Eagles' Vick can no longer be the life of the party

There are certain things Michael Vick cannot do anymore. One, for the time being, is own a dog. Another is be the life of the party.

On Thursday morning, news broke that Vick was going to "host" a Super Bowl bash at a club in Dallas on Friday night. An invitation, shown on the website TMZ.com, touted "The Michael Vick Experience," and read, in part, "Four-time Pro Bowl QB Michael Vick would like to personally invite you to the only upscale A-list celebrity extravaganza of the 2011 Super Bowl. This will be the primary & preferred destination for iconic personalities from the NFL, MLB, Hollywood, the music industry and corporate America!"

Except Vick will not be there. An Eagles spokesman confirmed that Vick told him as much on Thursday afternoon. As for whether the Eagles knew about such a party before Thursday, the spokesman would not say. The team had no further comment.

Earlier Thursday, TMZ.com reported that the owner of Deux Lounge, the club hosting the event, said that there would be increased security at the event provided by Vick, the NFL, and the club, including three off-duty members of a SWAT team.

Jeff Skaggs, identified by TMZ.com as the operating owner of Deux Lounge, did not return messages for comment. Vick also did not return a text seeking comment.

It is possible that Vick did not know about any event, that an invitation using his likeness in what appears to be an Eagles uniform was designed without his approval. The invitation shown on TMZ.com did not say that Vick would be at the party. That came from Skaggs.

But the Eagles and Vick would serve their fans well to give a more detailed explanation. The Eagles sold their fan base on the promise that Vick deserved a second chance after serving a prison sentence for operating an illegal dogfighting operation. They promised, as did Vick, that he had reformed and had embraced the opportunity the Eagles and the NFL had given him, and while reluctant at first, the paying fans bought in.

But a Super Bowl party? For a man with his past? That is impossible to swallow. Vick is now the face of the franchise, like it or not. Whatever he does and wherever he goes is news.

Maybe Vick was never planning on attending any party, but it sure sounds like someone - most likely his employer - made the prudent decision and told Vick not to go. Hosting a party the weekend of the Super Bowl would be the equivalent of career suicide for Vick, who after his birthday party last summer, has zero margin for error.

Super Bowl weekend is the party of all sports parties. Anybody who is somebody is there: athletes, celebrities, movie stars, musicians. It is a time to see and be seen. The parties are extravagant, hosted by such goliaths as ESPN, Playboy, and Maxim.

The mixture of alcohol, provocatively dressed women, testosterone, ego, celebrity, and opportunity can be disastrous. What if something bad happened at a party "hosted" by Vick, whether he was involved or not? It would be major news, and Vick would be blamed.

Putting himself in a position for that to happen would be an awfully big risk for Vick to take. It would be arrogant, selfish, and shortsighted. He is the Eagles' starting quarterback and is about to cash in with the franchise tag, which will require the Eagles to pay Vick the average of the top five quarterbacks' salaries. The number for 2011 should be in the neighborhood of $20 million, or $1 million a game, including the preseason.

So there really was no decision to be made. Vick cannot host parties anymore. He cannot hang out at clubs. It does not matter how many security details he employs. As long as he wants to continue playing football, Vick has to live an unspectacular life on the couch with his family. He might not like it, but that is just the way it is.

Last year, Vick and his brother Marcus were quietly hosting parties in and around their home state of Virginia. In June, Vick defied his mother and his fiancee and hosted a 30th birthday bash for himself at $50 a head, and it nearly cost him his career. A codefendant in Vick's dogfighting trial, Quanis Phillips, was in attendance and got into a verbal altercation with Vick at the party. Afterward, somebody shot Phillips in the leg in a parking lot after Vick had left.

Vick was cleared of any wrongdoing - other than using poor judgment for hosting a party open to the public - and in October he told Sports Illustrated that the experience changed him for good.

"Right then and there I told myself, I am changing my life," Vick told the magazine. "I'm going to do everything they ask me to do. I'm getting myself away from this madness."

That was the only thing Vick could do if he wanted to remain employed by the Eagles and continue his climb out of bankruptcy. He said he dedicated himself to studying the Eagles' playbook and to working out, and his play proved it.

Now, Vick is arguably the most sought-after player in the league. Oprah Winfrey is trying to get him to sit down for an interview, as is Piers Morgan, who is hosting a new show in Larry King's old time slot on CNN.

Last week, Vick inked his first paid endorsement deal since getting released from prison. He was the NFC's starter in the Pro Bowl, and the Sporting News' panel of 617 NFL players, coaches, and executives named him the league's comeback player of the year for 2010.

Hosting a Super Bowl party is a ridiculous idea when Vick has nothing to gain and everything to lose. He simply cannot be the life of the party anymore.