When it comes to people’s opinion of Michael Vick, there’s not a lot of gray area involved. While most would fall under the category of reviling him for his heinous actions toward man’s best friend, there are some who still respect the man.
In the latter group, you can include Ohio State starting quarterback Terrelle Pryor.
(And that sound you just heard was the whole of C-bus throwing up a little bit in their mouth and/or cringing.)
During yesterday’s narrow win over Navy, Pryor wore an eye-black patch underneath each eye. Under his left eye was the word “Vick”. OK, I’ll play along. Why?
“I always looked up to Mike Vick and I always will, because I still think he is one of the best quarterbacks,” Pryor said according to the Columbus Dispatch. “I love Mike Vick.”
The sophomore wasn’t finished either...
“I know what happened with him and, I mean, I don’t want to talk much. I’m just going to be very short and sweet with it,” Pryor said, before doing the exact opposite. “But I just feel he made his mistake and I think he just needs more support.
“Not everybody is the perfect person in the world. Everyone does -- kills people, murders people, steals from you, steals from me. I just feel that people need to give him a chance.”
“Take it easy, Terrelle,” Brian Fantana said upon hearing Pryor’s comments. “Why don’t you sit this next one out, stop talking for a while.”
Realizing that this could be a somewhat touchy subject for some fans, head coach Jim Tressel decided to use humor in the form of the difference in height between he and the 6-6 Pryor to deflect the issue.
“I’m not tall enough to see his eye black,” Tressel said.