This week, an attempt by Kyler Murray to show support for a fellow dual-threat quarterback backfired unexpectedly.
On Tuesday, the Arizona Cardinals star posted a collage of photos to his Instagram account in which he was wearing a Michael Vick jersey from the quarterback’s college days at Virginia Tech. In one photo beside Murray was one of his two dogs, named Trunks and Swoosh.
However, Murray overlooked a sensitive connection between the Vick jersey and the breed of his dogs — pitbulls. Michael Vick was infamously involved in an illegal dog fighting ring, where pitbulls were forced to fight one another. This scandal temporarily derailed Vick’s NFL career and left a lasting impact on the community.
Shortly after posting, Murray took down the photos and addressed the situation during a press conference on Wednesday. “In no way, shape or form do I condone animal cruelty or dog fighting, whatever it is,” Murray said. “For me personally, you all saw me wear the Michael Vick jersey—a player that I admired very much growing up—and then just being at home with my pup. I saw how it affected people and decided to take it down.”
Michael Vick spent nearly two years in prison for his role in the dog fighting ring. After his release, he returned to the NFL and put together a remarkable second act. Since then, Vick has contributed to animal rights causes and lobbied for legislation criminalizing spectatorship of animal fighting.
While Murray couldn’t help but sigh at the absurdity of being caught up in the situation almost 20 years later, he clearly took the matter seriously enough to delete the post and move forward.
https://awfulannouncing.com/nfl/kyler-murray-apologizes-instagram-post-michael-vick.html