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Michael Vick: Newport News
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Growing up poor in a tough neighborhood in Newport News, Virginia, Michael Vick stayed out of trouble thanks to football. A childhood love of the game led to serious dedication to the sport once he began high school, and soon a great talent began to emerge. An impressive high school career made him a target for the scout of every college in the country.
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The revelations of Michael Vick's activities with the Bad Newz Kennels drew widepread negative public reactions, but possibly hurt nowhere more than in his old neighborhood. Until August 24, there could be some comfort in disbelief. In the aftermath of Vick's guilty plea agreement, in Newport News, mentors and others working with underprivileged youth sought to identify lessons to communicate to those who had seen him as a role model.
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On July 17, 2007, Michael Vick was indicted by a federal grand jury for charges of competitive dogfighting, procuring and training pit bulls for fighting and conducting the enterprise across state lines. The enterprise was named "Bad News Kennels" and was operated on property owned by Vick in Surry County, VA.
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Michael Dwayne Vick was born on June 26, 1980, in Newport News, a town near Norfolk, Virginia. A port town, Newport News had fallen on hard times during Vick's childhood, and Vick's personal experience was full of hardship. Vick's mother, Brenda, was only 16 when he was born, and his father, Michael Boddie, was 17. The two had already had a daughter before Michael Vick, and would have another two children before marrying in 1985. Michael and his siblings saw little of their father, who was in the army and later worked long hours in the shipyards. Michael's mother worked at Kmart and drove a school bus while she raised her children.
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Michael Dwayne Vick was born on June 26, 1980, in Newport News, Virginia. (Click here for a complete listing of today's sports birthdays.) Located at the southernmost tip of the peninsula that divides the James River and Chesapeake Bay—and across the water from Norfolk—his hometown had seen its share of good times and bad. Like most port cities, Newport News fell on hard times in the 1970s and 80s. When Michael entered the world, the city was best known for producing drug dealers and gang members. Serious trouble, the kind that turned many young men into statistics, lurked around most corners in his neighborhood.
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The new season opened with its share of controversy when Goldberg commented on the role football player Michael Vick played in the recent dog-fighting scandal. This is part of his cultural upbringing. . . For a lot of people, dogs are sport . . . Instead of just saying (Vick) is a beast and he's a monster, this is a kid who comes from a culture where this is not questioned."
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