2008 Woodie Awards
Hokies learning from Vick's fall
Associated Press
Issue date: 8/29/07 Section: Nation
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BLACKSBURG, Va. - The doors that lead to the large auditorium where the Virginia Tech football team meets are kept propped open these days, giving passersby a clear view to what once appeared to be the Hokies' inner sanctum.
Outside, the words "Michael Vick Hall" on the wide open wooden doors are hardly detectable, as they have been for weeks since his legal troubles became increasingly apparent.
While the goal of minimizing Vick's impact at Virginia Tech seems clear, in the offices where coach Frank Beamer and his assistants are preparing for their season-opener on Saturday against East Carolina, the support for the Atlanta Falcon quarterback is unwavering.
"I thought Michael Vick took a big step yesterday," Beamer said Tuesday, referring to Vick's statement of apology and regret that came minutes after he pleaded guilty to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge in Richmond, possibly ending his career.
"I thought he was extremely sincere. I'm pulling for Michael Vick. I know how I know him, like him, think about him. I'm pulling for Michael Vick."
Beamer, who coached Vick for three seasons and whose team rode his dazzling skills to the Sugar Bowl national championship game in 2000, met with Vick at the NFL draft in April, around the same time Vick met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Atlanta Falcon owner Arthur Blank. Vick admittedly lied to Goodell and Blank about the case.
"We'll keep the conversation and what was said between us," Beamer said when asked if Vick also had lied to him at their meeting in New York.
Beamer said he hasn't spoken with Vick since, and it's clear Vick's problems is not a favorite topic.
The Hokies already are in the midst of an intense week, preparing for the first game since a gunman killed 32 people and himself on the Virginia Tech campus.
The shootings happened nine days before local officials in Surry County raided a home Vick owned as part of a drug investigation, setting off what evolved into the dogfighting probe that has seen Vick and three associates plead guilty.
Outside, the words "Michael Vick Hall" on the wide open wooden doors are hardly detectable, as they have been for weeks since his legal troubles became increasingly apparent.
While the goal of minimizing Vick's impact at Virginia Tech seems clear, in the offices where coach Frank Beamer and his assistants are preparing for their season-opener on Saturday against East Carolina, the support for the Atlanta Falcon quarterback is unwavering.
"I thought Michael Vick took a big step yesterday," Beamer said Tuesday, referring to Vick's statement of apology and regret that came minutes after he pleaded guilty to a federal dogfighting conspiracy charge in Richmond, possibly ending his career.
"I thought he was extremely sincere. I'm pulling for Michael Vick. I know how I know him, like him, think about him. I'm pulling for Michael Vick."
Beamer, who coached Vick for three seasons and whose team rode his dazzling skills to the Sugar Bowl national championship game in 2000, met with Vick at the NFL draft in April, around the same time Vick met with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Atlanta Falcon owner Arthur Blank. Vick admittedly lied to Goodell and Blank about the case.
"We'll keep the conversation and what was said between us," Beamer said when asked if Vick also had lied to him at their meeting in New York.
Beamer said he hasn't spoken with Vick since, and it's clear Vick's problems is not a favorite topic.
The Hokies already are in the midst of an intense week, preparing for the first game since a gunman killed 32 people and himself on the Virginia Tech campus.
The shootings happened nine days before local officials in Surry County raided a home Vick owned as part of a drug investigation, setting off what evolved into the dogfighting probe that has seen Vick and three associates plead guilty.
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