It’s typical for a situation to get bad before it turns out well in the end. I think that sums up what we’ve seen so far with Mike’s journey to redemption, but it also applies to the woman that stood by him through it all.

Kijafa had been hinting at marriage, but it seemed like Mike wasn’t quite ready. She got the shock of her life when she not only got a surprise birthday party full of family and friends, but a marriage proposal from Mike also.

Mike has come a long way in a relatively short time. He’s tackled several areas of his life to become a better person, from spending more time with family, training for football, and helping the community. Only time will tell how much his public image will recover, but it seems like he’s making better choices for himself.

Ending “The Michael Vick Project” with a proposal was a good way to symbolize moving forward. Congrats to Michael and Kijafa as they prepare for the next phase of their lives.

Marcus used his time in jail to think about the things he needed to work on in his life. Marcus, his girlfriend, big bro Mike and his sister all pretty much agree that he can’t keep going on the path he’s on. It all comes down to making better decisions. Marcus probably could have avoided his jail time if he would have just completed the court-ordered program he was in after his DUI conviction.

While Marcus was getting out of jail, Mike met with Philadelphia’s mayor and deputy mayor to talk about giving ex-cons second chances when re-entering society. I could talk about that subject all day. I don’t have the personal experience, but I’m fortunate enough to be one of only two males in my family over the age of 13 who hasn’t gone to jail; so I’ve seen over and over how hard it can be to integrate and actually do right. Mike’s opinion is that many ex-cons don’t have much support or hope, and that’s why they fall right back into their old lifestyles. One thing I realized, and Mike acknowledges, is that most ex-cons don’t have the opportunities he had after getting out. The average guy didn’t play football or have something else to go home to and bounce right back.

Hopefully Mike and the mayors can come up with something good to inspire ex-cons and get them reintegrated once they are released.

Get more from “The Michael Vick Project.”

Last night on “The Michael Vick Project,” Mike met back up with Coach Tommy Reamon. Long before the days of “Number 7” and dog scandals, the coach was Mike’s mentor. When I heard that, my first thought was that I wouldn’t blame Tommy for the actions of another person, because Mike did what he wanted to do; but wasn’t there something he could have done to make sure Mike wouldn’t go down the path he did?

What actually happened is that when Mike went off to become a big football star, poor Tommy became an afterthought. Mike lost touch with the guy who positively influenced his life, and we all know what happened from there.

What would have happened if Mike and Tommy had maintained their relationship? We’ll never know. Who is to say that Mike would have listened to him? His mother and best friend gave him warnings about the path he was on, and Mike ignored them. But maybe he would have listened to the guidance of a father figure. It certainly would have helped him more than following along with the “friends” who abandoned him once he got into trouble.

It’s a story we’ve all seen before: a person makes it big, forgets about his or her loved ones, things go bad, and they come right back. I think Mike learned his lesson. He expressed his regret over ever losing touch with Tommy. And I have to mention that Tommy was easy about Mike coming back, so kudos to him. It would have been all too simple to say, “That didn’t work out, and now you’re back, huh?”

I think the lesson is that when you gain your success, you have to be careful about who you take with you. Inevitably, some people will have to be cut off, but you can’t forget about the people who brought positivity into your life. If anyone should be able to benefit from your riches, it’s those who have already invested their good in you.

Don’t forget the ones that matter.

Last night on “The Michael Vick Project,” Mike was trying to build a brand for himself outside of football. Wait a minute…

Didn’t he just get back on the field after a jail stint for dogfighting and an NFL suspension? Mike might be jumping the gun a bit trying to increase his brand power so fast.

One thing that Mike mentioned is that he will soon be 30. I can see why he would want to gain more progress in life and grow his brand, especially while he’s still young. But shouldn’t his focus be football? Yeah, we saw his dedication to improving his game, but won’t anything else, especially extensive business, get in the way right now?

I do feel on one side he should lay the seeds for his brand right now and let it grow without rushing it. He just needs to keep his priorities straight. It will be hard balancing football, family and business. But at the same time, knowing how many people don’t want to see him right now, and how he needs to improve on the field, I feel he may have to wait on building that brand.

If anything, I agree with the bit of advice Kevin Liles gave Mike. He said that building the brand starts with the man. Starting with himself is one thing Mike can do now, and depending on how you look at it, it’s something he has already been doing. What do you think? And more specifically, what about him should he start with?

And what should Mike offer in his branding? What do you think?

Everyone needs to stand out on their own. It’s hard to be in someone else’s shadow and not receive your own glory. At some point or another I think most people feel that. It could be a coworker who gets more acknowledgement than you do. Or maybe a team mate who is valued more than you are. Or in Marcus Vick’s case, it’s an older brother who possesses great talent and a calm demeanor that pulls people in.

It must be hard to have a sibling who gets all the shine, but you have several options. You can just be comfortable doing your own thing and live to your own standard, or you can try and tag along. I think Marcus did a bit of both. He never hides the fact that his role model has always been his brother, but I question if he pursued football because his brother did?

He did end up with a scholarship to Virginia Tech, which is his own accomplishment, but Mike did the same thing before him. And he did eventually play in the NFL, just like his brother first. It must be said though, that he couldn’t have done these things just on the strength of being Mike’s brother. His own skills helped him out on the field.

But you have to wonder about the aggression and frustration he has. Mike says it’s from their father, but could some of it be from the fact that Marcus is trying to stand out from calm and collective Mike? It would make sense. Mike is one way, so Marcus might as well be the opposite, right? The episode ended with Marcus in jail, making bad decisions just like his brother did, so being the opposite didn’t exactly help.

I think it might help Marcus to evaluate and see himself outside of Mike’s shadow. He doesn’t have to stop looking up to Mike, but he should be more of his own person. After all, Marcus did choose to go into football like Mike, but Mike wasn’t the one who got Marcus on to the Miami Dolphin’s roster. Marcus’ own hard work got him there, and although that situation didn’t work out, it proved that you can be successful on your own if step out of the shadow.

Maybe Marcus can get together with Fantasia’s brother Teeny and come up with a plan…or not.

GET MORE THE MICHAEL VICK PROJECT

Sports can be a love-hate relationship. You love to see your favorite team win. You hate to see them lose. You hate when a team you can’t stand gets lucky. You love when your team gets lucky. You hate when one bad play or call completely messes your team up.

Aside from your favorite team is the individual player. I can’t count the times I’ve heard, “I don’t like [insert anyone from any sport], but he’s a great player.” In most cases, it seems like personal feelings can be set aside if the player is contributing to the team’s success.

But what about when you hate a player on a more personal level? Michael Vick is hated by many people for his animal cruelty, and many of the people in Philadelphia decided that they couldn’t support their hometown team (the Eagles if you didn’t know) since they signed him. To them, what Mike did was just too wrong, and a successful team means a successful Michael Vick. After all, the team didn’t have to give him the opportunity.

There are also the Eagles fans that are willing to still show support to the organization despite not liking Vick. For them, the team is bigger than their dislike of the individual player; and if Mike is an Eagle, so be it.

So what’s more important, the player or the team? How much should a player’s personal life determine your like of the team he or she is on? Should one player cause you to stop supporting the whole team?

Get more “The Michael Vick Project”

“Lift Every Voice” host Coco Brother will get the chance to have a personal interview with Michael Vick. Since “The Michael Vick Project” started, things have definitely heated up again for Mike as the protests pour in.

Despite how you may feel about the dogfighting controversy, we can be sure that Coco Brother will approach this from a spiritual side and pull out some real answers. It’s been a rough road for Michael Vick, and he has a lot to lift his voice about.

Since his involvement in dogfighting lasted for many years, it’s hard for many people to forgive Mike. It wasn’t like it was one incident. For years, he was raising living things to exist solely for violence and death.

After serving time, going into bankruptcy and enduring public persecution, some people think enough is enough and that it’s time for Mike to be forgiven. Anyone can change if they want.

Mike’s story reminds me of many personal struggles that are in the Bible. Saul comes to mind. Is Mike a modern-day Saul? If I recall correctly, Saul persecuted Christians before joining them. Now we see Mike, a former dogfighter, standing alongside The Humane Society.

Maybe he is, maybe he’s not, but I look forward to how Coco Brother will handle one of the more controversial figures he’s had to deal with.

What questions would you ask Michael Vick?

Last week I talked about how much of a relief it was to see Mike progress past the dogfighting issue and that we could finally see his time after getting out of prison. So of course this week we find ourselves right back at the dogfighting issue.

What I’m NOT saying is that we should look past that issue or forget about it. I think there are several lessons to be learned, like how to make better decisions and how to treat living things. What I am saying is that since prior to this series we all knew what happened, I felt no need to “relive” it.

But maybe I was kind of wrong…

I didn’t expect Mike to take us inside the dogfighting compound on his old estate. For the first time, with the exception of those aerial shots on the news, we got to see where the dogs lived, trained, fought and died.

Mike’s not going to gain any support after this episode…if anything, I think the people who say he is cruel and sick will agree even more; but I think some important things can be taken from it.

Mike talked about and showed us some things that had me going, “He shouldn’t have done that” – like showing how they hanged the dogs. I kept going, “Man, you should have kept that to yourself because we know what you did. We don’t need those details.” But as I thought about it, I decided differently.

One, this was a part of his therapy. Sometimes you have to relive the past to fully get over it. I think it was good for Mike to go back to the compound, see things in a different light, and know that he would never want to do something like this again.

Two, for others who are into dogfighting, hopefully seeing this will help them decide it’s not the way to go. I wouldn’t value an animal over a human, but it had to hit you in some kind of way when Mike talked about how the dogs would cry.

No matter what, Mike still has to live his life moving forward. But in telling these experiences, I think he realizes how life can be better for himself from now on, and how his experiences can make life better for others. What do you think?

More “The Michael Vick Project”

We saw his family’s reaction to the 1-year, $1.6 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. Although happy, Mike knew that getting signed didn’t mean he was back on top. He’s going to have to work hard to make up for time lost during the two years he wasn’t on the field.

For the Vick haters who don’t think he should get the opportunity, you’ll be pleased to know that on top of the $20 million he now owes to creditors, many folks in Philly were not happy about his arrival in the city. Protesters went on patrol and talk radio was buzzing. Mike ignored it, which is good in a day and age where celebrities Tweet their pain away, often making bad situations worse. Without publicly defending himself, the local NAACP branch stood up for him, and Mike later expressed his thanks for that.

What I did enjoy was his speech at a middle school. The kids were excited to see a celebrity in their auditorium, but Mike had a good lesson for them as he told them to “use me as an example of what not to do.” It’s good when you can turn your personal tragedy into a positive by helping others make better decisions.

Also in support, Philadelphia’s Mayor gave his piece:

“When I heard that the Philadelphia Eagles had signed Michael Vick, my reaction was just because you made bad judgments does not mean that has to be the end of your life, or your life story. If you get that second chance, you can write a new chapter in the book about your life.”

Judging from last night, the new chapter seems to be much better than the last one.

Many people say that Mike only stopped dog fighting because he got caught. As far as what Mike said last time, that’s true.

So what has people worried now is his sincerity. He says he understands what he did, but he wouldn’t be saying that if he never went to jail.

Mike’s action’s this week spoke louder than his words. While still in prison he went through his publicist to reach out to Humane Society President Wayne Parcelle in an attempt to do some good upon his release. Wayne saw Mike’s outreach as a strategic opportunity for the Society and was willing to work with Mike, but he also let Mike know that he had to get himself out of the mess he got himself into.

On a brighter side, Mike reunited with his family and for the first time, we got to see them be happy. The media blitz waiting for Mike outside his home didn’t stop the family from enjoying their reunion. Mike also went to work at the Boys and Girls Club where he got a chance to help kids make good decisions by talking about his experiences.

Maybe this will show that a bad act doesn’t condemn a person for life. Or maybe it just shows you will do what you have to do to not look so bad… 

I think Mike does understand the weight of what he did, and over the next few weeks we’ll see what he does with that understanding.

Did it take prison to change Michael Vick where he otherwise probably wouldn’t have changed? Undoubtedly, yes. But if the change is genuine, is that such a bad thing? Sometimes it takes a great tragedy to make a great change.