Violating the Racial Contract: Black Professional Athletes and the Case of Michael Vick

Abstract

This essay examines the way in which race has functioned in the career of former NFL quarterback Michael Vick, by looking primarily at the way in which Vick’s image and career have been created, maintained, and ultimately renegotiated in relation to Charles Mills’ concept of the racial contract. Relying on the theoretical framework provided by Mills, as well as academic and popular press coverage of Vick’s career, the analysis begins by outlining the theoretical framework of the racial contract, then moves to an examination of Vick’s early life and career, the basic facts surrounding the dogfighting scandal an his subsequent suspension and imprisonment, and, ultimately, his return to the NFL. This will be followed by a discussion of the exact nature of Vick’s transgressions in regards to the contract; namely, that his crimes called attention to and ultimately made visible the parallel between the violence inherent in the “sport” of dog-fighting and the dehumanizing violence enacted upon African American men in professional football. The essay concludes with a look at how dominant society relies on the racial narratives circulated around black professional athletes like Michael Vick, as well as suggestions for revising the terms of the racial contract.