By Dan Weinstein

Cardinal football fans around the state and country issued a collective howl of disbelief and frustration when Marcus Vick, quarterback for the Virginia Tech Hokies, stomped on the leg of Elvis Dumervil, the Cardinals’ superstar lineman. Dumervil, who won the Bronko Nagurski trophy for best defensive player in the country this year, met Vick’s cleat shortly before half time.

Marcus Vick, the younger brother of Michael Vick, has had a difficult time in the shadow of his brother. Both played the same position at the same school, and both are phenomenal athletes who have a chance at reshaping the way the quarterback position is played. Any similarity ends there, however. For the younger brother, this was neither the first nor last in a series of troubling incidents. During his sophomore year, he and two teammates were suspended for giving alcohol to two 14- and 15-year-old girls. Vick pleaded guilty to reckless driving and possession of marijuana after being pulled over by the police in July 2004. The history of Marcus Vick goes on and on, and does not appear positive for an NFL prospect or his future.

When Virginia Tech kicked Vick off the team after the season ended, it spoke volumes about that football program. Kicking off your starting quarterback, especially the younger brother of the legendary Mike Vick, is a bit like punching yourself in the gut before picking a fight.

The class and honor of the Hokies’ football program is what college sports are about, and what separates them from professional sports organizations. College players aren’t making hundreds of thousands of dollars per game, or receiving monies for merchandising and endorsement contracts. They’re still hungry, possessing the drive that is necessary to thrive in competition, all the time playing with the knowledge that, to become a professional in their sport, they will have to beat out 100 or 200 competitors, each of whom was a legendary player in his hometown, too.

ESPN did a thorough job in replaying the clip of Vick stomping on Dumervil’s leg. It was as if, from the end of the Gator Bowl to the Rose Bowl showdown between USC and Texas, Vick’s misbehavior was still the main event for the sports network.

I certainly joined in the aforementioned howls of Cardinal fans. However, it’s important for us fans who have seen this entire affair play out to remember that we have, at best, partial information. Let us refrain from judging who Marcus Vick is as a man. His record suggests troubles that go beyond being a malcontent, beyond any pop-psychological reasoning about a younger brother wanting attention. We should all hope that Marcus Vick has surrounded himself with people who will help him use his considerable potential wisely. Paraphrasing John Steinbeck, “The saddest words ever written: what could’ve been?”