Overlord Goodell wouldn’t let Michael Vick play for Buffalo or Cincinnati
Will Leitch wrote a great piece in GQ about Mike Vick and there’s some interesting information there. Apparently, Vick never wanted to sign in Philly but the Commish wouldn’t sign off on him going elsewhere where he was guaranteed to be a starter.
“I think I can say this now, because it’s not going to hurt anybody’s feelings, and it’s the truth,” Vick tells me a few weeks after the commencement ceremony. “I didn’t want to come to Philadelphia. Being the third-team quarterback is nothing to smile about. Cincinnati and Buffalo were better options.” Those two teams wanted him and would’ve allowed him to start, but after meeting with commissioner Roger Goodell and other reps from the NFL, Vick was convinced—and granted league approval—to sign with Philly. “And I commend and thank them, because they put me in the right situation.”
I’m glad it all worked out for Vick. I don’t feel sorry for him that he went to prison for breaking the law. He got his life back on track, which is nice, but everything he went through was his own fault. What really bothers me about this statement is that the Roger Goodell and the NFL execs were this involved in strategically placing him on this team. I understand that the league didn’t want to put Vick in a situation where he would quickly revert to his old habits and further destroy his reputation but what I don’t get is where Goodell comes off telling a player that he can or can’t sign with a specific team. Would Buffalo or Cincinnati really have been that bad or was is this just Goodell being the overbearing, meddling dickhead that he always is?
To be totally honest, I’m pissed because as a Bills fan I don’t want to hear that the commissioner of the NFL forbid one of the best players in the sport from signing with my favorite team. I’m also amazed at some of the chaos that this move has caused and the colossal shift in the landscape of the NFL this brought about. Just look at the situations that the QB’s of these three teams have gone through:
- Donovan McNabb became expendable and has bounced around to a couple of teams and is now on his last legs in Minnesota. I wonder how he feels about Goodell’s decision to put Vick on his team and help push him out the door.
- Kevin Kolb was all set to take over the starting role from McNabb but lost his job because Vick returned to form. Now Kolb is forced to start over in Arizona with a whole new team. I bet Kolb doesn’t mind the $63 million contract he signed with the Cards, but I don’t think he really liked the situation he was put in when Vick came on board in Phily and took his job right from under him.
- Cincinnati has been a mess the last few years. Even when they were playing well, they couldn’t avoid problems between the players and owners and no one wants to player there. Now Carson Palmer has gone into early retirement because he doesn’t want to deal with that mess of a team. Do you think Palmer would still be under contract with the Bengals if they had signed Vick three years ago? No way in hell. Palmer would be starting for another team in the league instead of sitting at home because he refuses to play for a dysfunctional franchise like the Bengals.
- Look at the revolving door in Buffalo the last three years. Trent Edwards and J.P. Losman obviously weren’t the answer and although he’s a fan favorite, Ryan Fitzpatrick isn’t a long-term solution either. Buffalo has suffered through over a decade without making the playoffs and now their fans get to hear that the commissioner refused to let Michael Fucking Vick play for their team. That’s some serious bullshit right there…
There needs to be some sort of boundaries put in place where Commissioner Goodell can’t go ahead and do whatever he pleases. His meddling has various long-term effects and it’s a real kick in the nuts for the players and fans to see the mess that can be made when he gets involved where he shouldn’t. God only knows what other events have been manipulated by him. It’s obvious that the players don’t like him and it’s no wonder that the small time team owners can’t stand him either.
