Michael Vick sparked protests when he joined the Eagles in '09. Some fans can't forgive his cruelty

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Debbie Sanville and her husband say they tore up their season tickets in 2009 and refused to watch Eagles games once the team signed convicted felon Michael Vick. Nancy Harrold said she became physically ill and has friends to this day so traumatized by the quarterback's arrival they still refuse to watch the Super Bowl champions.

Monica Caraffa was so repulsed the Eagles signed Vick on the heels of his connection to dogfighting that the animal rescue activist trashed every hat, T-shirt and piece of anything connected to the team that plays in a stadium a short walk from her home.

“My hatred,” Caraffa said, “is ongoing.”

Vick signed with the Eagles after he served 18 months in federal prison on a dogfighting conviction. The move sparked a wave of protests, outrage from animal rights crusaders — as well as endorsement and sponsorship headaches for the Eagles and Vick — and billboards and newspaper back pages blasting the team's decision to allow him to rehabilitate his image and his career in Philadelphia.

Vick largely stayed out of trouble and became a respected teammate during five mostly successful seasons with the Eagles before he transitioned into broadcasting. He is now a rookie head coach for Norfolk State in Virginia. He returns to Philadelphia and his old NFL stadium on Thursday night when his team faces former Eagles' teammate and fellow first-year college coach DeSean Jackson at Delaware State in a nationally-televised game between two historically Black colleges.

For the Eagles fans who planted anti-Vick signs in their yards that read “you can't fix evil” and others who protested weekly during the 2009 season outside Lincoln Financial Stadium, the idea that Vick is back in the city — and as a leader of young men — is enough to stir up unpleasant feelings, though the idea of leading one more protest has largely fallen by the wayside.

“Our point was made,” Sanville said. “That was before the Eagles had two Super Bowls and they were just looking for the one-hit wonder that would get them across the line.”

As for ripping up those physical tickets back in the day, Sanville said she did it because “sometimes you have to make choices on things more important than football."

Animal cruelty is a highly emotional issue, and fervent animal lovers didn’t forget the crimes just because Vick scored touchdowns for the Eagles. Many fans didn’t really care if Vick started every day with a visit to an animal shelter, as long as he helped Philadelphia win.

Vick protesters — sometimes in the hundreds depending on the number of picketing groups, often much less — recalled the backlash they said they received by everyone from police to Eagles fans for simply sticking up for abused animals, especially the dogs that survived his Bad Newz Kennels dogfighting ring.

“There were fans who yelled, ‘I’d kill my own dog to win a Super Bowl,'" Caraffa said.

Vick, who broke into the NFL as the No. 1 pick of the draft by the Atlanta Falcons and played six seasons with them before his career was derailed by dogfighting, never won a Super Bowl with the Eagles. Long-time owner Jeffrey Lurie had the final say on signing Vick and remains the steward of what is regarded as one of the model franchises in the NFL.

“The owner, the one who allowed him to come in, he still owns the team,” Caraffa said. “I remember when Vick was released from prison, it never even crossed my mind that he would come here.”

Vick never shied away from owning up to his mistakes and eventually partnered with animal welfare organizations to raise awareness about pet cruelty. Vick and his family eventually adopted at least one dog and he continued to advocate for animal rights. Vick even won in 2009 the Ed Block Courage Award, voted on by his Eagles' teammates. The award honors players who exemplify commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage.

“It's OK to give people second-chances in life,” said Jackson, his former teammate. “No one's perfect. At the end of the day, you've got to sometimes fail and mess up to get things right.”

Vick's redemptive arc left an impression on Jackson, a rookie in 2008 who blossomed into one of the Eagles' all-time great receivers.

“He kind of saw me as the younger version,” of himself, Jackson said. “He would tell me, be careful. Be careful who you hang around with. He had to learn the hard way. He was very influential on me. He did his community service hours, his speaking engagements he had to go to. When you do make a mistake, get an opportunity (to atone). I think he made the most of it.”

Norfolk State President Javaune Adams-Gaston told The Associated Press the school did its homework on Vick before it made the splashy, attention-grabbing hire to try and revive a program — and boost its national profile and ticket sales — that has made only one playoff appearance since moving to the Championship Subdivision in 1997.

“We believe in people, and we know the heart of Michael Vick,” Adams-Gaston said. “The heart of Michael Vick is to do great things and to do them well. One of the things we've seen is that the students really resonate to his sense of purpose and understanding that life moves forward.”

Some fans like Harrold did get over their initial disgust and returned to watching the Eagles a year or so after Vick left and finished his career with the Jets and Steelers. But as Vick's image popped up again to promote Thursday's game, she couldn't shake the fact a man who engaged in competitive dogfighting was still allowed to make a living in football.

“He deserves a second chance, and he deserves a life,” Harrold said. “I don't know that he deserved to be a role model. I'm not happy. I think he should have moved on to something else.”

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