Back In The Day NBA

NBA Great Shows Support For New Norfolk State Coach Michael Vick

Shandel Richardson

Sep 14, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (R) talks with former player Michael Vick (L) before a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
Sep 14, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell (R) talks with former player Michael Vick (L) before a game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images / Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
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If anybody knows about second-chances, it's NBA legend Allen Iverson.

So it came as no surprise Iverson showed full support when former NFL quarterback Michael Vick was recently named coach for the Norfolk State football team. Iverson even attended Vick's introductory press conference.

“He’s been through the ups and downs in life," Iverson told reporters. "Who’s not going to listen to Mike Vick? “Who’s not going to tell you what’s right and what’s wrong other than Mike Vick.”

Vick and Iverson are both from the Norfolk area. They also ran into similar off-the-field issues during their careers. For Iverson, it was an arrest in high school for participating in a bowling-alley fight that landed him in jail. He rebounded to become the No. 1 pick in the 1996 NBA draft.

Vick was one of the most electrifying NFL quarterback before he was imprisoned for his role in a dog-fighting ring. He was on the way to a Hall of Fame career but it was interuppted by a 21-month prison term. Vick later returned to the NFL to get some sort of redemption.

Iverson feels coaching Norfolk State gives Vick another opportunity to make players better and learn from their mistakes.

“It’s a great story. It’s beautiful,” Iverson said. “It’s a beautiful day, not just what he has to offer to kids but to everybody.”

Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Back In The Day Hoops On SI. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com

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Shandel Richardson
SHANDEL RICHARDSON

Shandel has covered the NBA since 2010, with previous stops at The Athletic and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.  He has covered six NBA Finals, one Super Bowl, the NCAA basketball tournament. He has also been a beat writer for the Miami Hurricanes and contributed on every major beat in South Florida since 2003, including the Miami Dolphins and Miami Marlins. He can also be read in the Sportsbook Review for gambling coverage from around the NBA. A native of Bloomington, Illinois, Shandel attended Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. He's also worked for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Kansas City Star.  TWITTER: @ShandelRich EMAIL: shandelrich@gmail.com