Video: Michael Vick confronted by dog owner at weird Dallas key ceremony

Apparently there was a ceremony in downtown Dallas last week in which Michael Vick was given a key to the city by a member of the city council, which is strange. Dallas mayor Tom Leppert thought so too, because he issued a statement today denying any knowledge of the event. The key, he said, is not official. Please return it at his house, and if it’s after hours, leave the key under the mat. Thank you.

But even stranger was the confrontation that occurred afterward, as Vick was leaving the event. Dallas radio personality Richard Hunter filmed a confrontation with Vick (or more precisely, Vick’s bodyguards), in which Hunter attempted to show Vick a photo of his dog, which was adopted from among those that Vick had abused.

In the video (below), Vick’s bodyguards curse at Hunter, and Vick then makes eye contact, sees the photo, and walks away.

From the Dallas Observer:

But something else happens [in addition to Vick being given the key to the city] in video — which was shot by Richard Hunter, better known as radio’s own Big Dick. Hunter, as [Dallas Observer writer] Richie [Whitt] pointed out last June, adopted one of the so-called “bait dogs” Vick used in the dog-fighting ring that landed him in prison. The dog’s name is Mel — and as Richard told Richie, “While Vick is pure evil, this dog is so good despite having suffered through such hell that he’s truly changed my life.” Richard went to the event to show Vick Mel’s picture and confront him about the past — which, as you’ll see in the video, never happened.

If Vick is trying to rehabilitate his image, this is not the secret formula. Having a 350-pound bodyguard F-bomb a guy holding a photo of one of the abused dogs? And then you look at it and just walk away? Pretty short-sighted.

Now, to the key ceremony itself. The mayor of Dallas is unamused.

Leppert’s statement:

“The action taken was not sanctioned by my office and was not an official ceremonial honor on behalf of the City of Dallas. Official Keys to the City are presented by the Mayor, or an elected official designated by the Mayor, and reserved, on a limited basis, for an elected official of international status. Clearly, this was not the case in this situation and done without my knowledge or approval.”

Turns out the ceremony was the brainchild of Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway, a rebel key distributor. Fox Sports:

Caraway presented Philadelphia Eagles quarterback and convicted felon Michael Vick a key to the city of Dallas Saturday.

Caraway said he believes “a great majority” of the people of Dallas would have supported his decision, despite Vick’s conviction for running a vicious dog fighting ring.

“I gave it to him, sure I did. The wayward children that were there needed to have hope,” he said.

Caraway — who is poised to step in as Dallas mayor when Mayor Tom Leppert leaves office — did not say exactly where he was (“somewhere downtown” and “one of the clubs”) or exactly who was sponsoring the event where he handed Vick a key to the city. He said the event occurred around 5 p.m. with children in attendance.

Leaving aside the dogfight controversy, which is huge, let’s just settle on the image of a Dallas politician distributing ceremonial keys to members of the Philadelphia Eagles. Wayward children or not, that will not go over well with Cowboys fans. What next, a testimonial dinner for Daniel Snyder? Whomever runs against Caraway in any future political race now has unlimited mud to sling.

But seriously Michael, Dallas needs its key back; the janitor can’t get into the Magnolia Building.

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Vick’s key to Dallas is news to mayor [Fox Sports]
Big Dick, Michael Vick And, As It Turns Out, Anybody Can Get a Key to the City of Dallas [Dallas Observer]