Michael Vick and Ben Roethlisberger: Just Good Quarterbacks

Gene Wojciechowski should submit his latest column, “A tale of two troubled quarterbacks,” to the executives at Hallmark Channel.

The feel-good piece, which celebrates the renaissance of Michael Vick and Ben Roethlisberger as both football players and people, would be a great Sunday night, made-for-TV family movie. The always-electrifying Chris Tucker could play the similarly wiry Vick, and the suddenly-pudgy Russell Crowe could play the corn-fed Roethlisberger. Morgan Freeman could make an appearance as the kindly old inmate who helps Vick fight his demons in prison. Robert Duvall could be the blue-collar next-door-neighbor who mentors Roethlisberger through his hard times. And whether or not Vick’s Eagles or Roethlisberger’s Steelers emerge as victorious on the football field, both quarterbacks will have reminded the world that they are champions off of it.

Wojciechowski is the latest in a long line of sportswriters to spin this magical tale. Though the venerable ESPN columnist only knows the two quarterbacks in a professional manner, he concludes: “You can’t do what Vick and Roethlisberger are doing without undergoing some sort of fundamental, inner self reckoning. You can’t fake this sort of seismic change.”

Let’s evaluate this assertion: does Roethlisberger really need to have a clean conscience to heave an 80-yard bomb to Mike Wallace? Is Vick really repentant every time he evades would-be pass rushers before scrambling for a first down?

Comparing Vick and Roethlisberger is unfair in the first place. Vick was dragged through a hellish legal trial in front of a righteous American public before spending two years in federal prison. Roethlisberger also had to deal with some public humiliation, but truthfully, was anyone really surprised when they heard he was accused of sexual harrasment? Let’s not kid ourselves: the guy’s no Peyton Manning. 

Wojciechowski is right to link Vick and Roethlisberger for their achievements in 2010: both quarterbacks wear number 7 and have their teams atop their respective divisions. But, according to Wojciechowski, the parallels go further: Vick is now a “better person” and Roethlisberger is “smarter now” and “wiser too.”

Wojciechowski uses testimony from people who know the quarterbacks as a foundation for his argument. Vick has drawn “rave reviews” from his coaches and teammates – why not interview his parents and family, too? – along with this glowing praise from the federal judge who sentenced Vick: “He's an example of how the system can work. He’s having a terrific season. I wish him the best of success.” The judge is not only a person who advocates the legal system that employs him, but watches football on Sunday.

For Roethlisberger, Wojciechowski cites “those who know him.” He also conjectures that Roethlisberger “had lost touch with who he was and how he was raised.” Of course, Wojciechowski would know this as well as anyone: he was a regular guest at the Roethlisberger family dinner table during Sunday nights of yore.

Wojciechiowski is not alone in his over-effusive praise of Vick (though he probably has a better seat on the less-popular Big Ben bandwagon). Legions of sportswriters have mistaken Vick’s newfound prowess in the pocket as evidence of a spiritual rebirth. I love tales of redemption just as much as the next American, but I don’t see anything more here than two guys with messy criminal records enjoying successful NFL seasons. It’s possible for people to be better athletes than they are citizens.

As a sports fan, I watch games, listen to player interviews and read columns. As a sportswriter, Wojciechowski does the same things, along with talking to athletes and their peers. Does this give him the authority to cast judgment on these guys as people? Can any a sportswriter, fan or anyone other than close friend truly know an athlete?

I’m just a freelance writer with a blog, while the award-winning Wojciechowski, ESPN’s senior national sports columnist, is one of the most respected sportswriters in the business. But he doesn’t know Michael Vick and Ben Roethlisberger as people, and should be embarrassed for writing about them like he does. His sentiment that the two quarterbacks are, “better people, better teammates and better role models” is touching, but unfounded: on-field performance, post-game interviews and quotes from friends are insufficient brushes with which to paint a portrait of these athletes.

That’s all they are, after all: athletes. I don’t know them any deeper. Neither does Gene Wojciechowski.