These two articles from the AP 2006 and New York Times 2010 may shed some light:
Vick calls Mora's 'coach killer' label 'inappropriate'
Nov 23, 2006
Vick said Wednesday that he shut off his cell phone because he was getting so many calls about comments made by Mora's father, a former NFL coach himself who shares the same name with his son.
"Honestly, I don't even know what to say," Vick said. "I think it was inappropriate. But, hey, when you're commentating, I guess you've got a right to say what you want to say. I just keep playing football. At the same time, it's crazy."
The Fifth Down
The New York Times N.F.L. Blog
Vick to Mora: ‘There Was Nothing You Could Do, Jim’
BY TONI MONKOVIC OCTOBER 4, 2010 6:46 AMOctober 4, 2010 6:46 am
The big news involving Michael Vick on Sunday were his injuries, which threaten to derail his storybook season.
But before the Eagles-Redskins game, the NFL Network showed Vick’s sit-down interview with Jim Mora, his former coach in Atlanta.
Vick was direct and unsparing — no excuses. Some excerpts:
“My whole life was a lie, Jim. Everything from A to Z.” – Vick
“I think about it a lot, Coach. I was selfish in some aspects. I didn’t dedicate myself. I didn’t listen. [You were] only trying to help me in so many ways. And I was just young. I can’t blame myself for that, neither. I can’t put 100 percent of the blame on me being young, because I was 25, 26 years old then. So you’re old enough to make rational decisions for yourself.” – Vick, when asked by Mora if he was conned by him
“My life has just changed drastically. When I sat in prison in Leavenworth, I was thinking, ‘How do I want to live my life moving forward? How do I want to change things? What can I do better this time around?’” – Vick
“Under the circumstances, it wasn’t hard at all because of everything that transpired and how it went down. It was the same thing, year in and year out. It wasn’t my play on the field, it was off the field. I’m tired of going through it, Jim. I’m tired of it.” – Vick on if it was difficult cutting out the bad influences in his life
“Hey, man, I’m Mike Vick, what’s the worst thing that can happen to me?” – Vick on whether he considered how much trouble he could get into
“The DVDs used to pile up in my car.” – Vick on not watching any extra film when he was Mora’s quarterback in Atlanta
“What could I have done? I was your head coach and I thought we were pretty close. What could I have done? Could I have done something? Did I miss something?” – Mora
“There was nothing you could do, Jim. The best thing for me that ever happened in my life up to this point, as crazy as it may sound, was me getting shipped off to Kansas because other than that, I wasn’t going to change. I wasn’t going to change, I wasn’t going to get all the people away from me that were leeches and wanted to be around. I wasn’t going to stop fighting dogs. At some point, someone could’ve gotten hurt. It was pointless. My mom tried to tell me and it went in one ear and out the other. There was nothing nobody could have done to change my situation but the man upstairs who was seeing this and said, ‘Listen, before this goes any further, I’m going to have to take all this away from you for a while and you’re going to have to get your priorities in order. But you’re going to have to sit over there to get it done’ and that’s what happened.” –Vick
Vick calls Mora's 'coach killer' label 'inappropriate'
Nov 23, 2006
- Associated Press
Vick said Wednesday that he shut off his cell phone because he was getting so many calls about comments made by Mora's father, a former NFL coach himself who shares the same name with his son.
"Honestly, I don't even know what to say," Vick said. "I think it was inappropriate. But, hey, when you're commentating, I guess you've got a right to say what you want to say. I just keep playing football. At the same time, it's crazy."
The Fifth Down
The New York Times N.F.L. Blog
Vick to Mora: ‘There Was Nothing You Could Do, Jim’
BY TONI MONKOVIC OCTOBER 4, 2010 6:46 AMOctober 4, 2010 6:46 am
The big news involving Michael Vick on Sunday were his injuries, which threaten to derail his storybook season.
But before the Eagles-Redskins game, the NFL Network showed Vick’s sit-down interview with Jim Mora, his former coach in Atlanta.
Vick was direct and unsparing — no excuses. Some excerpts:
“My whole life was a lie, Jim. Everything from A to Z.” – Vick
“I think about it a lot, Coach. I was selfish in some aspects. I didn’t dedicate myself. I didn’t listen. [You were] only trying to help me in so many ways. And I was just young. I can’t blame myself for that, neither. I can’t put 100 percent of the blame on me being young, because I was 25, 26 years old then. So you’re old enough to make rational decisions for yourself.” – Vick, when asked by Mora if he was conned by him
“My life has just changed drastically. When I sat in prison in Leavenworth, I was thinking, ‘How do I want to live my life moving forward? How do I want to change things? What can I do better this time around?’” – Vick
“Under the circumstances, it wasn’t hard at all because of everything that transpired and how it went down. It was the same thing, year in and year out. It wasn’t my play on the field, it was off the field. I’m tired of going through it, Jim. I’m tired of it.” – Vick on if it was difficult cutting out the bad influences in his life
“Hey, man, I’m Mike Vick, what’s the worst thing that can happen to me?” – Vick on whether he considered how much trouble he could get into
“The DVDs used to pile up in my car.” – Vick on not watching any extra film when he was Mora’s quarterback in Atlanta
“What could I have done? I was your head coach and I thought we were pretty close. What could I have done? Could I have done something? Did I miss something?” – Mora
“There was nothing you could do, Jim. The best thing for me that ever happened in my life up to this point, as crazy as it may sound, was me getting shipped off to Kansas because other than that, I wasn’t going to change. I wasn’t going to change, I wasn’t going to get all the people away from me that were leeches and wanted to be around. I wasn’t going to stop fighting dogs. At some point, someone could’ve gotten hurt. It was pointless. My mom tried to tell me and it went in one ear and out the other. There was nothing nobody could have done to change my situation but the man upstairs who was seeing this and said, ‘Listen, before this goes any further, I’m going to have to take all this away from you for a while and you’re going to have to get your priorities in order. But you’re going to have to sit over there to get it done’ and that’s what happened.” –Vick
