I watched Michael Vick’s apology yesterday.  I have to admit I was fully prepared to find it shallow, self-serving and made out of expedience.  I also thought it would be a prepared, carefully lawyer-crafted statement.

My first surprise was that Vick didn’t read from a prepared text, but chose to “take this opportunity just to speak from the heart.”

First, I want to apologize, you know, for all the things that — that I’ve done and that I have allowed to happen. I want to personally apologize to commissioner Goodell, Arthur Blank, coach Bobby Petrino, my Atlanta Falcons teammates, you know, for our — for our previous discussions that we had. And I was not honest and forthright in our discussions, and, you know, I was ashamed and totally disappointed in myself to say the least.

I want to apologize to all the young kids out there for my immature acts and, you know, what I did was, what I did was very immature so that means I need to grow up.

I totally ask for forgiveness and understanding as I move forward to bettering Michael Vick the person, not the football player.

I take full responsibility for my actions. For one second will I sit right here — not for one second will I sit right here and point the finger and try to blame anybody else for my actions or what I’ve done.

I’m totally responsible, and those things just didn’t have to happen. I feel like we all make mistakes. It’s just I made a mistake in using bad judgment and making bad decisions. And you know, those things, you know, just can’t happen.

In the most controversial section of his remarks, Vick said that though this situation he had come to faith in Christ and found forgiveness:

Through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God. And I think that’s the right thing to do as of right now…I accepted responsibility for my actions of what I did and now I have to pay the consequences for it. But in a sense, I think it will help, you know, me as a person. I got a lot to think about in the next year or so.

All in all I thought Vick came across as sincere.  Around the Riley family dinner table tonight, mine was most definitely the minority view.  Everyone else saw it as a lame attempt to salvage his reputation and that he hit all of the talking points he was told to by his handlers.

It appears more of the pundits agree with my wife and kids than see it as I did.  They also found his apology too little, too late and lacking sincerity.

At the end of the day, that is not for me to judge.  Vick said today he had found Jesus, and that makes him my brother in Christ.  If he did indeed turn his life over to Christ through this tragic situation, that will be the best call he has ever made in his life.  I hope he has the opportunity to grow in faith and understanding over the next few years and that he does indeed redeem himself.  He’s certainly got a lot of redeeming to do, but Mike Vick is a young man and can still have a great impact for good.

“Once again, I offer my deepest apologies to everyone,” Vick said. “And I will redeem myself. I have to.”

Click here to view Vick’s apology.  Full text of the apology here.