Vick can be 'agent of change' for city's dogfighting problem

Michael Vick has a unique opportunity.

It's an opportunity that does not involve running or throwing a football for the Eagles, although his abilities with each should only boost his influence.

Vick has an opportunity to affect change for the species he once exploited: dogs.

In urban areas, Vick's words and presence can help change the inner-city culture of dogfighting, and it might just be that Philadelphia, which has been targeted by the Humane Society as having a higher incidence of the crime, could benefit most.

To hear Vick and Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie tell it, Vick's success will be measured as much for this social change as for yards gained.

In May, Vick partnered with the Humane Society of the United States to combat dogfighting. It is a counterintuitive partnership, since Vick served 18 months in prison for running a vicious dogfighting ring, a conviction and sentence encouraged by the very same Humane Society with which Vick now works.

"We were the toughest critics of Michael Vick," said Michael Markarian, chief operating officer of the Humane Society of the United States. "When this came to light two years ago, we urged the NFL to suspend him and Nike to drop him. But . . . we felt, two years later, we thought, 'Is there a role for him with us to help stop dogfighting?' "

Last week, Vick was in Chicago at a Humane Society event urging those in attendance to reconsider the practice of dogfighting. He participated at a similar event in Atlanta.

"I was wrong for what I did," Vick said during Friday's news conference introducing him as a Eagle. "Everything that happened at that point in time in my life was wrong. It was unnecessary, and for the life of me to this day I can't understand why I was involved in such pointless activity. And why I risked so much at the pinnacle of my career. I was naive to a lot of things. But if I can help more animals than I hurt, then I'm contributing and doing my part."

Lurie said Vick could - and should - become an "agent for change." Indeed, Lurie made it sound like a prerequisite for becoming an Eagle.

It seems the groundwork of this change could be in Philadelphia.

"Philadelphia has a serious dogfighting problem," Markarian said. "We think Mike landing in Philadelphia could give us a boost in really implementing some on-the-ground programs to combat dogfighting. We didn't know what city he would end up in. Now that he's landed in Philadelphia, we're hoping to work with local groups and with the Eagles to locally combat dogfighting."

But what does "involved in the community" really mean? Will Vick be present on a weekly basis? More frequently? Less frequently?

Markarian said that when Vick first approached it about joining forces, the Humane Society was clear: It didn't want a public-service announcement or a one-hit wonder; it wanted someone committed for the long term in a "boots-on-the-ground" effort.

Vick agreed.

"It has the potential, we think, if Mike sticks to it, to have an impact," Markarian said. "For years ahead, when he's on the road traveling with the team or when it's the off-season, he'll be doing events with us in various cities and talking to kids, trying to steer them away from dogfighting. He has told us he plans to invest a lot of his time in these programs. . . . We think he's serious about it."

Vick said that words alone won't persuade people, but his actions will: He promised to be proactive and involved in the community.

"People will see that in due time," Vick said.

"As things transpired and as I went to prison, I got to think about what I did and I saw people's reactions," said Vick, who does not own a dog now. "Up until that point, I never really cared. I won't say I didn't care, but I never really thought about it. Now I understand that people care about their animals, care about their health. And now I do."

Lurie, a self-proclaimed dog lover, used some of the harshest language regarding Vick's history. He said that for him to approve this signing, he "needed to see a lot of self-hatred" from Vick.

"You have an opportunity, and the question became somewhat for me, 'Can this man I don't know - Michael Vick - become an agent for change?' " Lurie explained. "Could one, counterintuitive here on my part, take away the hatred for this kind of behavior and say, 'Going forward, can this human being Michael Vick, like some that deserve a second chance, could he become a positive force in our community in Philadelphia, and nationally, could that be? Or is this just a method to reinvigorate a career and not really have both the remorse and the commitment?' So I needed to really dissect remorse."