The sportswriters have run out of adjectives. They can’t find superlatives big enough to describe yesterday’s incredible, improbable, amazing victory of the Philadelphia Eagles football team over their archrivals, the New York Giants. The Eagles were losing 31-10 with only 8:09 left in the game. They scored 28 points—four touchdowns—to win.
The Eagles were powered, almost single-handedly, by quarterback Michael Vick. This is the same Michael Vick who, in 2007, was convicted running a dog-fighting ring and served 18 months in prison.
I’ve been writing about Michael Vick since the Eagles hired him for the team in August 2009, a move that outraged thousands of fans, myself included. After researching his history, I came to the conclusion that Michael Vick is a psychopath. I wasn’t the only one who thought this—People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sent a letter to the National Football League saying the same thing.
Here’s my previous article: Can Michael Vick change his behavior?
Stellar football season
Last year, Michael Vick barely played. This year, he was supposed to be a backup quarterback, but the Eagles’ starter suffered a concussion in the first game of the season. Michael Vick replaced him—and played brilliantly.
Now, Michael Vick is football’s story of the year. Vick has the third-highest passer rating in the NFL. This season he’s rushed for 613 yards—far more than any other quarterback. Opposing teams change their defensive strategies just to cope with the fast, scrambling, multi-talented threat.
From a football perspective, Michael Vick has become a hero. “He masterminded the impossible yesterday with his legs and with his gumption,” gushed sportswriter Rich Hoffman in the Philadelphia Daily News.
Another dog
But Vick has been in the news recently for another reason as well. He says he wants a dog. “I think it would be a big step for me in the rehabilitation process,” he said.
Vick is on probation from the dog-fighting conviction until May 2012. While on probation, he is prohibited from owning a dog. Keep in mind, this is a man who personally hanged, drowned and electrocuted dogs that didn’t win. But he says he’s a changed man. He also says he’s not a psychopath:
“I really mean what I say. I don’t have a problem. I’m not a psychopath. I’m not crazy. I’m a human being,” Vick told The Associated Press on Thursday. “What happened in my past and what I did in the culture I grew up in doesn’t shape and mold me as the person I am now. I said it before that I wish I can own a dog and I’ll continue to say it. I’m not allowed to, but I’m just saying I wish I could because my kids ask me every day. It’s more so for them than for me.”
Read Michael Vick says he would like a pet dog; anger follows on SportsIllustrated.CNN.com
Humane Society
So the controversy rages among fans and dog-lovers: Should Michael Vick be allowed to own a dog?
Wayne Pacelle, President of the Humane Society, addressed this question in a recent blog post. Pacelle has probably had more interaction with Vick on this issue than anyone. Vick is working with the Humane Society to speak against dog-fighting to at-risk schoolchildren, and Pacelle says the quarterback is having an impact, making inroads where no one else could. He writes:
While the most important aspect of this work is the education it provides for these kids, it is also part of Michael Vick’s own rehabilitation and his process of relocating his reservoir of empathy, and exercising it and building it up.
Although Vick shouldn’t have a dog yet, Pacelle says, the time may come when he could.
Read Michael Vick and having a pet on Wayne Pacelle’s Blog.
Is change possible?
At first, I was highly skeptical of Michael Vick. I thought he wouldn’t be able to stay out of trouble. In fact, last summer, when Vick attended his 30th birthday party at a Virginia nightclub and his co-defendant in the dog-fighting case was shot in the leg, I thought the incident was the beginning of the end for Vick. But he was not charged in the shooting, and was accused only of bad judgment.
Read Quarterback Michael Vick possibly in trouble again.
Yesterday, I was at a family party. While the Eagles vs. Giants game was on the TV in the background, I argued with a relative about Michael Vick.
He said that Michael Vick had grown up in a brutal culture, where dog-fighting, and killing dogs that failed, was normal. But Vick was a changed man.
I said that Vick exhibited a variety of behaviors typical of psychopaths—lack of empathy, financial problems, run-ins with the law, sexual impropriety. He may seem to have changed, but psychopaths are capable putting on very convincing acts.
I also said that we’d probably never know if Michael Vick really changed until long after he left the NFL.
My relative said, “So you’re willing to concede that the jury is still out?”
I conceded the point.
Then he urged me to watch the Michael Vick interview with Bob Costas.
Talking the talk
NBC Sports commentator Bob Costas interviewed Michael Vick on November 21, 2010. Much of the conversation is about football. But at the end of the interview, Costas does ask Vick about his time in prison, life change and redemption.
It’s an intriguing interview. Michael Vick acknowledges that he brought his problems upon himself, rather than tossing blame around, as psychopaths typically do. He admits that his life is a work in progress. He says he doesn’t want to blow it again. He seems to be sincere.
Is it an act? I don’t know. There are two ways to look at this:
Cynical view: Psychopaths can control their behavior when they want to. The guy isn’t capable of a change of heart, but he is capable of looking after his self-interest. A lucrative football contract, nonstop media attention and the adulation of an adoring football public are enough of an incentive for Michael Vick to control his behavior and put on a good show.
Optimistic view: Michael Vick did grow up in a disfunctional culture. Then, as young football star, he was showered with money, attention, and who knows what else, which all lead to his psychopathic behavior. But he did have a seed of empathy within him. His time in prison, the losses he experienced, the counseling he’s receiving, and his work on behalf of dogs has allowed the empathy to grow.
Watch Video: Michael Vick talks with Bob Costas prior to Eagles-Giants SNF game on The700Level.com.
Withhold judgment
So why have I now written four articles about Michael Vick? Why is all of this important?
Here at Lovefraud, we tend to be ruthless in labeling people in the news as psychopaths. Usually, this is an important way to illustrate just how many of these social predators are out there, what their exploitation looks like, and how much damage they cause.
But maybe there are times to withhold judgment. After all, we don’t need to make a decision about Michael Vick. We’re not living with him or going into business with him. Heck, I don’t know if any of us are even in a position to have a conversation with him. None of us are at risk. So maybe we should just wait to see how this all plays out.
If Michael Vick can stick with the changes he’s made in his life years from now, when the media glare dies down, that would be mean, in some cases, change is possible. We have a lot of gloom and doom on Lovefraud. It would be nice to feel hopeful.
Donna,
you are right that WE don’t have to decide if Vick is a psychopath or not because we are not on a jury to take the evidence of his behavior + the evidence of the culture he grew up in to determine a guilty or not guilty verdict for him.
However, whether or not he is a legitimately diagnosable psychopath (30 or above on the PCL-R and from what I have been told about his life and behavior I think he would rate waaaaay on up there toward 30 points) Vick is just the kind of man that I see held up for admiration by the media as a “success.” He is rich and famous and IF HE GETS CAUGHT doing something “naughty” he is still rich and famous and admired…just like Tiger Woods, just like O. J. Simpson, and Roman Polanski and John Edwards, Bloggo, and Bill Clinton.
Can any of these people be “rehabilitated”? Are they going to see the error of their ways and grow a conscience or remorse for the people they hurt? Is the public going to say “oh, well, boys will be boys, and I’m sure they are sorry for what they did”?
How about Charlie Manson is he rehabilitated? No, because he can’t and never could as far as I know throw a football or run and win a game.
It appears to me that our sports and political figures today are the “gladiators” of our time, violent and remorseless, and when they are caught doing something “naughty” they are easily able to ingrate themselves back into society—and because they have no shame they do not slink off into the dark night but continue to stand center stage.
Vick is I think a hateful violent person who should not be allowed to have a CHILD OR A DOG in his custody.
“…my kids ask me every day. It’s more so for them than for me.”
Exaggerating. kids don’t ask everyday. BTW, didn’t he explain to them what he did?
“I’m putting in the hard work to do it so it’s not for any personal benefit, it’s to help others.”
too slick. genuine remorse would address what HE did and what’s wrong with him.
I’ve been reading and studying Bruce Lipton…the cell biologist (genius) who discovered that “genetics” alone does not determine who we are. In fact, take a “bad” cell, and put it in a good environment, and it CHANGES the actual cell structure!
This blew my mind, since, as I got older, I started to discount “environment”…and I began to believe that, “we are what we were born with”.
Not so, anymore. I know for a fact that my 3 daughters, born of a genetic background of sociopaths…(thier father, grandfather, MY mother….) are all very empathetic. My oldest daughter, has the strongest gene of “selfishness, entitlement…” BUT, growing up in a totally different environment..with me….and NOT around their Dad….she is an animal lover, very sweet and sensitive…etc..
I believe that if she was raised with my xhusb in the home,…she may have learned to laugh at others misfortunes…and other behaviors that her father exhibited.
So, yes, sometimes a person that has the gene..AND the environmental situation to bring that socio gene out….they cannot change. A divorce court judge told my xhusb…”you are unrehabilitative”. At the time, I had no idea what he meant. He is exactly like his father who was diagnosed to be a socio…AND, he grew up in an abusive environment.
I do feel that there is hope for someone whose genes are sociopathic, but the environment was not abusive or dysfunctional.
Tobehappy,
I agree with you, genetics alone does not determine our fates, and neither does environment, however, I don’t think that as an ADULT Vick has had a total change in his attitudes and lack of conscience or empathy. I think the chances for “rehabilitation” of an adult who acts like a psychopath is BELOW ZERO.
Just as a baby goose IMPRINTS on the FIRST MOVING OBJECT it sees as “mama” there are pre-programmed times in our development that if the event doesn’t occur THEM it never can.
For example, if you put a patch over the eyes of a kitten and they do not get light on them at the day nature has intended that they start to “see” –even if you remove the patch a few days later, they are FOREVER BLIND even though the eye itself is not damaged and the nerve is not damaged, but the brain is unable to process the light into vision because it didn’t happen WHEN IT WAS SUPPOSED TO IN THE DEVELOPMENTAL SEQUENCE. So TIMING of things is important and I think if a child is not taught EARLY about a conscience and empathy, that the trying to RETROFIT a conscience and empathy as an adult is like trying to get that kitten to see—IT AIN’T GONNA HAPPEN. It can’t happen.
Vick grew up in a CULTURE of violence I am assuming, where that sort of thing was accepted, but he associated with others in a wider culture when he got out of the earlier living conditions that COULD have taught him that dog fighting was ILLEGAL AND NOT OKAY if he had been interested in learning this. He knew he was breaking the law and that the wider culture didn’t approve of his actions…yet he chose to have no empathy for those dogs as living beings.
Just as the gladiators of the Roman empire fought to the death without empathy for the victims, either animal or human, that was their culture, but you were also not going to “reform” them or change their violent outlooks at that point.
I think Vick is only one example of the American “gladiators” who are raised in a culture of violence and then glorified for being violent on and off the sports or media fields. They are given more latitude to act contrary to the acceptable standards of behavior without real consequences to their status or position, wealth or power.
When I read about what Michael Vick and all the low-lifes who participated in this “sport” did to the animals, I could not stomach it, literally feeling nauseated reading the descriptions about what was done to the dogs. My children and I have three dogs who mean the world to us – what Vick and his psycho cronies did to all those dogs is plainly wrong. How any human being can viciously mistreat an animal in such horrible ways is beyond my comprehension – if anyone ever tried to harm our dogs, my children and I would fight for them.
I was talking to my son D. tonight about this thing with Vick and we were talking about him killing the dogs because they wouldn’t perform…and I think that D had a valid point…it was about VICK’s RAGE. His rage at the dogs that they wouldn’t fight or wouldn’t win, and he wasn’t actually trying to “torture” the dogs, but was venting his RAGE.
I think that is a very valid point. I have a friend who used to raise
Border Collies for a living and train dogs, and he developed his reputation for his lines of dogs because they would work and work well. If a dog was either aggressive or wouldn’t work for some reason he would put the dog down. Not beat it to death or strangle it, but he would put the dog down. I actually agree with him in his culling practices and while many people may NOT agree, I think a breed of dog that is NOT culled for dogs that are aggressive or for ones that are deformed etc. does the breed of dogs a disservice by continuing to perpetuate animals that don’t function for the purpose for which they are bred.
I do NOT agree to breeding dogs for “looks only” and many kinds of bad traits have been bred into various breeds of dogs for appearance sake that make the dog itself’s life unhappy, unhealthy, and miserable. I do not agree to breeding dogs that are aggressive for fighting etc. and I know that a greet deal of suffering is done to racing dogs (grayhounds) by breeding for racing and then tossing them aside like so much trash….the same with horses, and many of you have heard my diatribes over the way horses are used and abused in this country because the slaughter of horses for meat has been banned by the USDA and instead of a relatively quick and pain free death, they are now sold for pennies, or given away to be shipped for slaughter in Mexico for meat there, or simply turned loose in the national forest or the roads in the country because the owners can’t afford to feed them and there is no market for them as meat, and what do you do with 1200 pounds of animals you don’t want and can’t afford to feed. One wandered on to my place the other day that was as thin as a gray hound and pitiful (I literally cried when I saw it) and I found the owners who were not able to get the animal vet care, and there wasn’t any vet care that could have helped it anyway, so I did get them to agree to let me put the animal down. (If they had not agreed I would have had to call the sheriff and had them prosecuted for cruelty, a felony.) Their problem was ignorance and an excess of “love” for the animal. “I just can’t bring myself to shoot him.” I would have harvested the meat for my dogs, but there wasn’t any meat to harvest, it was so thin.
I helped a friend put down an old blind horse not too long ago and he harvested the meat for his dogs which is a valid use for the animal in my opinion. He had received the animal as a gift from a dealer who bought it not knowing it was blind and since it is illegal (as well as unwise) to haul a blind horse across the border he had no place to put it and offered it to my friend that he knew raised dogs. My friend also buys hogs and calves that are injured or deformed to feel his dogs with.
But HUMANELY putting down an animal of any species or breed that is deformed, old, injured or unfit for its purpose is a big difference to me between beating or strangling that same animal.
I get very upset at a Hog killing if one has to be shot more than once to put it down. I stayed with my cattle as the butcher put them down to make sure they were not “hot shotted” with an electric prod or that the bolt gun was not improperly used and to keep them calm until they could no longer have any fear.
But what Vick did is to me an OUTRAGE that only someone who is ENRAGED and has no conscience and no empathy could engage in, regardless of his “culture” or how hard a life he had growing up in the hood.
I can somewhat feel some empathy for some third-world person who grew up seeing animals slaughtered by being clubbed to death or having their throats cut as a religious rite, but I can NOT feel that Vick, who grew up in the US should get a pass because he grew up in a violent neighborhood. He did grow up in the US of A and he did know that the mainstream culture did NOT approve of his “hobby.”
I think my son is right, I think the man is so filled with psychopathic RAGE that he had to vent it on something and the dogs just happened to be what he ENJOYED.
I killed my coop of chickens today and harvested the meat, but not one of them suffered, and as far as I could tell they weren’t even scared as they were handled calmly and with gentleness. I know that not everyone is prepared to provide their own meat from any source and some people don’t agree with eating meat of any kind, or even eggs, but if someone is willing to eat meat, it should be from animals and fowls that have been humanely slaughtered, and that NO ONE should brutalize ANY animal or ANY person for ANY reason and be acceptable in society at large.
I imagine many of you may think that by writing with a bit of qualified sympathy for Michael Vick, I had lost my mind.
Rest assured, I am appalled by his actions. I don’t have the stomach for killing any animal, even humanely for meat. Believe me, yesterday I never would have predicted that I could have any hope for this man.
But here are some ideas to consider:
Based on information Michael Vick in Wikipedia, it seems that his childhood may have been as good as can be expected for someone who grew up in a rough urban neighborhood. His mother worked hard, and his father taught him football. So maybe he grew up with the seeds of empathy within him – seeds that were squashed by his peer group.
Yes, it is very difficult, even highly unlikely, for psychopaths to change in adulthood. But Dr. Liane Leedom believes it may be possible for some psychopaths to improve their behavior. The key is in how you define “improvement.”
For Michael Vick, improvement may be that he doesn’t kill dogs, doesn’t break the law, and gets his financial house in order. In order to make these changes, all he has to do is focus on his own self-interest. If he continues to play football the way he has been playing football, he will be able to command a huge salary in the future. He’d have to be a moron to throw it all away again by abusing animals or doing anything that he shouldn’t do. And he’s not a moron.
Behavior and personality are interdependent, Dr. Leedom explains, so changes in behavior can lead to changes in personality. Michael Vick is being forced to change his behavior. Maybe this will lead to structural and chemical changes in his brain that will lead to a personality change.
Granted, it may not be a big change. I still wouldn’t want to be married to him, nor would I want to do business with him. But maybe his attitude would at least evolve to “live and let live” in reference to dogs. (My ex-husband, the psychopath, liked animals, and I never saw him mistreat one.)
As far as him accepting responsibility for his actions – he appears to do that in the Bob Costas interview. In fact, Michael Vick does not appear like a psychopath in the interview. He is not particularly glib. He’s not making eye contact with a psychopathic stare. He is not making excuses or blaming others. So either he is a very, very good actor – or he means what he says.
Finally, Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society has actually been around Vick. Although Pacelle says Vick shouldn’t have a dog now, he says it might be possible for him to have one in the future.
No, Michael Vick may never have a warm heart. But if he can change his behavior so that he no longer harms other living things, that’s probably about as much as can be asked from him.
No Donna, I don’t think you have lost your mind, I think you are maybe too optimistic about Vick, but at BEST he might quit his criminal behavior and that would be an IMPROVEMENT.
I also saw John Edward’s lying interview where he talked about how he had hurt others and was apparently taking responsibility for what he had done to hurt his wife, etc. (excuse me while I puke! LOL)
My psychopathic son can make you weep in “taking responsibility” for his actions—if you believed him—he is such a good actor.
There have been some studies done about people with “power” starting to behave in a psychopathic manner—power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely–and we all know that is pretty well true, and maybe with Vick’s fame and money he began to feel “powerful” in his group of associates and the ultimate power trip was to fight the dogs, and to take his RAGE out on those that didn’t perform to his expectations, but about the BEST I could hope for someone like him with that much RAGE, desire for power over another living thing’s life and death, would be that he would stop his criminal activity, but I don’t think his “personality disorder” is going to be “improved” any.
If he were a child, I might buy it, that therapy had helped him, though with the ones I’ve seen who were violent and felt entitled I’ve never seen much progress in even decreasing criminal behavior. It is possible I am generalizing too much, or just going on my personal experiences, but I’ve known quite a few criminal highly violent psychopaths as well as some pretty violent inpatient adolescents who were diagnosed as “conduct disorder” and were in a psych unit instead of jail I think because their parents had insurance.
Maybe I’m just a cynic, but I have very little confidence in court-ordered “anger management” classes doing much good for the soul of the abusers or prison in reforming criminals. If they did any good for Vick I think he would be the RARE EXCEPTION to the rule.
BTW I Frequently “argue” this point with a friend of mine who is a licensed psych examiner and has many years experience in working in prisons—he also has family experience with psychopaths as well and I respect his opinion a great deal, but we argue this point of “can an adult psychopath be helped?” He is more optimistic than I am, but we agree to disagree on items and like I tell him (Jokingly) “you’re entitled to your opinion even if you are wrong.” LOL
Actually, Donna, I hope you are right, but I’m not going to hold my breath, as far as his criminal behavior only time will tell if he gets caught again—look at OJ, he eventually got his “hook hung” and got caught, prosecuted and convicted. If Vick takes advantage of the second chances he has been given, good for him, if he doesn’t, he will eventually be arrogant enough to get caught again. That is one thing psychopaths don’t lack and that is arrogance that they won’t get caught.
I am careful about using the word psychopath and do not throw it around willy nilly. However there are some people in the news/media that are psychopaths without question, and those I won’t hesitate to label because it’s what they are. Like one article said… if it walks like a duck… then…
As for Michael Vick, as disgusted and repulsed as I am by his actions, not only do I not know enough about him as a person to come to a conclusion about his personality, but dog fighting may as well be something kind of cultural, maybe in certain communities- there are also people who neglect and abuse animals out there who aren’t psychopaths- not that they should be excused from their behaviors, but they just aren’t. I didn’t know about his electrocuting/drowning dogs before reading this article however, so I guess the jury will be out on this one. I think it was more common back then ( such as cock-fighting ) then in present day. Still, it’s appalling and disgusting behavior, and inexcusable on all counts.
Steve Becker brought up Isiah Thomas a while ago though( also involved in sports/media )- I’m fairly certain that that guy is a flaming psychopath. Just by watching one of his interviews… the gut feeling is there, the grandiosity is there, blame shifting is there, & word salad is there as well. ( And the creepy inappropriate smile too )
Donna,
I think it is good that you wrote this article. One of the (many) issues is that often any or all bad behavior is conflated with psychopathy. And a whole lot of this is often subjective. I’ll use your words as an example:
I said that Vick exhibited a variety of behaviors typical of psychopaths—lack of empathy, financial problems, run-ins with the law, sexual impropriety. He may seem to have changed, but psychopaths are capable putting on very convincing acts
Lack of empathy – Is it selective empathy or lack of? Lack of would imply none across the board towards all people in all situations over a long period of time. I have personally seen some very awful people seem to be monstrous towards some people and yet display incredible caring and empathy for their own (i.e. mother, child, etc).
Financial problems – A common issue for many people at least at some point in their lives. Also quite common for folks who go from rags to riches in a short period of their lives.
Sexual Impropriety – This is another very subjective piece.
You also mentioned Glib. This is another piece that can be very subjective. Different people see it differently.
There is also the problem that even if someone changes it is a catch-22 because then they are said to be faking it because they are such good actors and just wait and see…
Another thing to consider is that we never hear the stories of people who could easily be considered by many to be very nasty people and possibly psychopathic yet they become decent people as time goes on. It happens but it doesn’t make great bleed to lead media.
There are numerous examples of people (gang members are a great example) that have committed just awful things in their lives and appear to be just some of the worst people in the world BUT later in life they have turned it around and are productive citizens.
And just because some don’t or won’t change does not equal can’t change. It is a choice. One thing about human’s is that we have often have the ability to overcome or adjust the genetic aspects.
As for Vick, I have no idea. I do know that it is not uncommon for people who go from rags to riches, obscurity to fame, in a short period of time often have years of behaviors that are not in line with what is socially acceptable. When you have the ability to suddenly (or so it seems anyway) get anything you want, do anything you want, well it is kinda like the kid that leaves a very sheltered environment and goes to a party college. A good number get sucked into it, do all sorts of not so good things and drop out. And no that is not an excuse for bad behaviors.
And yes there are people who will never change and should never be allowed among the public again. But when we call anyone who exhibits bad behaviors “psychopaths” the term starts to lose all meaning and become just another term for bad behavior.
Heck even what people mean by “psychopath” is a problem. Are talking about the 1% worst of the worst or people with “traits”? I think the people with “traits” are much more open to change than those in the 1% definition.
But again “can they change” is a question that applies to every person period. There are people who are not even close to being psychopaths yet they need to change some aspect of their lives but some don’t/won’t. That doesn’t mean they are unable to. Again don’t change/won’t change doesn’t mean can’t change.
This piece will ruffle a few feathers I am sure. Dehumanizing another person is often one of the major things that abusive people and groups do. Dehumanizing others allows the abuses to occur and makes them acceptable, even justified. It sets up the us and them; the we are human they are sub-human. And yet how many times do we see people doing this same exact thing when talking about others; when talking about psychopathy? Doing so is no less wrong than when the abusers do it. It may be a behavior that was learned from them; it may be just hurt and anger speaking out; it may be a whole set of things. But it is still not a positive thing to hold onto over time.
Oxy I agree with your statement NO ONE should brutalize ANY animal or ANY person for ANY reason.
We only get to see a very small cherry picked sliver of people’s lives and cases through the media. They almost never show the other 99%. Some cases are pretty obvious of course. Others not so much. I know from personally watching a show that “believed” a certain criminal was innocent even though they had been convicted and so they got that person set free because of doing a show on that person. However they did not air any of the damning evidence that got the person convicted in the first place. And because of confidentialty laws those of us involved couldn’t say a peep. That person had kidnapped, tortured, raped and killed a child. For example the show implied that a registered sex offender that lived down the street may have done it. But the show did not say that that person did not do it because that person was 100% known to have been many states away when for a period of time including when it all happened. Basically they made the story to appear how they wanted it to appear and it worked. Heck I would have believed it if I had not known otherwise.
Anyways sorry for the rant. Oxy is always gettnig on me to post more often so let me indulge in some blame shifting and blame her for my posting now 🙂