These days when Michael Vick sits down to talk about his life over the past few years, he’s looking back at a series of extremes — from star quarterback, to reviled dogfighter, to comeback kid — and now, mentor.
That last role is brand new for him. By his own admission, Vick had no interest in mentoring before, but he now spends much of his free time working with the Humane Society of the United States and talking to students about the ills of dogfighting. It is hard for some to comprehend that this once dogfighter is now trying to make a difference in the lives of kids.
“I do it because I want to,” he said in an interview with theGrio’s Mara Schiavocampo. “I think if I can help five or six kids daily, then I’m playing my position as a positive role model in our society. It doesn’t hurt to do it and it’s fairly easy. I tell a lot of people that it’s easy to do the wrong thing. It’s hard to do the right thing.”
The Eagles quarterback discussed his slow, but steady road to redemption, and he spoke about why he disregards negative comments from cynics who say he’s only mentoring because the courts are making him or to rehabilitate his damaged image.
Watch NBC Sports coverage of Vick getting his first post-prison endorsement
“Well first off, the court doesn’t make it an obligation for me to go out and speak,” Vick said. “It doesn’t make it an obligation for me to work with the Humane Society. I’m putting in the hard work to do it so it’s not for any personal benefit, it’s to help others.”
Vick has often expressed his love of all animals — not just dogs, and hopes that the court-ordered rule that prevents him owning a dog will one day change.
“I would love to get another dog in the future,” he told theGrio.
“I think it would be a big step for me in the rehabilitation process. I think just to have a pet in my household and to show people that I genuinely care, and my love and my passion for animals; I think it would be outstanding. If I ever have the opportunity again I will never take it for granted. I miss having a dog right now. I wish I could. My daughters miss having one, and that’s the hardest thing: telling them that we can’t have one because of my actions.”
It is safe to say that Vick once found himself making all the wrong decisions when it came to the care of the dogs. But he claims outside influences enabled his dogfighting hobbies years ago. < ~~ LOL'Worthy!
Perhaps he should consider a cat? Or maybe a hamster?
Then again — maybe that’s not such a good idea after all.
Just like Ego TV says … “celebrities are just like us, it’s safe to assume that 25-35% of them are currently carrying an STD, just like us.” So they came up with a list of 9 celebrities who are known to have STDs, sadly not many celebrities are outspoken about their STDs but I’m willing to guess that a lot of them have caught something from sleeping around so much.
Paris Hilton, Genital Herpes
This must come as a terrible surprise to everyone reading this, so I’ll take a moment and let you catch your breath…..Cool? Cool. In news that is shocking to no one, this Hollywood B-list hot potato has been infected with genital herpes since at least 2007. How did this information come about? A while back, Paris had failed to pay rent on a storage unit she was leasing. Per the contract, her possessions were forfeited after a certain amount of time and a tabloid consortium got a hold of them. They came across a two year-old prescription for Valtrex, a herpes medicine, as well as printed doctor’s instructions, made out to her, on how to take the medication. Pretty hard to misinterpret that.
This should definitively answer the question, “If I get the chance, should I have sex with Paris Hilton?” No. You shouldn’t. Unless you have herpes already, too. Then, by all means, go nuts. Since he wasn’t wearing protection in that sex video with her, it’s quite possible that douchenozzle Rick Solomon has herpes too, so, uh…don’t sleep with him either.
Robin Williams, Genital Herpes
It’s not just the sleazy ones that catch STD’s, kids, but also the funny ones. Take Robin Williams, who was once hilarious but now chooses just to be depressing in movies like Patch Adams, Good Will Hunting and What Dreams May Come. While Williams’ star was on the rise in the early 80’s, he was sued by a cocktail waitress who claimed that during Williams’ first marriage, he had had an extramarital affair with her and knowingly infected her with herpes during this period. Unsurprisingly, the case was settled out of court.
While the incident didn’t tarnish Williams’ reputation in the long haul (having acted in family fare such as Flubber and Mrs. Doubtfire), it did cause a bit of damage to the public, namely having to read accounts of his affair and then imagine Robin Williams having sex. The damage has been done.
David Hasselhoff, Genital Herpes
I’m going to interpret “David Hasselhoff has genital herpes” as “David Hasselhoff enjoyed his fame in the early to mid-80’s”. Apparently, K.I.T.T wasn’t around to advise Michael to wear a rubber. Oh well.
Hasselhoff’s infection has been known since his divorce from wife Pamela Bach in 2006, when she claimed he has been infect since their marriage in 1989. Which means that the entire cast of “Baywatch” could probably reunite for their spot on a Valtrex billboard. Though, these days, the “Jersey Shore” cast would probably take their place.
Magic Johnson, HIV/AIDS
Certainly the best-known case of HIV infection in the world, Magic Johnson conducted a press conference in November of 1991 to let the public know that he was infected with HIV. The press conference was so shocking and unexpected that it still exists as a “Where were you when you heard the news?” moment for an entire generation.
Magic Johnson promptly resigned from the NBA, amid concerns for his own health and the health of his competitors, though did shortly return to the game and compete in the All-Star game, despite vocal objections from a handful of NBA players. Magic continues to work as a broadcaster on TNT and remains in good health, with t-cell counts (the barometer of infection of HIV) similar to those of normal, healthy people.
Tommy Morrison, HIV/AIDS
Best known as Tommy “The Machine” Gunn in Rocky V, Tommy Morrison was a journeyman heavyweight boxer with a rather strange history of infection of HIV. He has submitted to many, many tests for both the press and boxing authorities that seem to vacillate back and forth between positive and negative since his original positive test in December 1996. Ruddock had been a promising contender before his diagnosis and his subsequent ban from fighting. Morrison defeated titleholder Razor Ruddock by TKO in 1995, before going up against Lennox Lewis and losing a conservative bout in the sixth round.
However, since his infection with HIV, Morrison has only been able to fight recently against low-ranked opponents. He has also dabbled in MMA, though it seems that his best days were forfeited during a period of HIV tests with confounding results.
Greg Louganis, HIV/AIDS
Unlike for Morrison, HIV tests were not a condition of participation for diving competitions, so Louganis was actually able to compete for several years after learning of his infection in 1988 with no one the wiser. On his way to winning gold medals in 1988, he hit his head on a springboard during a preliminary dive, introducing his blood into the pool. Not much was made of this event, since his HIV-positive status had not been disclosed at this point, though it if it had, the outcry against his participation would have been profound.
In 1995, he came out as a homosexual and now spends his days training a dog named Mr. Woof Blitzer in agility competitions, which we can all agree is pretty gay.
Anne Heche, HIV/AIDS
Best known as an actress and for being the former “Mrs. Ellen Degeneres,” Heche has been publicly mocked for seemingly jumping back and forth between gay and straight during her adult life. Her infection with herpes sadly came well before her adult life. As she disclosed in her biography, Heche claims that she was infected with herpes by her molesting father, who later died of AIDS in 1983.
So let it be know to people of both genders that Anne Heche, like 25% of the adult population, has genital herpes. Proceed accordingly.
Julia Sweeney, HPV
Known originally for her role on SNL as “Pat”, a creepily androgynous semi-person, Sweeney would later find levels of fame through her one-woman show, “God Said Ha!” which detailed her recent trials after being diagnosed with cervical cancer, which stemmed from HPV (human papllomavirus), a sexually transmitted virus that can manifest as a host of symptoms, sometimes leading to cervical cancer in women.
Fortunately, Julia Sweeney has recovered and seems to have made a burgeoning career out of discussing her experiences through this ordeal, but the real reason for her inclusion on this list is the magnitude to which “Pat” is made creepier by knowing he or she is not only painfully androgynous, but also carrying STD’s. They could have at least dropped that into It’s Pat: The Movie.
Michael Vick,
Before Vick was widely despised for fighting dogs to their death with the Bad Newz Kennel Club, he was taking clandestine STD tests and perhaps knowingly infecting his sexual partners. Which, of course is not hilarious at all, but rather awful. However, during a lawsuit in 2005 when a plaintiff alleged that Vick knew he had genital herpes and didn’t disclose his infection with her before engaging in sex, it was revealed that Vick had in fact gotten tested. But not under his name, lest the media and others find out. So what name did he choose?
Why none other than “Ron Mexico”, hands down the greatest pseudonym for taking an STD test that has ever been created. Shortly thereafter, the NFL chose to remove the name “Mexico” from their online custom jersey store, as they felt the “Ron Mexico” moniker didn’t paint their players in the best possible light. Fortunately (?), the shame both Vick and the league experienced from the “Ron Mexico” affair would be short-lived due to tales of rape stands and drowning dogs for money. I’m sure Vick is looking back, wishing for simpler times.
Now I’m going to take a shower to wash myself of this.
Let’s face it: if you were a celebrity, you’d be doin’ everything around you. And you could…because you would be a celebrity, and everyone would want a piece of your sweet, sweet celebrity junk. But as history has shown us, gettin’ down with too many anonymous people means you’ll feel the burn, quite literally. Oh well.
Check out these celebs who allegedly have herpes.
Paris Hilton
Shock level: Low
Amount You Enjoy Knowing: Highest
How We Know:
You’ve certainly seen or least heard about Paris’ horrifying sex-tape (yes there’s an IMDB page) with douchebag nobody Rick Salomon, so right there you know doin’ it is important to her. To be fair, it’s important to everyone. But when you’re as indiscriminate about your partners as she is, well, that’s where the trouble lies. She’s seen around the world with men as promiscuous as she is, so it’s fair to assume she’s got it. Oh, and then there’s her prescription for Valtrex which has been featured on many credible websites.
Jessica Alba
Shock level: Medium
Amount You Enjoy Knowing: Minimal
How We Know:
But she had a baby! Anyone with a baby can’t have herpes. Except they can…and she does. Apparently she got it from Derek Jeter. Yes, it’s a rumor, but there has been quite a bit of sources who worked closely with Alba and recalled having to pick up her Valtrex prescription on a regular basis. She’s also on the recently created Derek Jeter Herpes Tree.
Derek Jeter
Shock level: Medium
Amount You Enjoy Knowing: Depends on if you are a Red Sox or Yankees fan
How We Know:
Again, rumors have been flying around about this guy’s sexual deviancy for quite a while. Hey, making $17 million a year for baseball’s most famous team allows you access to the most coveted poon. Anyway, there’s been enough speculation on the subject for someone to create the aforementioned tree, so we figured, “Why not post it and let YOU decide”? Even if you think it’s bull, it’s pretty funny to see the progression because even if the herpes speculation isn’t true, the fact that these celebrities dated one another is, meaning they’d be exposed to Jeter’s Yankee doodle.
Billy Idol
Shock Level: Low
Amount You Enjoy Knowing: It’s less interesting than it would be 20 years ago.
Robin Williams
Shock Level: High
Amount You Enjoy Knowing: Depends on how much you liked “Aladdin”
How We Know:
Williams was slapped with a lawsuit in the mid-80s by a cocktail waitress who claimed he had given it to her without warning her he had it first. But hey, celebrities get accused of stuff they didn’t do all the time right? Sure. But the case was settled out of court, implying that Mrs. Doubtfire felt a bit guilty about it.
Anne Heche
Shock Level: Low-Medium
Amount You Enjoy Knowing: Ehh
Tony Bennett
Shock Level: Very high
Amount You Enjoy Knowing: I left my heart in San Francisco, and my virus in some girl.
How We Know:
We admit, we were surprised by this one too. Bennett adamantly denies the allegations and even produced medical records which indicate he doesn’t. Oh well, the fact that someone would go far enough to accuse Tony Bennett of giving them herpes is all we need to find this hilarious.
Michael Vick
Shock level: Low
Amount You Enjoy Knowing: Pre-dog murder: Medium Post-dog murder: High
How We Know:
Ron Mexico. Vick was getting treatments and medication under the name “Ron Mexico,” a fact that was discovered when a woman sued him for giving her the disease in 2002, claiming he willfully gave it to her without warning. Our thought is: if you’re willfully having unprotected sex with a professional athlete like Michael Vick, you were going to end up with it anyway, and you’re lucky you got it from a rich dude.
David Hasselhoff
Shock level: Low
Amount You Enjoy Knowing: High, if you aren’t German
How We Know:
During the Hoff’s divorce from Pamela Bach, the latter cited such marital problems as domestic violence and his penchant for drinking himself shitty, and by shitty, we mean he loved to shit his pants when he got drunk. Another problem Bach cited was that Hoff has genital herpes. A man that poops his pants and has herpes?
Liza Minnelli
Shock level: High
Amount You Enjoy Knowing: Should be ridiculously high
How We Know:
Alright, so it’s mentioned in her divorce proceedings from David Gest, who probably isn’t the greatest source in the world, but then again, he was divorcing Liza Minnelli. There are hundreds of things he could have made up to worsen her already horrible reputation.
Georgia, Handsome Dan, Curly and other pit bulls rescued from Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation are getting a happier shot at fame, this time as stars of a line of boutique red wines.
The Vicktory Dogs Wine Collection features colorful portraits of 22 dogs confiscated from Vick’s Bad Newz Kennels that now live at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in southern Utah.
“As a signature collection, it’s through the roof,” said Matt Hahn, co-owner of Carivintas Winery, a Southern California company that combines wine selling and philanthropy.
Each bottle includes a portrait of one of the dogs on the label. On the back, instead of description of the wine, there’s a brief story about each four-legged friend.
The pit bulls have been living at Best Friends since January while handlers try to reverse the mental damage done at Vick’s 15-acre estate in southeastern Virginia. Vick, a former NFL quarterback, is serving a two-year prison sentence in connection with the dogfighting operation.
Artist Cyrus Mejia, one of the founders of Best Friends, began painting the dogs after they arrived at the sanctuary. Gone in the portraits are any signs of snarling beasts fit for a fight ring. Instead, there are cocked heads, soulful eyes and floppy ears.
“I think he’s been able to capture the real personalities of each of the dogs,” said John Polis, a Best Friends spokesman.
Hahn and his small winery based in Buellton, Calif., jumped at the chance to use the portraits in creating the Vicktory Dogs collection. He said the goal was to show the dogs in a positive light.
