.
And Vick had some strong words for those who are still upset about the fact that he engaged in a six-year habit of fighting dogs and killing dogs that were deemed unfit to fight.
“Why would you continue to bash somebody who’s trying to help make the world a better place?” Vick told Robert Klemko of USA Today.
“A lot of people are sick and tired of hearing about my past, because there are so many other problems that are going on in this world that need to have attention drawn to them,” Vick said. “People are dying every day, children are being killed, going to jail. Not to say I overlook what I’ve done, but I try to do outreach as a positive.”
Actually, the people most sick and tired of hearing about Vick’s past are the ones who blindly accepted his defiant professions of innocence and then, when it turned out he was lying to them and everyone else, shrugged it all off by saying, “It’s just dogs.”
Vick also explained the reason for postponing the book tour.
“It wasn’t so much fear, but you have to take precaution for yourself and your family, and for other people as well,” Vick said. “I knew a lot of people were going to be at the signings, and I didn’t want to put anyone in jeopardy.
“I think the small fraction of people who are still making these derogatory comments and thinking irrationally, they’re in a league of their own. But we won’t let it stop us from what we’re trying to do. . . .
“We’re definitely going to finish the book tour,” Vick added. “Even if it happens again, we’re still going to move forward, but we’ll do it in a totally different way. The book is doing great because of all the attention it’s gotten in the last couple days, so what more can I ask for?”
He’s apparently asking for people to completely forget what he did, and labeling those who won’t do that as “irrational.” Actually, plenty of rational minds have lingering concerns about the lifestyle Vick led from 2001 through 2007 -- and which he still may have been leading if he hadn’t gotten caught.