Did Michael Vick Give Money To Animal Welfare

Michael Vick speaks about Team Freedom Outreach at Victory for the World Church on Saturday afternoon.

Michael Vick was imprisoned four years agone for dogfighting and banned from the NFL
He has since been reinstated by the league%2C but still has been pursued by fauna rights activists
Vick%27s volume bout recently was suspended because of death threats%2C but he said the tour volition restart

Michael Vick has a question for the brute rights activists who harp on his past and might have made expiry threats against him: "Why would you lot continue to bash somebody who's trying to help make the globe a meliorate place?"

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, who 4 years agone was imprisoned on federal dogfighting charges, appeared at a suburban Atlanta church for a charity outcome for juvenile offenders Saturday afternoon, signing autographs iv days later on his publisher, worried nearly death threats, canceled a series of appearances by Vick to help promote his autobiography, "Finally Complimentary."

Animal rights activists have made Vick a longtime target for their protests, and their anger recently was stoked when Vick admitted his family had a new canis familiaris equally a pet, because he wanted to acquire from his past and teach his children how to care for animals. When threats were made, Vick's bout was temporarily suspended.

"A lot of people are sick and tired of hearing nigh my past, because there are and so many other bug that are going on in this earth that need to have attention drawn to them," Vick told USA TODAY Sports. "People are dying every solar day, children are existence killed, going to jail. Not to say I overlook what I've done, simply I try to do outreach as a positive.

"That's my responsibility. That's what I'm going to continue to exercise. That's what's of import. Those people are not important."

The volume tour is back on, and Vick says he wasn't afraid for his life when Facebook comments threatened violence, but he was concerned for the health of others.

"It wasn't so much fear, but you have to take precaution for yourself and your family, and for other people also," he said. "I knew a lot of people were going to exist at the signings, and I didn't want to put anyone in jeopardy.

"I recall the small fraction of people who are still making these derogatory comments and thinking irrationally, they're in a league of their own. Merely nosotros won't let it stop us from what we're trying to exercise."

Wrote one Facebook user: "I would go at that place to slit your throat knowing how you treat animals."

Michael Vick signs books at Victory for the World Church on Saturday afternoon. All proceeds from the book sales go to Team Freedom Outreach.

Vick, 32, says all the attention over the canceled signings really additional sales of his book, which focuses on his babyhood in Newport News, Va., and the events surrounding his incarceration. He intends to complete an amended book signing tour with added security measures.

"We're definitely going to finish the volume bout," he said. "Even if information technology happens again, we're all the same going to motion forward, but we'll exercise it in a totally different way. The book is doing dandy because of all the attention information technology'south gotten in the last couple days, so what more than can I ask for?"

Vick spoke with USA TODAY Sports by phone while signing autographs in Stone Mountain, Ga., at the Victory For the World Church, which hosted his advent in concert with Team Freedom Outreach, a year-old non-profit which pairs Christian fathers with juveniles in youth detention centers for mentoring sessions. Charity organizer Isaac Ingram said the Vick appearance comes down to "faith vs. fear."

Vick, a father of 3, says Atlanta has e'er been a safety haven. He's visited the expanse twice in the past ii years later spending the first six seasons of his NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons.

"Information technology's nifty to be dorsum in Atlanta," he said. "The ane thing I'll never forget is the hospitality here. People take been and then gracious when I've come dorsum."