Vick Does Something Positive. (1 Viewer)

[seahawk 17]

Vick donates $5K to late firefighter's family

ATLANTA (AP) - As part of his fine for an obscene gesture made to fans, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick is giving $5,000 to the family of a firefighter who recently died.

Another $5,000 will go to The Warrick Dunn Foundation, which helps single mothers become homeowners, according to a statement posted on the team's Web site Thursday.

Atlanta firefighter Steven Solomon died Wednesday from injuries he suffered battling a Thanksgiving night fire.

"I gave this a lot of thought and realized that there are thousands of worthy charities that could benefit from these funds," Vick said in the statement. "But when I heard that Mr. Solomon died after fighting a fire on Thanksgiving while most of us were at home with our own families, it really touched me. My heart goes out to his family."

Vick said he wanted to help Falcons running back Warrick Dunn's foundation, which assists single mothers and their children with down payments and home furnishings.

The donation to the Solomon family will be made through the Golden Shield Foundation, an organization that helps the families of law enforcement officers or firefighters who have been killed or incapacitated in the line of duty.

Vick's donation was mandated by the NFL, which also fined him another $10,000.

Vick made the obscene gesture with both hands as he walked off the Georgia Dome field Sunday. The Falcons' 31-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints prompted boos from fans. Vick has said the gesture came after he heard an especially disturbing insult from a male fan.

 

[hamster_13]

Should he really get any praise for this? The league made him donate the money. I am sure he does on his on too, but is it really charitable if somebody forces you to do it?

 

[seahawk 17]

It's the Christmas season, just trying to bring the Vick haters and lovers together.

 

[AcousticNut]

Should he really get any praise for this? The league made him donate the money. I am sure he does on his on too, but is it really charitable if somebody forces you to do it?

That was my thought exactly, Hamster, when I read the story. I don't think a forced donation is worthy of the praise and coverage that it's getting.At the same time, Ben Roethisberger is giving twice that amount to his hometown Police Dept to purchase a new police dog and it's barely getting a blip.

The Ben Roethlisberger Foundation will pay for a new police dog and protective K-9 vest for his hometown of Findlay, Ohio.

Findlay's former drug-sniffing dog, Flip, was shot and killed on Nov. 18.

The police chief said the cost of a new, fully trained dog is $8,900. The protective vest costs $500.

Authorities said Flip was shot and killed when he was off-duty and wandered into a neighbor's yard.

linkI'm sure many NFL players are making these types of voluntary contributions on a daily basis, but we rarely hear about it. Vick gets forced to make a charitable contribution by the NFL and it's front page on ESPN.com. Not a slam against Vick, but merely the state of the media in how it chooses its coverage.

 

[Slinger]

I don't really care if this is a PR-move or anything of that nature. All I know is that an extra 5/k is going to the family of a fallen fire fighter and that's a good thing.

 

[3C's]

Vick actually does quite a bit of charity work, not on the scale of someone like Warrick Dunn however. You probably just don't hear about it much.

 

[Big Score]

I don't really care if this is a PR-move or anything of that nature. All I know is that an extra 5/k is going to the family of a fallen fire fighter and that's a good thing.

 

[3C's]

link

Interesting fact in that article is that Aaron Brooks was Humantarian of the Year in 2004. Bet people thought he didn't do anything positive either.

 

[Bevo]

I don't really care if this is a PR-move or anything of that nature. All I know is that an extra 5/k is going to the family of a fallen fire fighter and that's a good thing.

I am very happy for the family of the firefighter that they received the money but unless I found out additional information (like that Vick was going to give them the money anyway) I am going to hold any praise for Vick in this since it appears that he was forced to "donate" the money to them.

 

[Slinger]

I don't really care if this is a PR-move or anything of that nature. All I know is that an extra 5/k is going to the family of a fallen fire fighter and that's a good thing.

I am very happy for the family of the firefighter that they received the money but unless I found out additional information (like that Vick was going to give them the money anyway) I am going to hold any praise for Vick in this since it appears that he was forced to "donate" the money to them.

Yeah we're on the same page with this. I think he's a ##### for giving the fans the finger, but I'm glad that his agent or whoever suggested that he gives 5/k to the family. I care more about that than any PR-related praise that he'll receive for it.

 

[AcousticNut]

I don't really care if this is a PR-move or anything of that nature. All I know is that an extra 5/k is going to the family of a fallen fire fighter and that's a good thing.

I am very happy for the family of the firefighter that they received the money but unless I found out additional information (like that Vick was going to give them the money anyway) I am going to hold any praise for Vick in this since it appears that he was forced to "donate" the money to them.

If I was Vick and was working for a good PR angle after the finger debacle, I would have given above and beyond the 'forced' amount to the fire-fighter's family. Say a $25,000 donation. Now that would have been a classy move.

 

[-OZ-]

If I was Vick and was working for a good PR angle after the finger debacle, I would have given above and beyond the 'forced' amount to the fire-fighter's family. Say a $25,000 donation. Now that would have been a classy move.

$25k to Vick is the equivalent of $100 for most of us, the good PR would have been well worth it. It's good to see it going to a good cause, but it doesn't mean he's a great guy.

 

[Saints-Man]

I don't really care if this is a PR-move or anything of that nature. All I know is that an extra 5/k is going to the family of a fallen fire fighter and that's a good thing.

I also say

 

[jonessed]

I give more credit to the NFL for having this policy than I do for Vick being required to donate it. It's good PR for them to make the players give it directly.

 

[DeCleater]

link

Interesting fact in that article is that Aaron Brooks was Humantarian of the Year in 2004. Bet people thought he didn't do anything positive either.

But that was for his on-the-field donations.Sorry, couldn't help it.

 

[rhawkins68]

I don't really care if this is a PR-move or anything of that nature. All I know is that an extra 5/k is going to the family of a fallen fire fighter and that's a good thing.

I'm sure most don't realize the life the firefighters live. He chose a great place to put the donation in my opinion.