NFL star Michael Vick urges kindness to animals in visit to New Haven school

Now I have mixed feelings about this. I do believe people can change and perhaps Vick has changed but he treated those dogs so badly, that how do you forgive that? Those dogs didn’t want that and didn’t deserve it and the thought of it, just breaks my heart. Here’s this guy who is still able to play football, earn big bucks after what he did. Sure he goes around to schools talking about it to help make amends, but has he really paid a real tangible price for what he did? I’m not so sure…

NEW HAVEN — Philadelphia Eagles star quarterback Michael Vick told Hillhouse High School students on Tuesday morning that he would hold them accountable to be kind to animals and to attain their goals.

Vick, who was imprisoned for 18 months for running a dogfighting ring in Georgia, has been traveling with Wayne Pacelle, a New Haven native and president of the Humane Society of the United States, to talk about his experiences and urge students not to get involved in animal cruelty.

“I didn’t really care what people felt about animals,” Vick told an audience full of students excited to see the star. “I didn’t care about the welfare of animals.”

Vick, whose Eagles beat the New York Giants in Philadelphia on Sunday, pointed out that animals have no choice when they’re put in the ring. If you could ask a dog if it wants to fight, “Do you think he’ll say yeah?” Vick asked.

Vick said he saw good coming out of his negative experience. “I think I’m being used by God, because all the laws have changed since my incident,” he said.

But while he has served his legal obligation and is working “to turn it into something positive,” as Pacelle said, he is still paying a price.

“Nowadays, every day my daughters ask me if we can get a dog. … I can’t get a dog for my kids,” said Vick, who is barred from owning animals.