Inevitable: Vick to Work With Humane Society

It’s all part of the celebrity rehabilitation cycle. First comes the atrocious and reprehensible act, in Vick’s case dog fighting, then comes the arrest and legal punishments associated with the crime, in Vick’s case jail time and expulsion from the NFL, and finally the celebrity teams up with whatever major organization usually fights against the atrocious and reprehensible act committed by said celebrity, in Vick’s case the Humane Society.

It’s just like clockwork:

Michael Vick wants to work with an unlikely ally the Humane Society of the United States on a program aimed at eradicating dogfighting among urban teens.

Society president Wayne Pacelle said Tuesday that he recently met with Vick at the federal prison in Leavenworth, Kan., and that Vick said he wants to work with the group once he’s out of federal custody.

Billy Martin, one of Vick’s attorneys, said Vick requested the meeting.

“Michael is very interested in putting this together,” Martin said.

Well… yea, of course Micheal Vick is “very interested” in working with the Humane Society but its probably more because he’s “very interested” in making 8 figures again soon and less because hes “very interested” in ending dog fighting. Now, hopefully I’m wrong but I’ll remain skeptical, along with most everybody else, until Vick has proved he really is remorseful:

one of the people he must convince is NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who suspended him indefinitely as the case against him mounted.

“I think that’s going to be up to Michael,” Goodell said Tuesday during a break at the NFL meetings in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. “Michael’s going to have to demonstrate to myself and the general public and to a lot of people, did he learn anything from this experience? Does he regret what happened? Does he feel that he can be a positive influence going forward? Those are questions that I would like to see when I sit with him.”

Goodell said that won’t happen until Vick’s legal responsibilities have been satisfied in July, around the time NFL training camps open.

Pacelle, too, said actions, not words, will be critical as Vick returns to society and begins attempting to repair his tarnished image.

“He’s got to help himself. We can give him an opportunity to do the right thing, but it’s ultimately going to be his level of intensity and sincerity that is going to convince the American public,” Pacelle said.

“He still has to prove himself over time.”

I truly hope that Vick has learned his lesson and turned over a new leaf and all that jazz but I think we should all keep this in mind while he’s out there making his round with the humane society:

Last month, a federal bankruptcy judge denied a Chapter 11 bankruptcy plan presented by Vick, urging him to offer the court another plan to emerge from bankruptcy. The plan called for Vick to come up with $750,000 to $1 million in cash to be paid to creditors, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank Santoro said, but added he saw no evidence Vick could come up with that much. Santoro suggested Vick’s next plan not call for him to keep two houses and three cars, as did the rejected proposal.

In testimony, Vick acknowledged committing a “heinous” act and said he should have acted more maturely. He said he has been earning 12 cents an hour as an overnight janitor in prison. His Falcons salary, he said, was between $10 million and $12 million. He acknowledged failing to handle his money well.