Race is such a tricky, hot-button thing, so many of us just try to pretend it isn't a part of the issues we deal with, even when it obviously is. The Eagles' locker room shocked much of the (white) fan base by voting Vick the Ed Block Courage Award last year. Hmmm. What do you think that was about?
Another conversation last week, with a (white) agent. He was talking about going to a Super Bowl party many years ago, when Vick was near the start of his career. The party was largely African-American, and the agent remembered being surprised at how Vick's presence resonated with other famous players and guests - "It was like Michael Jordan had walked in," the agent said.
One of the reasons Roger Goodell was so interested in Vick's rehabilitation was Vick's standing in the African-American community. Pre-dogfight scandal, by 2007 much of white America might have seen Vick as a sideshow, a quarterback who never took his craft seriously enough to win anything. Black America saw an artist, an elegant, unstoppable performer. (They now see him as an elegant, unstoppable performer who has been persecuted by white people.)
This was much like the split that surrounded Allen Iverson in his prime. (A guy from the exact same background, a few neighborhoods over.)
So, here we are, with Vick starting for the Eagles, and playing well. All over the Internet, people (mostly African-American) argue that he has paid his dues and should be embraced. Other people (mostly not African-American) argue that torturing and killing dogs over a period of years isn't something you just shrug off because a guy went to prison for a while and is now playing real well.
